Original %xixthB. 



FIVE DAYS IN EAST SUSSEX. 



By G. T. Porritt, F.L.S, 



On the morning of Monday, the 29th of May last, I left home for 

 the purpose of having a few days' collecting in the South. The Rev. 

 T. W. Daltry, M.A., F.L.S., of Madeley Vicarage, Mr. W. H. 

 Tugwell, of Greenwich, and myself, had previously arranged to do 

 so ; and as we had last year worked a locality in North Kent, we 

 determined to change the county, and fixed on Abbott's Wood, 

 near Hailsham, as the ground for this y-ear. Reaching Victoria 

 Station, London, I had some dinner, after which I took a stroll 

 on the platform, and met Mr. Daltry shortly before two o'clock, 

 which was the time for the departure of the train for Hailsham. In 

 the " change of trains " at Polegate, we were joined by Mr. Tugwell, 

 whose train had been attached to ours higher up the line. A run of 

 ten minutes or so then brought us to our destination, and we were 

 soon settled in comfortable lodgings. 



Having had some refreshment and unpacked our " traps," we were 

 very anxious to see our ground, though (thanks to Mr. Tugwell, who 

 had worked it several times before, and who seemed to know every 

 yard of it) we had already become pretty well aware of its character ; 

 still, though we knew it was perhaps almost as good a locality as 

 could be found in Britain at that season of the year, we were by no 

 means sanguine as to the result of our expedition, as during the 

 whole of May we had had almost a continual succession of cold east 

 winds, and these certainly are never very conducive to the develop- 

 ment of insect life. How our fears were realised will be best judged 

 by a perusal of our doings." 



A walk of twenty minutes or so from our lodgings brought us to 

 the wood, in the ''rides " of which, beating stick in one hand and net 

 in the other, we were soon at work. Hornbeam forms the principal 

 feature of the wood (botanically), and as the species which had been 

 one of the greatest inducements to me to visit the district, feeds in 

 its larva state on its leaves, we thrashed the bushes with a will, and 

 were before long rewarded by seeing the pretty little Agrotera nemo- 

 raUs, the object of our search, dart out with a short but quick flight. 

 It was by no means common, however, indeed Mr. Tugwell said it 



N, S., Vol, i.^-July, 1876, 



