40 THE NATURALIST. 



minute, and sometimes altogether wanting. 

 It is growing with the commoner Erodium, 

 which has white as well as pink flowers. 

 Fennel and Samphire both abound on the 

 rocks which are exposed to the influence of 

 the sea. The glow-worm, Lampyris nocti- 

 luca, is plentiful on a grassy slope near the 

 baths. I took both the male and female, 

 both are furnished with the light ; in the 

 male it is confined to two luminous spots 

 at the tip of the abdomen ; in the female it 

 extends over three rings. In the larva 

 state glow-worms feed on snails, pursuing 

 them even into their shells ; the larva has 

 also the luminous property in a slight de- 

 gree. I found the glow-worms most abun- 

 dant where the Pellitory grew, which was 

 much preyed on by a small moUusk of the 

 genus Planorhis. As2')lenium marinum, 

 with its fine luxuriant fronds, and Botry- 

 chium Lunaria were the best of the ferns 

 I noticed on the Orme. The swifts, Hir- 

 undo Apus, build in the cliff's immediately 

 overhanging the sea, and they may be seen 

 in the summer nights, wheeling in everlast- 

 ing circles round the headland, screaming 

 for very joy, as they race and chase each 

 other over the sea. The pretty wood tiger 

 moth, Nemeophila plantaginis, I took 

 among hazels on the slope facing the church ; 

 as its specific name implies it feeds on the 

 plantain. Plants of the common Eagwort 

 were completely unleaved by the larv83 of 

 Callimorplm JacohcBce ; it was not unusual 

 on a hot day to see the caterpillars coursing 

 across the sands, either suff'ering from ich- 

 neumons, or seeking some suitable spot 

 wherein to undergo their transformations. 

 The yellow-wort, Clilora perfoliata, that 

 constant tenant of dry calcareous hills, was 

 herefloweringin perfection, its fine bloom and 

 glaucous foliage causing it to vie with many 

 an exotic in garden cultivation. With it, 

 and growing on the same dry slopes, was 

 the rare Hypochoeris maculata, the purple- 

 blotched leaves and large lemon-colored head 

 of flowers of which rendered it very conspicu- 

 ous. The Ground-Ivy, Glechoma hederacea, 

 was infested with the galls of one of the 

 Cynipidse, Aulax gUohomatis. The galls 



are prettily tinted with red, and about the 

 size of a cherry. They are many-chambered. 

 I had the pleasure in May of the succeeding 

 year, of seeing the tenants emerge, and I 

 furnished an account of them to the Intel- 

 ligencer. Other galls I found on the leaf- 

 stalks of Rosa sp)inosissima, as also on the 

 calyx, which was distorted thereby into the 

 most unnatural proportions. These galls 

 yielded me another cynips. The Horseshoe 

 Vetch, Hippocrcpis comosa, a commonplant 

 on the downs in the south of England, occurs 

 on ledges of the upper rocks facing the church. 

 In conclusion, I must not forget to mention 

 the madder ( RuMa peregrina ) which grows 

 on the Orme, as this is probably its most 

 northern limit in our Island. Here it 

 really grows most luxuriantly, flov/ering 

 plentifully, and doubtless fruiting in some 

 of the sunnier nooks and corners in which 

 it grows. I met with it as lately said, in 

 fine black fruit, in the Isle of Wight, in 

 January, 1864. — Peter Inchbald, Stor- 

 thes Hall, May 2, 1865. 



Curious locality for Potamogeton natans. 

 — Mr. Jno. T. Aspinall, engineer at Messrs. 

 Berry and Turner's mill, near this town, 

 has had this plant grovfing in a cistern 

 which is built over the top of the engine 

 house, for more than a year. The plant 

 was first discovered last summer, and caused 

 some astonishment from its peculiar locale. 

 The water is pumped into this cistern by a 

 force-pump, which raises it from a large 

 covered tank situated at the opposite end 

 of the mill, and which is itself supplied 

 from the canal by a series of pot drainage 

 pipes some hundreds of yards in length. 

 The plant has not yet been detected in the 

 canal, and the most probable solution of its 

 spontaneous appearance here is that some 

 seeds of it having got mixed Avith the fleece 

 whilst washing sheep, have by some means 

 got into the ground-tank, have then been 

 pumped up into the cistern, where they have 

 taken root, and are now in a flourishing 

 condition. The cistern contains usually a 

 depth of from two feet to two feet six 

 inches of water.— H, Huddersfield, May, 

 1865. 



