116 



THE NATURALIST. 



field and the cabinet, in collecting and 

 examining this interesting class of plants, 

 none have been found willing to undertake 

 the publication of a handbook of the Bri- 

 tish species, in our language, embodying 

 the results of their labours. The old 

 genus of Linneus — Jungermannia — is now 

 found to be capable of sub -division into a 

 number of well marked genera, and the 

 old generic term is now used for a sub-order, 

 thus rendering the discrimination of these 

 forms much more easy than under the old 

 nomenclature. In presenting this ' ' illustra- 

 ted catalogue " as he modestly styles it, to the 

 public, Mr. Cooke claims to be no more than 

 a pioneer to a larger and more elaborate 

 work, which is now being prepared by Dr. 

 B. Carrington, than whom, we know of no 

 one more competent to the task. Never- 

 theless Mr. Cooke's pamphlet will be of no 

 small value for the student who is inclined 

 to investigate the forms and distribution of 

 the Hepaticse in Britain, and we heartily 

 commend it to the attention of our readers. 

 We could almost have wished that a short 

 diagnosis of each genus had been included, 

 but in the compass within which it is cir- 

 cumscribed this would appear to be an im- 

 possibility, and we must await the appear- 

 ance of the larger work for this desideratum. 

 Although not critical, nor including any 

 synonyms, the specific diagnoses are suffi- 

 ciently clear with the aid of the diagrams, 

 to render their descrimination a matter 

 comparatively easy, and we must add that 

 the extremely small price at which it is issued 

 will insure its being in the possession of 

 every one interested in the study of the 

 order. 



"Whilst on the subject of Cryptogamic 

 Botany, we may be permitted to call 

 attention to the handbook of the Microsco- 

 pic Fungi recently published by Mr. Cooke, 

 under the title of " Rust , Smut, Brand and 

 Mould. " There is perhaps no more inter- 

 esting class of organisms than those minute 

 Fungi, which under various names infest our 

 crops, and may be found in greater or less 

 abundance upon almost every plant. They 



are beautiful objects under the microscope, 

 and for the botanical microscopist there is 

 yet a great amount of useful work to be 

 done amongst them. 



Occurrence of Choerocampa celerio, at 

 Perth. — On Monday last, I was fortunate 

 enough to capture a very fine (female) 

 specimen of Chcerocampa celerio; this is 

 the second specimen that has been found in 

 this neighbourhood. I also, about a fortnight 

 ago, picked up a few hundreds of the larvae 

 of Euchelia Jacohcece at Broughty Ferry in 

 Forfarshire. As both species are rare so far 

 north I think the captures are worth 

 recording. — John Stewart. 



P. S. The larvse of Vanessa Cardui have 

 been found here this season in abundance. 

 J. S. 



Larvce of Acherontia Atropos. — I have in 

 my possession some larvae of Acherontia 

 Atropos, Linn, collected by my friend Mr. 

 J. B. Proctor, from the tops of Solanum 

 tuberosum, at Boston Spa, Clifford Moor, 

 near Tadcaster, on Wednesday, 26th of 

 July ; the larva measures four and a half 

 inches in length by five-eighths of an inch in 

 diameter, and is in the highest degree 

 beautiful, its colour being of a fine bright 

 yellow, and the sides marked by a row of 

 elegant stripes, or bands, of a vivid violet 

 and sky blue colour; these stripes or bands 

 meet on the top of the back of each seg- 

 ment in an angle, and are alternated with 

 black spots ; the horn projects over in the 

 manner of a curved yellow rough tail ; the 

 larvae are nearly full fed. — J. Blackburn, 

 Leeds. July 29th, 1865. 



Potamogeten nitens, Web : in Perthshire. 

 — Mr. John Sim has sent us specimens of 

 this plant, which the recent lowness of the 

 water has enabled him to reach. He found 

 it growing in the R. Tay, near Perth, in 

 very rapid and deep water ; P. crispus and 

 P. perfoUatus being associated with it. 

 With respect to P. nitens, Prof. Babington 

 states in *' Seemann's Journal of Botany," 



