e 
T ZEE IE "V A T ,T .TC^T InTATTJ^ALIST. 
The Sea-Bird. 
ANNIE ROBERTSON NOXON. 
Dear little sea-bird "by the sea, 
Oh ! had I wings as fleet as thine, 
In boundless space so iree, so free ! 
Why lingerest thou along the shore, 
These lonely sands— this deserted beach, 
With heaven almost within thy reach? 
All day the mottled clouds look down, 
The whispering winds steal up the bay; 
And waves— the fisher's child to drown. 
At night the wandering moon returns, 
Retrims her sails toward the west, 
And sees the sea-bird in her nest. 
Mysterious songs are in the air, 
Of sleeping wood-nymphs in the wood, 
Of castle wall and winding stair. 
Of lands beyond these treeless crags, 
Of worlds remote from sandy lees. ■ 
Those happy homes beyond the seas. 
Oh, idle sea-bird, lend to me 
The wondrous power that in thee lies ; 
Then should my restless spirit flee ! 
Still should thy little ones repose 
In their rough cradles 'neath the moon, 
Prom which they must depart full soon. 
Oh, give to me, oh, give to me 
The gift my yearning soul could prize— 
Thy fluttering wings, so wild and free ! 
Beyond the cliff, beyond the shore, 
Where laughs the fisher's child at play, 
I'd fly away; I'd fly away. 
—[Missouri Republican. 
White Satin and Black Lined Leaf- 
Roller. 
Reading, in your first issue, of the ''Jump- 
ing Beans " of Mexico, reminds me that the 
beautiful white satin and black lined leaf 
roller {Conchilodes Platinalis) is also a 
jumber. In fact, I should not be surprised 
if all the Tortricidce were jumpers, from the 
peculiar long and hard construction of the 
terminal segments of the moths. I have 
found the body to retain vitality after several 
applications of acid. Last July, while catch- 
ing Cicindelce in a sandy gulch, I became 
aware of a great commotion in a hole in the 
sand— supposing it to be a grasshopper— I 
examined it and found it to be a roiled up 
leaf, evidently endeavoring to spring out of 
the depression. Cutting open one end I 
found it to contain a yellow larva ; it spun 
itself up again, and in a week or ten days 
the moth emerged. The motion is, no doubt, 
imparted by the anal segments, the cocoon 
being baggy at that end. 
Newport, Ky. C. G. Seewers. 
List of CatocaLe. 
The following is a list of the Catocalaz 
collected bv James S. Johnson, of Frank- 
ford, Philadelphia, thinking it might be of 
some service to naturalists who wish to be 
posted in the location of species, he respect- 
fully submits it for publication: 
Epione, Drury, not common. Lacrymosa, 
Guenee, very rare. Obscura, Strecker, not 
common. Flebilis, Grote, not common. 
Eetecta, Grote, not common. Insolabilis, 
Guenee, not common. Viduata, Guenee, 
very rare. Desperata, Guenee, common. 
Bobinsoni, Grote, rare. Judith, Stecker, 
rare. Tristis, Edwards, rare. Caret, Guenee, 
common. Amatrix, Huebner, abundent. 
Illia, Cramer, common. Porta, Guenee, not 
■common. Unijuga, Walker, rare. Ultronia, 
Huebner, common. Concumbens, Walker, 
very rare. Innubens, Guenee, not common. 
Piatrix, Grote, common. Ponderosa, Grote 
& Robinson, rare. Subnata, Grote, not 
common. Neogama, Guenee, common. 
Paleogama, Guenee, common. Yar. phal- 
anga,'ra,re. Cerogama, Guenee, rare. An- 
tinympha, Huebner, rare. Habilis, Grote, 
common. Serena, Edwards, not common. 
G-rynea, Cramer, not common. Amasia, 
Abott & Smith, rare. Minuta, Edwards, not 
common. 
The Oaks of the United States. 
BY DR. GEORGE ENGELMANN. 
( Trans. St. L. Acad. Sc. III. p. 385, Nov.m.) 
In this paper, which is a continuation of 
one published in March last, the following 
arrangement of the oaks is given: 
I. Lepidobalanus, Endl. Male aments 
pendulous; the pullen grains 0.08-0.04 mm. 
in diameter; female flowers distant from the 
male, stigma dilated. 
A. Leucobalanus. Aborsive ovales at 
the base or rarely at the side; stamens usu- 
ally 6-8; stigma sessile or sub-sessile; nut 
glabrous within or very rarely pubescent. 
* Fruit maturing annually, 
t Leaves deciduous. 
Quercus alba, lobata (fructicosa), Garry - 
ana, stellata, macrocarpa, lyrata, M- color 
(michauxii) , prinus, Muehlenbergii (prinoi- 
des), Douglassii, undulata (pungens). 
ft Leaves persistent. 
Q. oblongifolia, dumosa, reticulata, ver- 
eus. 
** Fruit maturing in the second year. 
Q. chrysolepis {vacciniifolia, palmeri), to- 
mentella. 
B. Melanobalanus. Abortive ovales, 
(excepting Q.Emoryi) above, stamens usual- 
ly 4-6. Styles elongated, finally recurved, 
nut within Sericeo-tormentose. 
* Fruit maturing annually ; leaves persis- 
tent. 
Q. Emory i, agrifolia,pumila, hypoleuca. 
** Fruit maturing in the second year, 
f Leaves deciduous. 
Q. rubra, coccinea {Unctoria), sonomensis, 
falcata, catesbcei, ilicifolia, palustris, Geor- 
giana, aquatica, laurifolia, nigra, cinerea, 
imbricaria, Phellos. 
ft Leaves persistent. 
Q, vnslizeni, myrtifolia. . 
II. Androgyne, A. DC. Male aments 
erect, bearing the female flowers at the base ; 
pollen grains about 0.017 mm. in diameter; 
stigma linear. 
Q. densifiora. 
An Unknown Narcotic Plant. 
I am tempted to notice a plant that grows 
here of such strong Narcotic powers that, in 
the hands of a skillfull practitioner, it will 
produce coma of any intensity or duration, 
or even death itself when so intended. The 
knowledge of this plant is confined to a few 
families, who transmit the secret as an heir- 
loom from generation to generation, and the 
heiritage is highly prized, confirming, it is 
the power of miracle workers and priests. 
For the plant is in many ways used in aid of 
solemn imposture, superstition, and even 
crime. The power thus exersized is called 
" wanga," a word that inspired the African 
with awe and dread. The wanga priest can 
throw a person into a death-like coma, and 
knowing the time of returning consciousness, 
he will make a show of recalling to life. If a 
burglary is to be committed, he can, by means 
of his art, cast a deep sleep on all indoods; 
and one may understand how he can attain 
other forbidden ends in the same way. An 
exqerienced botanist could not fail to discov- 
er this plant, which, as an anaesthetic, would 
no doubt prove a valuable acquisition to 
medical science. — [Major B. Stuart. Port 
au Prince. 
Birds of St. Clair County, Ills.— II 
BY WM. M. JONES, LEBANON, ILL. 
Genus — Halicetus. 
Halicetus leucoceplialus. Bald Eagle. A very 
rare bird, though a few specimens have been 
procured within the confines of this county. 
Genus — Pandion. 
Pandion carolineusis. American Fish 
Hawk or Osbrey. Rather common during 
migrations along river. Rarely seen inland. 
I procured a specimen of the Osprey at this 
place, twenty-four miles from river, Sept. 1, 
1876. 
Fam ily — Strigince. 
Genus — Bubo. 
Bubo virginianus. Great Horned Owl. 
This, the largest of our American owls, is a 
common resident of this locality. Found in 
the heaviest timbered districts. Very shy 
and secluded. 
Genus— Scops. 
Scops asio. Mottled or Screech Owl. A 
common winter and summer resident. 
Genus — Otus. 
Otus Wilsonianus. Long-eared Owl. 
Not common, occasionally found in prairies 
though generally noticed in wooded por- 
tions. 
Genus— Brachyotus. 
Brachyotus Gassinii. Short-eared Owl. 
Rare, have found this species only on prai- 
ries, never yet in woods. 
Sub-Family — Syrnince. 
Genus — Syrnium. 
Syrnium nebulosum. Barred Owl. A 
common species, more often seen in woods 
than the great horned owl. 
Genus — Nyctale. 
Nyctale acadica. Saw-whet Owl. This 
diminutive owl is a rare visitor here, only 
one specimen as yet noticed. 
Sub -Famil y — JSfycteince. 
Genus — Nyctea. 
Nyctea nivea. Snowy Owl. Yery rare, 
sometimes seen during unusually severe 
winters. 
[Continued.] 
Notes on the Coral Reefs of Florida. 
BY W. W. CALKINS, CHICAGO, ILL. 
No one can properly appreciate the im- 
mense extent of the wurk performed by that 
seemingly insignificant little Polyp, called the 
coral insect, until he or she has stood on those 
sunny strands of our country known as the 
Florida Keys, or what is better, sailed around 
and among them and gathered with the hand 
the living coral from its native home. Tor- 
tugas Keys, which form the last link in the 
long chain stretching from Key Biscayne and 
Cape Sable southwards conformable to the 
mainland from which they are separated by 
only a narrow space of shallow water, affords 
peculiarly rich developments of carol. In 
almost any portion of Tortugus Harber one 
can gather a number of species with a com- 
mon boat-hook or by hand, in case you keep 
one eye open for sharks, some of whom are 
very fond of calves. The Astrean corals 
frequently grow in places just covered by 
low tide. So with Manicina. But the best 
collecting grounds are found in from ten to 
fifteen feet of water. In 1875 I collected 
the following species at Tortugas and else- 
where among the Keys : Manicina areolata, 
Ehr. Siderastrea radians, Verl. Millepora 
alcicornis, L. Porites clavaria, Lam. Golpo- 
phyllia gyrosa, E. & H.Madrepora palmata, 
Lam. Madrepora cervicornis, Lam. 31. pro- 
liferd, Lam. Astrea ananas, Lam. Meandri- 
na crebriformis, L. Siderastrea siderea, 
Blainv. 
These are all known as Reef-building 
corals. The living species of to-day differ 
in no way from their ancestors of thousand 
