MAY. 
1S5 
C. — I found on most of them^ in the very bottom of the 
corolla, some little black beetles,, with a red thorax, f Tele- 
phorus ? ) 
F, — The leaf buds of the Larch or Tamarack (Pimis 
Pendula ) are bursting ; a deciduous member of an evergreen 
family. 
C. — The tops of the elms are quite yellow : is this co- 
lour caused by the opening of the leaf-buds ? 
F, — No : the elm has not yet begun to leaf ; but it has 
been in full flower about a week. The blossoms are yellow 
and very small ; from some trees they have already begun to 
fall^ and are thickly strewn on the ground beneath. The 
seeds ripen and are shed in June^ at which time they may be 
collected ; and as the elm, if properly treated^ would make 
an excellent hedge^ it would be worth while for our farmers 
to plant the seeds for that purpose. It grows rapidly, and 
makes a strong shoot the first season. 
C. — In standing water, I observed many masses of clear 
jelly-like substance, containing a number of small blacks 
globules. 
J^. — They are the eggs of frogs ; they are all deposited at 
once, enveloped in this mass of jelly, which both serves as a 
protection to them, and keeps them from being washed away. 
When near the time of hatchings the young tadpole may be 
distinctly seen with a microscope in one of these eggs ; but 
I suspect they are not yet sufficiently matured. The frog 
deposits its ova almost immediately after it revives from 
torpidity : we may always see these masses a very few days 
after we first hear their croaking. 
C. — I found a shrub very numerous in the woods^ co- 
vered with yellow flowers^ very small, with thick downy 
envelopes. I have a twig of it ; I was obliged to cut it off ; 
for, small as it is, the bark was so tough that I could not 
tear it. 
