174 
THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. 
knots^) as if to pilot us in our course, keeping within a few 
inches of the vessel's head, deviating sometimes a foot or so 
to the right or left. At length the captain prepared his 
harpoon, but before it was ready the animal had disappeared. 
It was about sixteen feet long, of a light grey colour, with a 
round bluff head. I could find no description of such a 
species.'^'' But where have we wandered? From 
the Masuippi to the St. Lawrence, from the St. Lawrence to 
the Atlantic, from the Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico, from 
the Gulf of Mexico to the English Channel : a wide flight in 
a few moments ! But let us return to our woods and fields. 
C. — Several kinds of caterpillars are now to be found, 
which survive the winter ; such as those of the Grey Kidney 
Moth ( Polia ? ), the Buff Leopard ( Arctia Isabella J, 
and others with which I am not acquainted. I caught two 
specimens of the Orange Comma Butterfly f Grapta C, 
Album ?J a few days ago, a beautiful species. Some very 
pretty but small dipterous flies have appeared, with bril- 
liant metallic thorax and abdomen, glittering with green and 
crimson gold (Sargus'^J. ' 
jP. — The Butternut ( Juglans Cinerea ) has begun to 
leaf: the buds of this tree much resemble those of the 
ashes, but are larger, of a downy pale green, and they are 
not so regular in shape as the ash buds. The leaves are 
pinnate, like those of that tree, and on the whole there is 
considerable resemblance between the white ash and the 
butternut. This tree is considered an indication of the very 
best land we have ; it is not abundant in this vicinity, 
though there are many trees scattered about : on the banks 
of the Coatacook, near Spafford's bridge, are several trees. 
The bark of this tree is used in dying : I believe it produces 
a snuff-brown colour ; I know of no other value which it has 
Perhaps it was Beluga Leucas^ the White Whale, 
