AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 
53 
NOTES OF A NATURALIST. 
By Jacob Green, M. D. 
[Concluded from page 10.] 
June ISth. Locusts begin to die; the male first. Ox- 
alis stricta, and Ascetocella, flower. 
Cockle , (agrostemma,) blossoms. 
Dung-beetle rolls his balls, (scarabseus carnifex. ) This 
beetle, it is thought, will produce an oil and a colouring 
dye. The Oil-beetle, (meloe procarabseus,) has been 
found to produce a medicinal oil. They are to be collected 
in the spring. Only females are used for the above pur- 
pose. 
Cherries are ripe. 
Lampyris, or fire-fly, first seen. The light of this insect 
increases in an atmosphere of oxygen gas. If it gets wet 
in the gas it soon expires. Perhaps phosphoric acid is thus 
produced, and the acid then kills the insect. 
I observed a battle between the old blue birds and a 
domestic cat. The birds darted violently at the cat, mak- 
ing a snapping noise with their bills, which eventually 
drove her away. The young birds have neither the blue 
feathers on the back, nor the brown ones on the breast, as 
their parents. Another pair of Blue Birds have made their 
nest between the weather-boards and the plastering of the 
kitchen: their entrance to it is through a knot-hole, and in a 
situation very favourable for my observations. The follow- 
ing was a curious manoeuvre to keep the nest clean while the 
young were growing. When they brought food to the young, 
they always carried away with them, when they flew off in 
search of more, the mutings of their offspring; which were 
often projected directly into their bills, for that purpose. 
Since writing the above, I find that Montague states the 
same fact respecting the English Nightingale, and adds — 
“ The sagacity of this, as also the disposal of the egg-shells, 
is a remarkable instinctive power, implanted in these little 
creatures for the security of their young; to assist which, 
Nature has given a skin or covering, in which the mutings 
are enveloped.” (See Ornithological Dictionary, p. 31.) 
19 if A. A large brown Caterpillar, about two inches long, 
with seven orange-coloured spots on its back, made its 
appearance in the willow tree. The sides and upper part 
of this insect, are sprinkled with small whitish spots, and 
covered with hairs and spines. On placing some of them 
in a box, for the purpose of examining their transforma- 
tions, the following facts were the result. Twenty-four 
hours after, they became remarkably active, running 
about, and eating the leaves of the willow. This conti- 
nued some time; when they fastened themselves by the 
extremity, (I suppose the tail,) to the top of the box, the 
0 
head hanging downwards, and curved a little towards the 
body. In this situation, they remained about eight or ten 
hours; a glutinous kind of fluid exuding from every part 
except the head, which presently dropped off. The whole 
insect then assumes a different form and appearance. The 
spines on the back vanish, except three near the head; 
the body is much smaller, and attenuated; the colour, which 
at the falling of the head was a light ash, gradually grows 
darker and darker. 
22d. A large Yellow Butterfly , (papilio turnus,) and 
an ash-coloured Sphinx, striped with black, made their ap- 
pearance. 
23 d. Wild Buckwheat , (polygonum fagopyrum,) blos- 
soms. Windsor, or Horse Beans, ripe. Yellow and blue 
Cerambyx, seen on the barberry vine. 
A day or two after the young blue birds had left the 
nest, to which they never returned; the old pair began to 
clean it out, and rebuild. They proceeded precisely in the 
same manner as at first. 
28fA. Common Elder blossoms. Micheaux remarks there 
is no difference between this and the S. nigra of Europe, 
except in size, the one being a tree and the other only a 
shrub! 
I witnessed a contest between the Cow Bunting (Embe- 
riza Pecoris,) and the Robin, in which the first was the con- 
queror. Till now, I supposed the Cow Bunting chose re- 
tired places for rearing its young. The Robin had a nest 
on the neighbouring tree. Perhaps the Bunting was about 
depositing its eggs in the nest of the Robin, which may 
have occasioned the conflict. 
Horehound, (marrubium.) The flowers of this plant are 
just falling off, and it is now cut and dried for domestic 
purposes. 
Toad Flax , sometimes called Butter and Eggs, (linaria 
vulgaris,) flowers. Though this is a very common plant 
along the road-sides, and in waste fields, it probably is not 
a native. I have some of them transplanted into the gar- 
den, and its long spikes crowded with bright flowers, adds 
much to the beauty of the borders. 
Raspberries ripe. There is a kind of apterous insect, 
with a coloured head and six feet, which infests this plant 
at this season. 
Large Pincher, a variety of lucanus capriolus, appears. 
Common Sage, (salvia officinalis,) begins to flower: it 
is now dried for culinary use. 
Sea Kale, (crambe maritima,) in seed. The flowers .of 
this plant were eaten long before the young sprouts, which 
are now esteemed so highly. Lovel mentions this in his 
Adversaria, page 92. This vegetable was introduced into 
the United States about twenty years ago by a gentleman 
of Boston, (Mass.) It is now common in gardens. 
