1 42 Naturalist''s Calendar. 
VI.— NATURALIST'S CALENDAR. 
FOR SEPTEMBER- 
BOTANY. 
This is tlie first inontli of Autumn, and we are reminded of it iu every direction. Thu'troes 
have uow put on tlioir gay and sjdendid livtrics; I'uii^ji abound; aud iji the gardens, (he i\li. 
chaelmas-Uaisy is in full hloom ; iu short, every tiling tells us that Summer is deparied. 
The plants in flower this month, are, Colclticum nu/timnui'e, Meadow Saffron; a powerful, 
hut somewhat luicertain and dangerous remedy for Gout, and some other disorders. 'J'lie 
liowers appear at this time of year, (and sometimes in August) entirely destitute of leaves, aijtl 
when they wither, the plant is no more .seen till the Spriujr, wiien the leaves and seed ve.ssels 
make their appearance : as soon as the seed is ripe, the leaves die aw.ay , and the plant is again 
lost till the time of fioweriua;' in Autumn. Spei;imens should therefore be j;ather»d in various 
parts of the year. It is found chiefly hi flat meadows, but is rather a local plant. It grows 
plentifully between Dufheld and Derby; Maltby, Yorkshire; and various places in the North 
and West of England. Cuscula evToperns, Dodder;— a small parasitical plant, found on tlie 
stems of Nettles, &c, P«rn(Tssi'u /)«/(/,</(■(«, Grass of P<\ti}assus ; — a heautiful plant, remark- 
able for the sinivnlar conformation of its nectary. It is foutlA in bo'VS, and on the tops of moun- 
tains, as Masson, Matlock-Buth, and on most of tlie iiiwstone hills about Bu\tJii. 
Geiitiana amarclla, Autumnal Gentian; dentiJiia cninpr.s/ris, Field Gentian ; (•riniiit/m son- 
piiincvm. Bloody CraueO)ill ; iicilln aiiliiiiii'.afis. Autumnal Squill; Dianthun ilrlloi.lcs, Alaideu 
'Pink;d?ni.'(^o/)//')s,'7, Hairy <jive n weed; Ulc.t nanus, IJwarf Furze; Hijpniivia licirbatitii:. 
Bearded St. John's-Wort; iii dry or mountainous iiasturcs 
S'llicornia herbacea. Common Jointed GIa-;svvort, or r.Iar.sh Samphire; Erodium miiii/imum. 
Sea Stork's-Bill ; Allluea njjicinalis, Marsh Mallow; Churn nidilica, Proliferous Stone- Wort; 
Ruppia man'lim I, Sea Tassel Grass; Eryllireen piilclirlld^ Dwarf Branched tVntaury : CEnn. 
Ihera biennis, Common Evening Primrose; Silenc innritini-i, SeaCatchfly; /ili/s.tmit mnrilimum, 
Sweet Alyssiini; CItnjsocomn Lynosyris, Fiax-leaved Goldilocks ; Aster Tripulium, Sea Star- 
wort; on the .sea.coast, and in salt marshes. 
Lobelia urens. Stinging Lobelia; Srifcio Ihidiis, Greeu-scaled Groundsel; on dry heatlis. 
PolyfjCnum /n/ilropiprr, Biting Persicaria; P. minus, Small Persicaria; Mentha putcijium. 
Pennyroyal; /n'lla piilic/iria, Small Kleawort; Cfratnpliylhini demersum, Commo:-, Hornweed; 
f. svbmersum. Unarmed Hornweed ; Jiidens cernim, IVodding Burr-Marigold ; in moist places, 
ditahes, and ponds 
Neotlia spiralis, Ladie.s' Traces ; Crocus saliens. Saffron; in pasliins. Oxolis cnrniculata, 
Yellow Wood-Sorrel; Chenopodium nnirale. Nettle- Leaved Goosefoot; C. holryoides, CIuf- 
tered Goo.sefoot ; in waste grounds. 
Many of the Ferns are now iu fruit, as Polypodiiim r>il;;nre; ll'oodsia ihciisis; Cystcii frn- 
ijilis; Asplenium Trichomancs, Rutu.muraria, (itlernifolinm, srptcntrioniile, Adi^nlum-niyrunis 
lanceolutum, and fcmtanum; Ptcris crispri; Adiuntum Vapillus-venrris; these are found on 
rocks, walks, and shady banks, and in woods, &c. 
"Fungi, must he considered as an appendage and ornament of Autumn, they are not gene- 
rally iu healthy spendinr till fostered by the evening dews and damps of September, aud in 
this season, no purl of the vegetable world can exceed them in elegance of form, and gentle- 
ness of frahricatiou ; but these fragile cliildreu of the earth are beauties of an hour, 
" Tr.iiisient as 1!ie morniii;; dew, 
"They glitter and eNhiilp, 
and must be viewed before advancing age changes all their features."* They may now be 
found on decaying branches aud jilantsof all kind.s, in woods, pa.stuies, indeed in all situations 
and on almost all substances; they are a'ways interesting, frequently exquisitely lieautiful, 
and many of them present the most singular objects for the Micro.scope". IVIany of the species 
may be preserved by covering them with clean and finely sifted sand, and drying them in a 
stove or oven, of a moderate heat. 
Many kinds of Sea-weed, {Fucus, Conferva, Sfc.) will be best found after the storms, wliirh 
take place about the Equinox, as those which grow iu deep water will frequently be llnowii 
onshore. These are easily preserved; the larger kinds merely tequirhig to he rinsed in fresh 
water, and hung up to dry, and then wrap'ped np in brown papiT. The smaller and more de- 
licate kinds should be floated in a vessel of water, and the paper they are intended to be fixed 
on gently slid under them, it should then be gradually raised so as to let the water run off, and 
leave the niant entirely Sj)read on t'ne paper. They will in general adhere sutiiciently to the 
paper, without gum, or any further trouble, and need only be left to dry, 
ENTOMOLOGY. 
The author of the "Journal of a Naturalist,'' recommends Prnssic Acid as tlic quickest, and 
therefore the best, method of killing insects. He says, "A crow-quill must be sfiaped into a 
point, like a rat!ier long pen; this point dipped into Prussic Acid, aud an incision made with it 
immediately beneath the head, into the middle of the .shoulders of the creature, so as to admit 
the fluid into the body of the insect. Immediately after this, in every in»tance in wh.ich 1 have 
tried it, a privation of sensation appears to take place, the corjioreal action of the creature 
ceasing, a feeble tremulous motion of the antenna', being alone perceptible; and these parts 
seem to be the last fortress that is abandoned by tensation, as they are the primary joirciidc of 
sensibility, vvhen life is perfect ; extinction of animation eiisuer, not a mere suspension, but an 
annihilation of every power, muscular and vital." 
* ".loiiriial of a Natoralisl," an amusing and in«tniotive \\\\vV. in nhi.-h will bp foiird nia. li ir,;.i i rslinp 
i ■.fornmlicn, eii this and most other branches of Natuijl Ili^torv. 
