238 
v.— NAT UR ALISTvS CALENDAR. 
FOR NOVEMBER. 
EOTANV. 
Th e season of flowers is now over, those which yet remain look sirkly and languid ; the trees are 
becoming bare of leaves, and every thing bef^ins to wear a gloomy and melancholy appearance. 
The hedges, however, are occasionally enlivenedwith the scarlet fruit of the Ro.ve and Hawthorn. 
It is to the Class Cryptogamia or CeUularcs, that the Botanist must now tarn for objects of 
interest, and his attention, nolon;;er eiii;ro.ssed by the more showy parts of the veiretable world, 
will find sufficient employment and gratiQcatiou in examining the highly interesting and won- 
derfully varied forms of these si ugii4ar productions.— The MCSCI, (Mosses,) by their vivid 
green, the variety of their forms, the delicacy of their fruit stems, and above all, by the contrast 
they offer to the "faded and russet colour of the herbage at this season, cannot fail to attract his 
attention. They are to be found on banks, stones, rocks, trees, and walls; in rivers audins'ag-- 
nantwalers — TlieHei atictE, too, are well worthy examinaiion. Some of them, as Liver- 
wort, Marchantia, are found in damp places, on the inside of wells aud watercourses; and others 
as Jwnyjrwianni'fl, among moss, in woods, shady places, and bogs. The Lichenes, (Lichens,) 
will be found universally distributed, as scarcely a stone, a tree, or wall, if it has been long ex- 
posed to the weather, is to be found without tliem. The beautiful "weather tints," (as they 
are called,) of old buildings, are occasioned by varioiis species of Lichens. The sober grey 
tint, which we so much admire, on churches, and other old buildings, is chiefly produced by 
the Kinodina alra, and the rich yellow on tree stocks, and walls, by the Parmelia parie/ina. 
The Ramalina fraxinea and fastiqiafi are verv conspicuous on old trees. The Reip.-deer Lichen 
{Cladonia rangiferinaj so useful as the chief food of that valuable animal, is not luifrequent ou 
moors and heaths, and the Iceland Lichen, Cctraria fslandica, so well known as yielding a nu- 
tritive jelly, of use in consumptive cases, and which forms an important article of diet with the 
Icelanders, is found on the tops of tbe highest mountains in Scotland, Wales, and the North of 
England. Several of the species are useful in dyeing, and it is highly probable that many 
might be useful in medicine. — The Fungi are still numerous; the Agarics, by the variety of 
their vivid colours, give the fields the appearance of being studded with flowers, while " the 
deep recesses of unfrequented woods are gemmed witli the varied beauties of Hydnum, Helvelta, 
Auricularia, Peziza, iMdularia, ^c. The cones of the Fir in a state of decay, particularly of 
the Scotch Fir, Piaus sylvestris, present the beautiful Hydnum auriscalpium. never found on 
the plants of any other Genus. Peziza fructigena spangles the external covering of the Beech- 
nut, Acorn, Chesnut, and other coriaceous fruits ; and the Peziza nivea, with its delicate mi- 
iiute cups of pearly whiteness, is found on the withered stems of the Common Nettle, Urtica 
JOioica, and similar herbaceous plants. But it would be almost an endless task to attempt a 
detail of the myriads which spring from the deep vegetable mould of old and undisturbed plan- 
tations. The contemplation of objects so full of interest and novelty, is calculated greatly to 
rouse the reflecting mind to a consideration of the beautiful shades by which the visible organiza- 
tion of the vegetable kingdom appears to be carried to that mysterious point, where a new cha- 
racter seems to arise, forming, as it were, a link between the vegetable and animal creation; a 
contemplation greatly worthy tli<? attention of enquiring minds " " 
Much uncertainty prevails with regard to the boundariesof the different Orders and Genera of 
Celtulares, particulaiiy Lichenes and Fungi. Professor Lindley has promised a volume on the 
subject, as a completion of his Synopsis, which it is hoped will place them on a more settled 
foundation. 
ZOOLOGY. 
INSECTS.— Most of those insects which have not been killed by the frosts, have now retired 
to their winter habitations, aud become torpid: a few mild days and a gleam of sunshine are 
however, suificient to bring many of them fortli for a short time. A few moths may now be 
found ; as the Winter Moth, Geomelra brumaria, and the Flat-bedy Moth, Geometra applana. 
The Caterpillars of most of the Lepidoptene have now either taken the Chrysalis form, and may 
be found on window frames, and under any projection on walls and house sides, or buried in the 
ground ; or such as were hatched too late to do this, have spun themselves warm winter nests, 
in which they live in societies, as Porthesia curifitia and chrysorrhoea ; these may be found on 
twigs of trees. The Entomologist will do well to search for these winter habitations, as he will 
not only secure to himself specimens of many species he could not otherwise easily obtain, but 
will find much to interest and excite his admiration in the various contrivances to ensure the 
safety and comfort of their inhabitants. 
BIRDS.— The winter has now set in, and the marshes and feus being frozen, those birds which 
seek their subsistence in such places are driven to the banks of rivers for a supply ot food. 
If the frost in the north is suddenly severe, large flights of Woodcocks are sometimes seeu this 
month on tlie coasts, "where they remain one day to recruit their strength, and then disperse." 
The Hawk-Owl, Utryx bruchyotus, arrives from the northern countries about the same time as 
the Woodcock, from which circumstance it is sometimes called the Woodcock-Owh Some 
singular circumstances are recorded of this Owl in the new edition of Montagu's Ornithological 
Dictionary, p. -^43, "A few years ago, mice were in such vast abundance in the neighbom-hood 
of Bridgewater, as to destroy a large portion of vegetation ; and in the autumn a great many 
Hawk-Owls resorted to the plate in order to prey upon them. 7 hey were found in the fields 
among high giass " At jtage 30o is the following extract iiom an old author, (Childrey.) "In 
tbe yeai- 1580, at Hallowtide, an army of mice so over-ran the marshes near South Minsterjthat 
they eat up the grass to the very roots. But at length a great nvmber of strange painted Owls 
cami and devoured all the mice. The like happened in Essex, in 1648.' A similar instance 
is also recorded this year. (See Hort. Reg, page 233.) The instinct which can direct these 
birds, natives of a distant country, to the place where their food is most abundant, is truly won- 
deriul, and deserving of investigation. 
Tlie Dotti rel, CharadTius Morinellus, visits us for a short time on its wiy to ths south. Tne 
Jack Snipe, Scolopax Gallinula, has now arrived; and the Ptarmigan, Tetrao lagopus, has as- 
sumed its wiuter dress of while. 
• IntrnHii^tion tn fl><- Fl..rr,.«t. r,f ll,» I inn»jn "ivvtcm nf Rolinl- hi- Mrs I.'ardcastlc. 4tO. 1830. 
