286 
VI .— NATURALIST S Cx\LEXDAR. 
FOR DECEMBER. 
BOTANY. 
This montli, to tlie Botanist, is one of the most barren in the year ; it produces few new ob- 
jects. The Lichens and a few Mosses are almost the only vegetables m a state of fructification. 
Amona: the latter may be mentionefl the following, Btixbavmia npliylhr, PItasciim muUicapsu- 
lare, P. mitticum, Gymnostomum ciliatum, Orikotrichum aristutum, Hypnum prirloiigum, H 
plumosum, H. schreberi, and Bryum roseum. 
The berries of the Holly, Ilex aquifolium , are now ripe, and their brijrht scarlet makes a rich 
contrast to the dark green of the leaves. The berries of that singular and interesting parasite, 
the Misseltoe, Viscum album, are also ripe, and both afford food to various species of the 
Thrush family. 
The structure of the buds of trees, the investigation of their modes of defence against cold> 
and of the various forms in which their leaves are folded, form an interesting and very appro- 
priate study for this time of the year; indeed there are many parts of physiological Botany 
which may now be advantageously studied. 
The dried specimens of plants gathered in the summer should now be mounted and arranged 
according to the directions given in August. The Mosses may either be pressed and treated as 
other plants, or they may be folded up in small )>aper packets, properly labelled, which is per- 
haps preferable, as they will at any time, by immersion in water, revive so as to be fit for 
examination. Should the former mode, however, be preferred, they should be pressed imme- 
diately after being gathered, as they are apt to shrivel by exposure to the air. 
ZOOLOGY. 
INSECTS. — The December Moth, Jt>iO<;n*/fr/)o;)K/i, may be found in the beginning of the 
month. " It is remarkable that in several other species of Moths, which appear in the perfect 
state in the winter months, the female is not furnished as the male is, with wings. Tliougli 
considering the habits of female Insects, this is not to be much wondered at, for nature leaves 
it to the instinct of the males to find them out; and while they remain motionless, stationary, 
or nearly so, the males are pursuing their flight ill every direction, continually on tlie wing, 
and seldom alighting. Besides tlie Moth just mentioned, one or two others now make their 
appearance; and in open weather, the Common Gnat, Culex pipiens, and several of its conge- 
ners may be observed on the windows of rooms, or dancing under tlie shade of trees." — ( Comp. 
Aim., 1829. J The Yellow. hue Quaker Moth, i\octiiaflaiiIinea, appears towards the end of 
the month. 
BIRDS. — Should the weather prove severe, those Birds which in summer frequent woods, and 
solitary places, now approach human habitations, and if the cold be intense, even venture 
within the doors ; — among these may be mentioned the Redbreast, Sylvia rubicula ; the \Vient 
Sylvia troglodytes; and tlie Pipit Lark, Alduda trivialis. Many of the rarer winter birds, 
/nay now be occasionally met with ; as the Hawfinch, Lozia coccolhraustes, which dimes in 
small flocks, at uncertain periods, and feeds on the fruit of the Hawthorn ; the Chatterer, Am- 
pelis garrulus, a very rare bird; the Snow Bunting, or Snow-flake, t'mberiza nivalis ; and tlie 
Siskin, Fringilla spinus, this bird is not regular in its migrations, it conies in flocks, and feeds 
on the fruit of the Alder, ^//i«s /;/i/?)'/!osfl!. The Bramb ling, Fringilla montifTingilla, is .some, 
times seen in large flocks, ))articularly on the co;ist3 of Kent and Sussex Many species of 
Sea-fowl, and other water Birds, will now be found on such rivers as remain unfrozen, as the 
Goosander, Mergus Merganse; many species of Wild Ducks and Geese, Anus; Gulls, Lams; 
Divers, Colymbus ; Grebes, Podiceps ; Terns, Sterna ; and others which are only met with 
here when the winter in the northern countries of Europe is uiicoinmonly severe. 
QUADRUPEDS. — Many animals now become torpid or inactive. The Hedgehog, Erinn- 
ceus EuropiFUS, forms a warm and deep habitation of moss and leaves, and there, coiled up 
like a ball, it sleeps away the winter, awakening at short intervals to take food. The Dor- 
mouse, Myoxus muscardinus, which also becomes torpid, lays up a store to subsist on during 
the winter. Bats, Vespertilio, retire to caves and old buildings, and there, closely wrapped up 
in the membranes of their fore feet, or wings, they hang suspended by their hind feet, till the 
reviving lii;ii of spring brings them forth in pnisiiit of tbiir insect prev. 
