THE DEATH'S HEAD MOTH AND BEES. J 
A full-grown lime is another tree which in its unclothed 
state presents a grand sight, with its lower branches gracefully 
pendent, and the upper ones springing from the trunk at an 
acute angle and arranged in a most picturesque manner. An 
avenue of well-grown limes in winter is a thing of beauty. 
Graceful as is the birch in summer foliage, its appearance 
when denuded of leaves in winter affords a beautiful sight, 
in consequence of the pendent form of its branches. The 
white colour of the bark, in some of the larger trees espe- 
cially, adds very much to their beauty. 
I need hardly refer to the fine appearance of other trees 
familiar to us in winter, such as the elm, ash, chestnut, syca- 
more, and plane, but I should like to draw attention to one 
tree, viz., the larch, which attracts so much interest in the 
early spring, when it sends forth its beautiful greenery. In 
winter, however, a well-grown larch presents a beautiful ap- 
pearance ; its branches spring trom its straight and towering 
stem, bending downwards in a uniform manner at first, and 
then curving upwards: as the successive branches proceed from 
the trunk to its extremity they become shorter and shorter, so 
that the tree forms a beautiful cone, which is very pleasing to 
the eye. 
Of course the various kinds of fir trees, either grouped to- 
gether or growing singly, add much to the picturesqueness of 
the landscape, but the appearance of these is obvious to all, 
and does not afford the changes that obtain in deciduous trees, 
to the characteristics of which I wish more particularly to draw 
attention. 
Henry Smith. 
THE DEATH’S HEAD MOTH AND BEES. 
FRIEND of mine, who is living in one of the suburban 
roads of Gravesend, Kent, and who is a beekeeper, had 
his attention drawn to the hives one July evening, 
by a curious sound which seemed to come from their 
vicinity, and which was not like the humming or murmuring of 
the bees. On near approach he discovered the cause of the 
sound : it arose from the presence of a specimen of the huge moth 
called the Death’s-head. This insect had evidently been drawn 
to the spot by the odour of the honey, and it was endeavouring 
to gain access to a hive in order to regale itself with the sweet 
treasure stored therein. The insect has not occurred lately in 
Gravesend, though it has been taken here before, and also the 
'Caterpillar of the species, feeding in potato fields, where, by the 
labourers, it is oddly named the “ lokus ” (locust). 
The fact is interesting, because, in this investigating, sceptical 
age, people have pooh-poohed or doubted the statements made 
