THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
175 
ideas of insects would naturally be 
almost confined to flies, cockroaches, 
crickets, bugs, and fleas, all these insects 
having long ago hacl the freedom of the 
city presented to them, though we fear 
owing to the neglect of some official no 
record of the presentation is preserved in 
the archives at the Chamberlain’s office. 
Those who see the fewest insects, and 
the least variety, naturally would be 
about the last persons to turn their atten- 
tion to entomology, and we suspect it is 
principally from this cause, that whereas 
Eton and Harrow are well represented 
by entomologists, Rugby is so lament- 
ably deficient. We may wish that the 
Etonians and Harrovians showed more 
pluck; for some specially say, “Please, 
don’t insert my name,” and others are so 
extremely bashful that they won’t even 
let us know their names and “ par conse- 
quence:” their letters lie behind the fire 
with other “ anonymous communica- 
tions” unnoticed, and often unread. 
Now we have been endeavouring to ac- 
count for the paucity of Rugbsean in- 
sect-hunters; and then the thought came 
across us perhaps the soil is bad for 
insects and produces none, and then we 
remembered a recent letter we had re- 
ceived from Warwickshire, from a mag- 
nate of the entomological world whilst 
visiting there, and how he complained 
that he was then in the Pandemonium 
of corn-fields, fat cattle, and stout gra- 
ziers, and how he mourned for the Para- 
dise of the fens of Cambridgeshire so rich 
in insect life : then just as we were 
putting our notions together on the sub- 
ject we stumbled on the following la- 
mentable picture of Rugby and its 
neighbourhood in one of Dr. Arnold’s 
letters: — “We have no hills; no plains; 
not a single wood, and but one single 
copse ; no heath ; no down ; no rock ; no 
river ; no clear stream ; scarcely any 
flowers, for the lias is particularly poor 
in them ; nothing but one endless mono- 
tony of enclosed fields and hedge-row 
trees.” Is it wonderful that the dullness 
of the aspect of the country reacts on the 
brains of those who, if more fortunately 
situated, would eutomologize ? But let 
us not be hasty: hedges and hedge-row 
trees will produce insects, and should be 
hunted accordingly. But is the Flora of 
Rugby really so poor? We should like 
to see a list of the plants found wild 
within a distance of three miles from the 
School. Can any one send us such a 
list? We will give a ‘World of In- 
sects’ for the best list, and a ‘ June’ for 
the second best. We don’t mean that 
we will give an unlimited quantity of in- 
sects for the one, nor a month of summer 
for the other, but the above are the titles 
of two little books which many of our 
readers may be glad to have, more espe- 
cially if they feel they obtain them as a 
reward for their own diligence. 
“How about Winchester?” we hear 
somebody say. That we must reserve for 
another occasion. Up to the present 
time, though Winchester possesses many 
of the features which Rugby wants, it 
does not appear particularly rich in ento- 
mologists: perhaps, with the rich and 
varied flora of the chalk, insects are so 
plentiful that they confuse the incipients 
— perhaps ! 
Committee of the House of Tine*. 
This committee met on Wednesday, 
the 20th inst. Fuseipunctella was called 
to the chair. 
The Chairman, on opening the pro- 
ceedings, said that the proper course to 
pursue would be for Merdella to appear 
by counsel, and that after his counsel 
had been heard, other counsel who wished 
to enlighten the committee could be 
heard in reply. (Hear, hear.) 
Mr. Cooke, N.C., then rose and said 
he appeared as counsel for Merdella. 
He believed he could lay such a case be- 
fore the committee that their vote would 
be unanimous that Merdella must be ad- 
