l^^iS^r 
THE GARDENEES' AND NATURALISTS* CALENDAR FOR APRIL. 
159 
by the; Cuckoo's magic note ; he tells us, as plain as 
bird can tell, that there is a good time coming ; he loves 
to haunt those woods and plantations that border upon 
heaths and commons. 
Among-st the reeds and sedges that grow by the sides 
of rivers, ditches, and other aquatic places, a very in- 
teresting, and, to my idea, a happy little bird maj' be 
heard. To see him is another thing, for that is a diffi- 
culty, although he wUl allow you to apijroach within a 
few feet of his retreat — to discover him amongst the 
thick cover by which he is smTounded is almost an im- 
possibility. You may hear his fimny little song of 
" Chid, chid, chiddy — chid, chid, chiddy!" proceeding 
from the thick cover, and you may imagine that by 
striking near the spot with yoiu' stick, or flinging in 
a stone, you can di'ive him from his retreat — vain 
hope ; a pause in his song succeeds the blow — expecta- 
tion is at the highest, when the note of the Swallow 
falls upon the ear, it appears to proceed from the centre 
of the bush — strange place for such a bird — that is 
followed in quick succession by the notes of the Sky- 
lark, Sparrow, Keed Bunting {Embcrha schmnidus), 
and many others, although no such birds are to be seen 
near the spot. This, kind reader, may appear to you 
like magic, and so it is ; it is the magic of your Chid, 
chid, chiddy friend, the Sedge Warbler {Salicaria 
phragmitis), or Mocking Bii-d, as merry a little fellow 
as ever was decked in feathers. H. W. 
Ichthyology. — The noblest aspiration of man is 
his thirst after knowledge, and his chief characteristic 
the power which he possesses of communicating this 
knowledge to others by records, which not only en- 
lighten his cotemporaries, but, sur"\dving the time in 
which they were written, render the attainments of 
each age subser\'ient to those of succeeding generations ; 
so that not only individuals, but the race is susceptible 
of progressive improvement. At no previous period 
has this aspiration after knowledge been so general and 
intense, or the records calculated to diffuse it, so 
numerous — so almost overwhelming as at present. 
And, strange to say, that while the press teems with 
elementary works, upon almost all departments of 
natm'al history, it may be said that the language 
possesses no work devoted to the consideration of fishes 
as a R.iCE of beings. I Avish opportunity was aflordcd 
to me of entering fully into the subject of Ichthyology ; 
and, avoiding, as much as possible, the diy abstraction 
of the science, to lay before my readers an account of 
the structure and functions of that great class of beings. 
The study of Ichthyology is vast in its extent, and 
engrossing in the interest it excites, as involving in its 
pm-suit considerations of the greatest importance and 
utility, not only as far as regards the place which fishes 
hold in the mighty scale of creation, hut also in respect 
to theii' economical and commercial relations. Whether 
I may at another time caiTy into effect my "washes 
depends upon a variety of circumstances ; meanwhile 
I propose to offer to my present readers some desidtory 
sketches concerning the structure and functions of fish, 
in the hope of attracting the attention of the student to 
this most interesting depaiinnent of natural history, in 
which he cannot fail to find unanswerable illustrations 
of the wisdom, and goodness, and power of the Creator. 
I must, however, at this time, merely endeavour to 
impress upon my reader, that, independently of aU the 
other attractions of the pursuit of Ichthyology, in study- 
ing the economy of Fishes, he is studying, indirectly, 
that of animated natui'e in general. Nor, perhaps, is 
any individual department of Zoology so much adapted 
as this to give him an insight into the science in general. 
Ranking, as Fishes do, as the lowest of the vertebrate 
ti-ibes, they are, of course, but one remove from the 
avertebrate ; and their relation to both is, consequently, 
so intimate that they may be said to form a kind of 
atepprng-stone between the two great families into 
which the whole animal kingdom is divided. From 
this point, equi-distant almost from the lowest and from 
the highest in the scale, our prespect is, perhaps, less 
limited than from any other. In studying the averte- 
brate animals; in general, so vast is the expanse between 
them and the highest order of vertebrate, that the 
imagination often pants in vain to trace any analogy; 
and the same thing occm-s if we begin with the latter, 
and endeavour to establish points of connection between 
them and the insignificant beings at the other extremity 
of the chain. But, beginning with the study of Fishes, 
we stand, as it were, upon a point in the centi-e of the 
immense prospect, and ai-e enabled, without any great 
effort, to grasp the whole. Nothing is too low, nothing 
is too high, for om- immediate application. We recognise 
everywhere the relations in which the tribe stands, as 
well to the most abject, as to the most exalted of created 
beings ; and the soul is raised at once to the praise and 
adoration of that Being whose might, wisdom, and 
goodness are everywhere conspicuous, and who has 
made man capable of perceiving, in some degree, the 
infinite perfection of His manifold works. 
But I must not more digress. This is April, and it 
is now that river fish issue forth from their wintry re- 
ti'eats, and glide softly and quickly — now rising, now 
sinking, and now progressing swiftly onwards through 
the liquid element. The angler's season commences. 
He puts his rods, and lines, and hooks, in order ; and 
takes care that his taclde is all right for the ensuing- 
campaign. The weather, however, is stiU too cold for 
these "fauy creatm-es" to disport freely and gladly in 
the waters. The perch — the bright-eyed perch, with 
fius of Tyrian dye — scarcely ventures even towards the 
sru'face ; for the heaven is ever and anon o'ereast, as if 
"gleams of sunshine from a wintry sky" still illu- 
mined, rather than warmed, the face of creation. There- 
fore does the " yellow carp, in scales bedropped with 
gold," not expose himself to the insidious bait of the 
angler's temptation; and the "swift trout, diversified 
with crimsoned stains," will as yet not rise to, or dart 
at, the most nicely adjusted, but stUl delusive fly. The 
Naiads of our streams, during the precarious month of 
April, therefore, afford little sport. The winter has 
scarcely yet elapsed ; although their bright scales al- 
ready begin to brighten, and become more deeply 
coloiu-ed and variegated as the sun rises in the ascend- 
ant. Nevertheless, besides the Carp, the Perch, and 
the Trout, we have in this mouth Eoach and Dace, and 
the tyi'annous Pike, whose maiwellous voracity renders 
him the terror of the finny tribe. The Bream, Flounder, 
and Pilchard, also, are now in what goirrmands con- 
sider prime condition ; and Herrings and Sprats, also, 
come forth to be offered up at the shrine of culinary 
art. It was given to man that he should have domi- 
nion over the birds of the air, the beasts of the fields, 
and the fish of the sea ; and the natm-al instincts and 
habits of each class and order of created beings, sug- 
gest, every successive mouth, reflections which lead us 
in admiration onwards from Natm-e up to Nature's God. 
J. S. B. 
Entomology. — The increasing temperature of the 
season exercises a threefold influence on the development 
of the insects : firstly, upon such as are now hatched 
from eggs deposited in the preceding autumn by the 
parent insects, which died immediately after they had 
completed that operation ; secondly, upon such species 
as were hatched from the eggs during the preceding 
autumn, but which have remained in the larva or cater- 
pillar state until the present time, passing the winter 
months in a state of lethargy ; and thirdly, those which, 
having passed through the larva state in the preceding 
summer or autunm, have remained throughout the 
'mw^ 
