60 
BLUEFIELDS. 
a shilling each. The animal of Cassis cannot be 
extracted in the ordinary way, owing to the narrow- 
ness of the aperture ; the shell must therefore be 
buried in the earth for a few weeks, after which the 
flesh may be shaken out, carrying with it the long 
horny operculum. 
In Helmet-shells buried for this purpose I found a 
hrachelytrous beetle which enjoys a very wide geo- 
graphical range. It is Stajphylinus {Creojphilus^ vil- 
losus, which is so abundant in Newfoundland, as to 
be quite a pest, crawling about and devouring the 
drying codfish ; it is there called the fish-fly. In 
Canada, and in Alabama (U. S,), I have also met 
with it, but rarely ; and now I trace it to Jamaica. 
The hrachelytra, however, are very scarce here, as 
are the carrion-eating beetles generally ; their place 
is probably supplied by the Aura vulture. I only 
on one other occasion met with this fetid and dis- 
gusting beetle. 
LUNAR RAINBOW. 
Jan. 22d. — This evening I had the pleasure of 
seeing, for the first time, that rare meteor, a lunar 
rainbow. The arch was large and perfect ; the 
southern limb was distinctly coloured, the northern 
just perceptibly ; the middle portion was destitute of 
colour, displaying only white light. 
THE LEAF OF LIFE. 
About a hundred yards from Bluefields-gate there 
grows by the roadside a considerable bed of Verea. 
