October 21, 1880. ] JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER . 371 
without receiving a check of any kind, the flowers to be con¬ 
stantly picked off until the size required is obtained. 
Primulas are well grown here, as are also specimen plants of 
Chrysanthemums. In one of the Orchid houses I noticed a good 
variety of Sobralia macrantha in flower. Roses are planted in 
every available space in the cooler houses, and produce a con¬ 
tinuous supply of flowers for cutting, chiefly Marshal Niel and 
Gloire de Dijon. 
There were some strong well-ripened Vines in pots in a span- 
roofed pit; and in an adjoining division was a plant of Black 
Hamburgh, bearing large bunches of first-class Grapes. The most 
pleasing feature, to my mind, out of doors was the rosery, where 
the Rose beds were carpeted with Stocks and Mignonette, Asters 
and Phlox Drummondi. The general keeping of these extensive 
gardens is very creditable to Mr. Lindsay.—J. U. S. 
CHAPTERS ON INSECTS FOR GARDENERS.—No. 13. 
NEW SERIES. 
Although it is an exceedingly scarce British insect, a few 
words of notice may be bestowed upon a remarkable beetle 
allied to the Sunshin- 
ers referred to in our 
last article, especially 
as a naturalist (the 
Rev. J. G. Wood), has 
expressed his opinion 
that “ an entomolo¬ 
gist would be doing 
a patriotic act by 
bringing over a num¬ 
ber of them from the 
Continent, and turn¬ 
ing them out to get 
their living in Eng¬ 
land.” For one thing 
he believes these bee¬ 
tles, were they esta¬ 
blished amongst us, 
would help to dimi¬ 
nish the numbers of 
some of the hairy ca¬ 
terpillars that are 
known to be destruc¬ 
tive to vegetation. As 
a rule birds avoid ca¬ 
terpillars that are 
hairy or spiny, and 
the Ichneumon flies 
also escape more fre¬ 
quently than other 
caterpillars owing to 
their protective coat. 
This beetle bears the 
name of Calosoma 
sycophanta, and it is 
about an inch in 
length, with a head 
and thorax of very 
deep violet,and wing- 
cases of golden green. 
Hence when a swarm 
of the species is on the wing in one of those Fir woods to which 
they have a special liking, the display is very beautiful. Indeed 
it is asserted that were it not for the services of C. sycophanta 
and its larva many of the Pine and Fir woods of the Continent 
would soon be desolate owing to the rapid multiplication of 
several species of social caterpillars, particularly those of the 
Processionary Moth and the Gipsy. It is said that in some 
seasons the caterpillars appear in such hosts upon the Pines that 
a person walking through the woods hears on every side a creak¬ 
ing sound which is the result of the thousands of jaws busily at 
work. Upon these the larva of C. sycophanta makes attacks—an 
unpleasing creature in its aspect, black and scaly, but armed with 
mandibles which are most effective in caterpillar slaughter. It 
will gorge itself, not only with larvae, however, but with pupae 
also, and it not unusually seeks out and kills, besides these Lepi- 
dopterous larvae, that of the Pine sawfly (Lophyrus Pini), an 
insect which does considerable harm, and which is not uncommon 
in Britain. But it is certainly curious that this useful beetle, so 
abundant in various parts of the Continent, should continue very 
rare here. 
We proceed to another group of water beetles called Philhy- 
drida (or water-lovers), resembling the water beetles previously 
described, but having short and clubbed antennae. Some of these are 
carnivorous, though most of them feed upon vegetable substances 
growing or in a state of decay. Our largest British beetle next to 
the Stag beetle (Lucanus Cervus), a species of very different habit, 
is the black water beetle named Hydrons piceus, an insect which 
may be introduced into the aquarium, for it merely nibbles the 
leaves of the plants, and will not wage w r ar upon its companions, 
as does the Dytiscus or water tiger. The larva is predaceous, 
however, destroying water snails and various insects, and after a 
life of much longer duration than that of the beetle into which it 
developes, it forms a cocoon in the earth beside the stream that 
has been its home. There are several genera of much smaller 
beetles, concerning which we need only say that the majority 
have legs adapted for crawling as well as swimming, and their 
habits lead them to quit the water frequently, gliding amongst 
the moss and grass near ditches or in marshy places. 
The beetles of the next family, the Necrophaga, come in closer 
relation to the garden and other haunts of man. “ Lovers of the 
dead,” or ‘Dovers of filth,” as another Greek name given to them 
implies, they are yet seldom unclean or offensive in themselves, 
and in the great sys¬ 
tem of Nature they 
perform a duty that 
is by no means insig¬ 
nificant. Death and 
decay must occur in 
the animal and vege¬ 
table worlds, and 
many beetles have it 
assigned them as their 
life business to re¬ 
move or decompose 
what might other¬ 
wise infect the air. 
A few of the Necro¬ 
phaga have excep¬ 
tional habits, but the 
bulk of them act as 
scavengers, the bury¬ 
ing beetles being a 
leading type. These 
sturdy beetles of the 
genus Necrophorus 
are usually banded 
with yellowish red 
and black, as in that 
common species the 
Sexton, N. Yespillo. 
By means of a deli¬ 
cate sense of smell 
(as is supposed) bury¬ 
ing beetles discover 
on the earth or on 
grass the dead bodies 
of small quadrupeds, 
birds, or frogs ; and 
working generally in 
couples, though now 
and then a party of 
six or eight has been 
observed, they inter 
these in the soil. Should the object be lying on grass or stony 
ground the beetles will drag it, with some labour, to a spot where 
it can be conveniently interred. The principal part of the work 
very suitably is performed by the male insect, which sets about 
the task in a methodical way, first digging furrows round the 
animal, then burrowing beneath he throws up the earth so as to 
form a rampart about it; next he stands upon the animal and 
presses it down, but should it not seem to have sunk enough more 
earth is removed from under it, and finally it is covered with 
the earth, which is trodden-in by the beetles. All being now ready 
they descend to the carcase, upon which they feast, and in which 
the female deposits her eggs. The larvae of burying-beetles are long 
and worm-like, the legs almost imperceptible ; but on the segments 
are elastic horny plates, by which they push themselves along. 
Beetles that are placed in the genus Silpha have had the English 
name of Sextons given to them by one author. The French name, 
equivalent to Shield Beetles, is more appropriate, for they have a 
flattened extension of the thorax that projects above the head; 
and although some of them hunt not dead animals, there is a great 
variety of habit amongst them. The Silphae are smaller than the 
Necrophori, and very agile in their movements. S. obscura almost 
Fig. 69. —Silpha quadriptjnctata. 
