478 
VL— NA'riJRALlST\S CAIiEXDAR, 
FOR APRIL. 
BOTANY. 
This is oue of the most delightful months of the year, the alternation of heat and moisture, ol 
bright and sunny, with showery days, give a strong stimulus to vegetation, and nnmerotis 
plants begin to expand their flowers; most of our timber trees, and many fruit tree.s blossom 
this month, the fields are enlivened with those beautiful flowers, the Primrose, the Cowslij), and 
the Oxlip, and the woods and shady peaces with the \Vood Anemone. 
Among the plants in flower the following are the most remarkaLde:—Vernal Starwort, Calli- 
/ric4e Dfr/ifl, which gives a beautifully fresh green appearance to ditches and ponds in the 
spring; it is one of the few examples of tlie Linna*an Class, Mondndriax Pasque-flower 
Anemdns Pulsatilla; Wood Anemone, A. nemordsa ; Yellow Wood .4nemone, A. ranuiicii- 
loldes; Blue Mountain Anemone, J. appeainn; Wood Crowfoot, Ranunculus auTicdmvs ■, 
Green Hellebore, HclPborus vn-idis ; Bulbous Fumitory, Cory'dalis bulhdsa-. Common Lady- 
cress, Carddmine pratensis —Bitter Lady-cress, C. ainara, two beautiful plants, the latter grows 
on the edges of rivers; Early Winter Cress, Uarbarea prw'cox; Common Wall-cress, Arabis 
thalidna ; Hairy Violet, V)oli hirta; Marsh Violet, r. pal/istris ; Umbelliferous Jagged- 
Chick weed,Common Wood Sorrel, Oxalis AcetosHla, a delicate and 
elegant little plant, which offers one of the best illustrations of the “sleep of plants,” the 
leafets closing round the petiole at night, and rising again in the morning; Water Blinks, 
M&ntia fontuna; Moschatel, Adixa Moschut (Una ; Puiqrle Saxifrage, Saxlfraga oppositifjlia; 
Rue-leaved Saxifrage, <S. ; Bullace, Prunus insititia ; Spring- Cinquefoil, Foten- 
tilla verna; Wild Pear-tree, Py'r«.s co/n/rtif/iis ; Gooseberry, Ribes Grossuldriu ; Long-stalked 
Colstfoot, Tussila^o hybrida ; Butter-bur, T. Petdsites-, Ash, Fraxinus exAsior ■, Spring Gen¬ 
tian, Gentidna verna; Ivy-leaved Cyclamen, Cyclamen hcderifdlium: Primrose, pTunula 
vulgaris-, Oxlip, P. eldtior Cowslip, P. vpris Fingered Speedwell, reroiiica triphyllos ; 
Vernal Speedwell, V.verna-, Toothwort, Luthree'a squamdria Yellow Bugle, AjugaChamce. 
pitys; Common Birch, liHula alba, and Weeping Birch, B. p^ndala ; several species of 
Willow, (.Sd/jx;) the Beech, Fdgus sylvdticus ■ the Common Oak, and the Sessile-frnited Oak, 
Quercus R()bur,iLni sessilifidrai Early purple Orchis, Orchis mdscula Spider Orchis, 
found in dry, chalky, or gravelly pastures; Two-flowered Narcissus, N.bijtdrus-, 
Fritillary, Fritilldria Meledgris Wild Tulip, Tdlipa sylvhtris; Yellow Bethlehem-Star, 
Gdgea lutea-. Common Bethlehem-Star, Ornithdgalum umbelldtum-. Vernal Squill, Scilla 
verna; Early Sedge, Cdrex pree'cox Cotton Grass, Erijphorum augustifdliim dead polystdehion 
and Blue Moor-grass, Sesteria car idea. 
ZOOLOGY. 
INSECTS.—The following Butterflies may now be found:—the green-veined White, Pdnlia 
ndpi; the Early Turnip, P. the Turnip, P. ; and the Early Cabbage, P. Chari, 
clea; about gardens, the caterpillars feeding on various species of Brassica; the Orange-tip, 
P. carddmi/ics, on the various species of Lady-cress, (Carndmine): the Azure-Blue, Polydm- 
matus Argiolus; the Small Copper, Lycf-nri Phl>as-, and the Wall Butterfly, HippdrehiaMe- 
gxra. The Marvel-de.Jour Moth, Miselia aprilina; the Angle-sh.ades Moth, Phlogjphora 
meticuldsa, the larva; of which feed on the Wall-flower); the Gamma Moth, Plusia gamma -, 
the Emperor Moth, Saturnia pavdnia-, and the Twenty-plume Moth, Aldcita hexadactyla-, 
may now also be met with 
The Least Dragon-Fly, Libellula virgo; makes its appearance about the end of the month. 
The Mole Cricket, Gryllotdlpa vulgdris -, may be heara about the middle of the month sing¬ 
ing his love-lorn ditty in a low dull jarring uninterrupted note, not unlike that of the Night¬ 
jar, Caprimulgus europoeus, (Nyctichelidou europae'us, Rennie,) but more inward.— KiRBY 
AND Spence. 
The larvae of the Water Beetles leave the water and conceal themselves in the 
banks of ponds and ditches. 
The Garden Beetle CdraiMS hortensis-, and the Catchweed Beetle, Timdrchia tenebriedsa; 
and numerous species of Coleopterous insects (Beetles) may now be met with. 
BIRDS.—This month is one of peculiar interest to the Ornithologist; Birds are now seen to 
the greatest advantage; those which stay p'erraanently with us, are actively engaged in the 
great business of building or hatching, while others, which were migratory in the winter, be¬ 
gin to return to us as the weather grows warmer. To those who are fond of Nature, few plea- 
sures can be more delightful than a walk in the fields on a fine warm sunny morning this 
month; everything is full of life and joy,—plants are expanding their blossoms,—insects are 
resorting to tnem to feed on their juices,—while the birds are flitting from spray to spraj', and 
exulting in the return of spring. The arrival of the summer birds is also an object of interest 
to every one ; there are few who can view without pleasure the return of the Swallow and the 
Cuckoo, those certain harbingers of summer; while those elegant little birds, the Warblers, 
(Sylvia,) enliven both day and night w ith their varied .songs. 
The ” Architecture of Birds,” by( I’rofessor Rennie, an ^amusing little work, will at this 
time, be found particularly interesting. 
The Swallow, Hirundo rustica -, the IIou.se Martin, H. vrbica-, and the Sand Martin, II. 
ripdria, arrive generally in the second week, sometimes a little sooner or later, according to 
the season: particular winds also seem to have an effect in forwarding or ret.arding their ap- 
ptarance. The order of appearance of the different species does not seem to be regular, as 
sometimes one, and sometimes another of them arrives first. 
The Swift, Hir undo opus, (Cypselus murnrius,*) sometimes arrives at the end of the month, 
though seldom earlier than the 28th. 
* The Symr.i^ics re^er to I’rofejsor Rennie’s edition of .Vontagu’s Oi nitlK.'l'igical Di< tionivj-y. 
