312 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
July 27. 
Mr. Allis, for which a vote of thanks svns passed. The 
second volume of M. Bobemau’s valuable monograph 
on the family of the Tortoise Beetles [Oassididce), was 
also presented by the Author, a Swedish entomologist 
of eminence, and curator of the Entomological depart¬ 
ment of the Royal Musuem, at Stockholm, who has 
recently been on a visit to this country to inspect the 
Linnaean and Banksian collections, as well as those of 
the British Museum, and several private collections, 
for the purpose of rendering his work as complete as 
possible. The Secretary also announced that a new 
part of the Transactions was ready for delivery to the 
members. 
Mr. Samuel Stevens exhibited a nearly full-grown 
Caterpillar, of the rare Notodonta Ccirmelita, which he 
had reared from eggs deposited by the female which he 
had exhibited alive at the May meeting of the Society. 
Many of the young larvie hatched from the same batch 
of eggs had died at an early age from a difficulty in 
shedding their skins. Likewise a beautiful Beetle, 
Pyrocliroa pectiniconiis, recently taken by Mr. Burton, 
in Scotland, quite new to this country, although com¬ 
mon in Germany and Sweden. The same gentleman 
had also met with two or three new species of Microlm 
pidoptera in Scotlaud. Mr. Stevens also exhibited a 
specimen of the singular Beetle, Damaster Blaptoides, 
from Japan; an insect of very great rarity, of which 
only four specimens are known. 
Mr. Janson exhibited various good species of Coleop- 
tera, captured by himself during the excursion of the 
Society to Darenth Wood, in the preceding month, as 
well as six specimens of the very rare Hypulus quer- 
cinus, which he had captured on the stump of a decayed 
tree at Colney Hatch. Also, various Coleoptera and 
Lepidoptera, collected by Mr. Eoxcrof't, in Perthshire, 
intended for distribution among the subscribers to his 
Excursion. 
A number of specimens of the new Irish Burnet 
Moth ( Antroccra minos), taken iu Galway, were sent for 
distribution among the members, by Mr. Moore. Mr. 
Douglas exhibited a new species of Lithooolletes, reared 
from the Vaccinium vitis-idea; and Mr E. Smith, several 
very rare species of Bees, and other Hymenoptera. 
Amongst these was Nomada arrnata, an insect in Dr. 
Leach’s collection in the British Museum, of which no 
subsequent captures had been made, and which had, 
consequently, been regarded, like many other of Dr. 
Leach’s rarities, as a foreign species, which he had in¬ 
advertently introduced into his British cabinet: speci- 
| mens, had, however, recently been captured by Mr. 
i Dossitor, near Swansea, and by Mr. Sam. Stevens, in 
Devonshire, in company with Andrena Hattorfiana; of 
Tenthredo cinyulata, a species of which females often 
occur in very great numbers without a single male 
being seen, he had also obtained the latter sox, together 
with a new British species of Crabro. 
Mr. G. R. Waterhouse observed, iu reference to the 
capture of the Nomada arrnata, that Dr. Leach’s dis¬ 
puted British species were, one by one, being re-dis¬ 
co vered; and he noticed that the fine Carabys iyVHcatus 
had been several times captured in Dr. Leach’s locality, 
near Spitchweek, Devonshire. 
Mr. Stainton called attention to a memoir by M. 
Boheman, in the Swedish Academy’s Transactions, in 
which a number of new Swedish insects of different 
orders were described, some of which would, probably, 
eventually prove to be natives of this country. Amongst 
the rest was a small insect described as Lepidopterous, 
and as belonging to the genus Nepticula (N. quadra- 
maculella). Mr. Stainton had, however, recently ob¬ 
tained a British species of this insect, which he regarded 
as. 1 'ricliop tero us. 
Mr. Waterhouse read a paper containing descriptions 
and notes on the Australian species of the genus 
Amycterus, belonging to the family of the Weevils (Curcit- 
lurudce) ; and Mr. Westwood read descriptions, accom¬ 
panied by magnified figures, of four new species of the 
remarkable family Paussidce, from the collections of the 
Royal Museum, at Stockholm, and Mr. Dohrn, President 
of the Entomological Society of Stettin. Mr. Westwood 
also communicated some observations on the Natural 
History of various insects made by Mr. Varney. These 
consisted of notes on the habits of the common Wasp, 
detailing its mode of gnawing solid wood to manu¬ 
facture into the paper-like cover of its nest; its mode 
of capturing its prey; also on a colony of sand¬ 
burrowing Bees, and on the mining Caterpillars of the 
Rose-leaves. He had succeeded in discovering the 
situation of the cocoons of these larvae, which had 
escaped the observations of many previous entomo¬ 
logists. 
A discussion took place among the members, on the 
question, whether the common Wasp and Hornet really 
attack solid wood, or whether the papyraceous covering 
of their nests is not formed of rotten wood and fungus, 
an opinion which had been mentioned at a recent 
meeting of the Microscopical Society. The former 
opinion appeared to be generally entertained amongst 
the entomologists present, and Mr. Smith mentioued the 
destruction of a solid post by a colony of Hornets, 
which resorted to it, by preference, in great numbers. 
A notice was communicated by Mr. S. Stevens of the 
arrival of Mr. Wallace, at Singapore, and of the success 
he bad already met with in his researches, having 
captured as many as eighty species of Butterflies. 
MUSHROOMS. 
I think that our departmental writers, as a body, 
must be allowed, on all sides, to be at least a good- 
tempered and liberal race ; for cross each other how we 
will in the path of life, we never quarrel; and this is 
not mere policy, but cannot arise from any other source 
than that liberality of feeling, and total absence of 
all jealousy, which is so becoming in individuals, and 
surely to bo commended in any body of men, who, in 
aiming at one grand point—the pursuit of truth and 
the desire to propagate it—must, perforce, constantly 
run the risk of chafing each other. But when men 
know what they are writing about, feel perfect confi¬ 
dence in their motives and principles, and possess 
hearts enlarged by liberal feelings, together with minds 
widened by the habitude of drawing careful inferences, 
