December 12. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
195 
Game Fowls, of pure blood, with plumage that prevents ; 
their beiug placed under any of the above beads j 
Colours and markings must, indeed, be permitted to i 
j have a somewhat wide range in these birds; and figure, 
with courage, may be appealed to in evidence ol purity 
called in question on the former account. 
Thus, there are “ Cuckoo marked” Game Fowls, for 
which a pure ancestry is claimed, though they seldom 
| appear to advantage ; and we have seen good-looking 
black-and-white mottled birds, where the former colour 
took the place of the red, or yellow, in the “ Piles.” 
Very possibly, too, other additions to the list may be 
required; but those now described comprise all the 
generally-recognised sub-varieties. 
A heavy Cinnamon breed is not uucommon, with the 
cocks hen-tailed; but, if this latter feature is disliked 
in the Golden-spangled Hamburgh, where its presence 
might call for toleration on account ol the superior 
markings by which it is usually accompanied, it is still 
more objectionable in the Game Fowl, where no such 
advantage is gained, and so bad a substitute presented 
for the ample sickled tail that harmonises so well with 
the figure and carnage of the breed.—W. 
The December Meeting of the Entomological Society 
was held on the 4tli instant, H. Newman, Esq., in the 
Chair; and was very fully attended. 
A list of donations to the library, received siuce the 
last meeting, was read by the Secretary; alter which the 
President exhibited a remarkable specimen of Papilio 
Cardamines, the common Orange-tipped Butterfly, the 
upper surface of the wings of which, as well as the 
antennae and abdomen, agreed entirely with those of 
ordinary females; but, on the under surface, the fore 
wings on the right side of the body exhibited the 
orange spot of the males. 
A number of Photographic pictures, containing 
highly-magnified representations of various parts of 
insects, was exhibited by Mr. Pretsch, director of the 
Imperial Printing Establishment at Vienna; by whom 
the process of producing the photographs was explained, 
and by whom, also, a number of beautilul preparations 
of Entomological objects, as subjects for the microscope, 
was also exhibited. 
Mr. Westwood stated, that he had received a number 
of Entomological subjects, beautifully mounted as 
microscopical slides, from Mr. Menzel, of Zurich, in 
Switzerland, who had established a microscopical em¬ 
porium for the supply of such objects. He also stated, 
that the French photographers had commenced the 
publication of a work containing figures of various 
Zoological objects represented by photography; but that 
i the details of the insects (such as the joints of the tarsi, 
&c.), were not sufficiently distinct; as appeared also to 
be the case with the Vienna photographs. Mr. Curtis 
bore witness to the great value of this process for 
obtaining absolutely correct representations of some 
particular kind of objects, such as the veining of the 
| wings, &c. 
Mr. Pickersgill exhibited a beautiful specimen of the 
Queen of Spain Fritillary ( Argynnis Latlionia), captured 
at Eastbourne, in July; and also a curious variety of 
Vanessa Urtiece, the common Tortoise-shell Butterfly, in 
which the dark colour of the upper surface of the wings 
was much more suffused than on the ordinary examples 
of the species. 
Mr. Stainton read a letter from a friend, relative to 
the galls of Gynips Querous Petioli, exhibited at the last 
Meeting, stating that the writer had observed them for 
twenty years past, and had used them for manufacturing 
ink for his own use. Mr. Curtis added, that he had 
learned, since the last Meeting, that the development of 
the galls prevented the production of the Acorn, the 
eggs being laid in the place of the growth of the 
Acorns. 
Mr. W. W. Saunders exhibited an interesting Nidus, 
attached to plants received from the river Amazon, of 
a patelliform shape, filled with eggs, and with an 
operculum, and which he believed to be the nest of a 
species of Spider. 
Mr. Samuel Stevens exhibited a piece of the stem of a 
wild Cherry-tree, bored into in several places by a larva, 
apparently of the beautiful Beetle, Tricliius nobilis ; 
specimens also of the Tlelops cceruleus were also found 
on the decayed parts of the stem. The tree had been 
entirely destroyed by the ravages of these insects. 
Mr. Tweedy exhibited a case of beautiful insects, just 
received from the island of St. Domingo. 
Mr. Westwood exhibited a small skein of the silk of 
the Saturnia Cynthia, reared, and at length spun, from 
the cocoons in the island of Malta, and which had been 
forwarded to him by the Governor of that island, 
through Dr. Templeton. Brigadier Hearsey stated, that 
this kind of silk was of great strength, and much used 
in India, and that it was chiefly grown in the eastern 
parts of India; and Mr. Douglas read an extract from 
the “ Journal of the Society of Arts,” stating that the 
cocoons had also been successfully unwound at Turin, 
where the law® had been found to thrive well upon 
Willow and Lettuce leaves, in lieu of the Palma Christi, 
their ordinary food. Mr. Westwood also stated, that he 
had received from the Governor of Malta a quantity of 
the cocoons of the Cynthia Moth, and that, as notwith¬ 
standing the cold to which they had been subjected the 
chrysalides were found alive within the cocoons, he 
trusted to be able to rear this fine Indian insect in this 
country. 
Mr. Westwood also stated, that a beautiful specimen 
of the extremely rare Papilio antenor had recently been 
obtained by the British Museum, from Madagascar, thus 
determining the locality of this species, which had been 
the subject of doubt and controversy. 
Mr. Curtis read a short paper, containing a summary 
of the different kinds of insects reared by him, from 
time to time, from the leaves and flowers of different 
kinds of wild plants; also a note, by the Rev. Mr. 
Keeper, on the habits and larvae of Plater ( Ctenicerus) 
castaneus; and Mr. Frederick Smith read a monograph 
of the British species of Fonnioulee, or Ants, of which 
