May 15. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
WEEKLY CALENDAR. 
D 
D 
W 
MAY 15—21, 1855. 
Weather near London in 
Barometer. Thermo. Wind. 
1853. 
Rain in 
Inches. 
Sun 
Rises. 
15 
Tu 
Elater sputator. 
30.120—30.097 
66—43 
N. 
11 a 4 
16 
YV 
Elater minutus. 
30.136 — 30.125 
61—30 
N.E. 
9 
17 
Th 
Ascension. Holy Thursday. 
30. l63—30.032 
69—40 
N.E. 
_ 
8 
18 
F 
Elater rnarginatus. 
30.140—30.040 
56—30 
N.F.. 
01 
6 
19 
s 
Elater unicolor. 
30.229—30.109 
64—30 
N.E. 
5 
20 
Sun 
Sunday after Ascension. 
30.16*2— 29.980 
71 — 41 
S. 
07 
4 
21 
M 
Sun’s declination, 20° 8' n. 
29.884—29.706 
64—47 
S. 
19 
2 
Sun 
42 a 
43 
45 
46 
47 
49 
50 
Moon 
R. & S. 
Moon’s 
Age. 
3 52 
29 
j sets. 
© 
j 9 a 55 
1 
11 1 
2 
11 53 
3 
morn. 
4 
0 33 
5 
3 54 
3 53 
J01 
bf. Sun. Year. 
135 
136 
3 52 137 
3 51 138 
3 48 139 
3 46 140 
3 42 141 
Meteorology ok the Week. —At Chiswick, from observations during the.last twenty-eight vears, the averaee hiehest and lowest tpm 
peratures ot these day. are 65.5° and 43 5°, respectively. The greatest heat, 86°, occurred on the "th in VsTs f and the lowest cold 2 “' 
1 011 tl le 15th, in .850. During the period 119 days were fine, and on 77 rain fell. ’ ’ 
'I he floral campaign for the summer season amongst 
the leading Societies may be considered to have been 
fairly opened last week at Cheltenham, where, on the 
2nd instant, they were favoured with a fine day, spirited 
exhibitors, highly respectable productions, and a good 
company. 
I he seasou is late, very late, and even when it is 
much more forward, the ineligibility of shows so early 
in the month made it a matter of some doubt how far 
exhibitors would be able to respond to the invitations of 
the Society’s Schedules; but the display, upon the whole, 
was sufficient to warrant the expectation of very bril¬ 
liant exhibitions in both of the great London arenas. 
We give the Cheltenham Society a place in the first 
rank, because, in all matters, its originators, promoters, 
and managers, have had first class objects in view; they 
have aimed at furthering them only upon the most en¬ 
lightened principles, and the results have fully borne 
out the soundness oi their whole course of proceeding. 
The great bar to success in all provincial efforts 
ot the kind is that they are originated and managed 
by the intending exhibitors in the neighbourhood in 
which they are established. The competition is limited 
to a small district, and the prize list is, in many cases, 
arranged to suit the powers and possible productions of 
the members of the committee. Now, we bold that any 
given sum of money, to whatever purpose devoted, 
ought to be so expended as to produce the most satis¬ 
factory results. The committees of such societies 
receive, in trust, the money of their subscribers, and the 
admission money of their visitors; and the honest duties 
they owe to them are twofold. The encouragement of 
progress, with regard to horticulture in the neighbour¬ 
hood ; and the bringing together the largest amount of 
entertaining attraction. We think it will be patent that 
neither of these objects can be accomplished to the 
extent they ought to be by any narrow-minded ex¬ 
clusiveness. If the activity of horticulturists is to be 
stimulated by competition, it must be not only amongst 
the growers of a neighbourhood, but they must have 
the spur applied, by allowing those of other localities 
to place their productions alongside of them. Even 
then, the grower in the neighbourhood has considerable 
natural advantages over his competitor from a distance. 
Then, with regard to the attraction, its extent, and the 
pleasure it will afford—if the prizes a society is enabled 
to offer are sufficient to induce competitors to bring, 
1 f heir plants and flowers from a distance, for the chance 
of a prize,—the subscribers and the visitors have an 
undoubted right to the increased display which may 
thereby be afforded to them. 
We feel much pleasure in pointing out the Chelten¬ 
ham Society as an example to other provincial Societies. 
It began, some four or five years ago, by advertising 
for a prize schedule, offering two handsome premiums; 
they encouraged competitors from all parts of the 
country by facilitating arrangements with the railway 
companies, as well as by offering noble prizes; and 
they ensure sound and satisfactory verdicts by selecting 
from the best of the London censors. 
The necessarily high price of books on science is one of 
the most powerful obstacles in the way of the naturalist 
who wishes to keep pace with the progress of the science 
to which he is devoted. The price of such books is 
necessarily high, even if they are not illustrated with 
drawings, because the number of purchasers are few. 
A publisher can afford to sell for a shilling a volume of 
which he can sell ten thousand copies; whereas, if ho 
cau sell ouly five hundred copies, ten shillings would 
be barely a remunerative price. 
On this account we always welcome, with especial 
pleasure, any publication having for its object a remedy 
of which the naturalist may avail himself for the high 
price of books, and such a remedy is The Entomologist's 
Annual for 1855.* We recommmend it most strongly, 
tor it is lull of information valuable to the vouu? 
student as well as to the adept in Entomology, and the 
names of the writers are a guarantee that the information 
is correct. As a specimen of what the mere learner will 
find useful, we quote the following. 
HOW TO REAR LEPIDOPTERA FROM THE PUPA OR LARVA 
STATE. 
“ 'To rear pupae collected is comparatively an easv 
matter. ‘The collector should take with him a box 
(filled with moss) in which to convey the pupae, and 
when brought home they should be placed in a large 
box, with the inside surface rough, and covered with 
gauze or wire frame; at the bottom of the box should 
bo some fine earth, on which the pupae are to be placed 
and covered with a thick layer of moss, which may or 
* The Entomologist’s Annual for 1855, comprising notices of the new 
British Insects detected in 1854. Lcpiduptera by the Editor. Hymev- 
optera by F. Smith. Coleoptcra by E. W. Janson. Edited by H. T. 
Stamfon. Second Edition, with considerable additions, including in¬ 
structions for collecting, preserving, and arranging insects, &c. J. Van 
Voorst, Paternoster Row. 1855. Price 2s. fid. 
No. CCCXLVI. Vol, XIY. 
