238 
ST. ALBANS AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. 
have been observed. Our knowledge of the local Tineina is much 
more limited, the presence of only 280 of the 720 British species 
having been detected. 
It is impossible in these short notes to attempt to give a list 
of the butterflies and moths which are known to inhabit even 
the small area which is being dealt with, but those desirous of 
further information with regard to our insects should consult 
the list printed in the ‘ Victoria History,’ and inspect the 
collections at the County Museum, where all species recorded 
to have occurred in Hertfordshire are marked with a red disc. 
There are many British insects still wanted in the cabinets, and 
the writer will welcome help from those willing to assist in 
making the collections more complete. 
Hemiptera.— The following species of Coccidse, the plant- 
pests well known as scale-insects, are recorded as occurring at 
St. Albans : —Mytilaspis pomorum, on apple and cotoneaster ; 
Lecanium viburni, a very local species, but plentiful at St. Albans 
on hawthorn ; Lecanium caprea, abundant on hawthorn; Astero- 
lecanium variolosum, exclusively confined to the oak; Aptero- 
coccus fraxini, on the ash, comparatively rare; Cryptococcus fagi, 
common on the beech. These records are from the personal 
observation of Mr. Eobert Newstead, author of the ‘ Coccidse of 
the British Isles ’ (Bay Society), who has presented to the 
County Museum specimens of Lecanium bituberculatum on 
Cratsegus oxyacantha from King’s Langley, just outside our 
district. 
Diptera.— In 1907, in conjunction with Mr. P. J. Barraud, 
the writer presented to the Hertfordshire Natural History 
Society “A Preliminary List of Hertfordshire Diptera ” (‘ Trans.,’ 
Vol. XIII, p. 249) largely made up from the extensive collection 
presented to the British Museum (Natural History) by the late 
Mr. Albert Piffard of Felden, but containing also a good many 
records of flies taken by the authors. There are 116 species 
included which occur within the five-mile radius, and of these 
the great majority were taken in the garden at Kitchener’s 
Meads. Some interesting specimens were captured in Prae 
Wood on the G-orhambury estate, a locality which appears to 
afford better collecting for the dipterist than the lepidopterist. 
4. Pisces, Batrachia, and Beptilia. 
Pisces. —Bemains of ancient fish-stews at St. Albans and 
elsewhere are evidence of the sometime importance of coarse 
fish as food. What are still known as the “ pond-yards ” at 
G-orhambury were constructed by Sir Francis Bacon, and there 
he bred and fed and caught carp and other species, which in his 
day were held in higher esteem for the table than is now the 
case. Such information as is available about the fishes now 
to be found in the district is of interest mainly from the angler’s 
standpoint, and the group has received scant attention from 
naturalists. The detailed distribution of the different species 
