Kay  6,  It  97. 
395 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
dusk,  retiring  during  the  day  to  the  interior  of  the'  bush.  I  fancy 
some  birds  may  attack  and  carry  it  off,  but  the  cockney  sparrow,  I 
believe,  lets  it  alone  ;  for  about  London,  especially  in  the  West, 
it  was  till  recently  common  on  the  hedges.  The  moth  flies  just  at 
the  season  when  the  Privet  comes  into  bloom.  It  is  scarcely  to  be 
called  a  disfiguring  caterpillar,  though,  from  its  size,  rather 
voracious,  and  so  the  effects  of  its  jaws  are  discernible  on  the 
twigs.  Occasionally  this  caterpillar  eats  Lilac  for  a  change,  and  I 
have  found  it  upon  the  Plum.  May  or  June  often  exhibits  to  us 
a  sample  of  the  Poplar  hawk  (Smerinthus  Populi)  resting  on  a 
paling  or  tree  trunk  quietly,  with  the  greyish  wings  partially  folded. 
Not  till  sunset  does  the  moth  rouse  itself  for  an  aerial  excursion, 
not  usually  to  any  great  distance.  The  caterpillar  is  greenish 
yellow,  having  a  yellow  horn,  and  feeds  high  up,  often  upon 
various  Poplars  ;  also,  it  is  said  by  Newman  to  be  found  some 
seasons  upon  the  common  Laurel,  and  the  Laurustinus. 
Its  near  relative,  the  eyed  hawk  (S.  ocellatus),  thus  named  from 
the  beautiful  eye-like  spots  of  black  and  white  on  the  rosy  red  hind 
wings,  comes  to  the  garden  sweets  of  May  ;  as  caterpillar  it  has 
probably  lived  not  far  off  upon  a  Willow  or  Poplar.  We  have  the 
species  placed,  however,  upon  the  list  of  the  foes  of  fruit  trees,  and 
I  have  several  times  taken  caterpillars  off  the  Apple,  and  they  have 
been  noticed  upon  the  Peach  ;  but  their  preference  is  not  for  these, 
nor  are  they  numerous  enough  to  be  harmful.  This  is  a  whitish 
green,  rough  caterpillar  with  a  blue  horn,  which  distinguishes  it 
from  the  kindred  species.  A  brisk  autumn  wind  occasionally 
blows  down  to  a  garden  path  a  Lime  hawk  caterpillar,  remarkable 
for  having  not  only  a  horn  like  its  brethren,  but  a  curious  plate  or 
scale  at  the  tail  end  of  the  body.  Frequently  it  feeds  on  tall 
Elms,  hence  its  sudden  downfall.  The  moth  is  darker  than  the 
preceding,  and  rather  less  in  size. 
A  lady  friend  discovered  upon  the  Vines  in  her  conservatory,  a 
few  years  since,  some  caterpillars  of  the  elephant  hawk  (Chsero- 
campa  Elpenor)  ;  it  is  not  often  taken  under  glass,  but  has  also 
been  noticed  on  Fuchsias.  In  the  country  its  usual  food  is  the 
leaves  of  some  Willow  Herb  or  Bedstraw.  Here  we  have  an 
instance  of  eyes  marking  a  caterpillar  not  a  moth,  as  upon  its  brown 
or  green  sides  are  two  dark  spots,  which  have  been  taken  for  the 
actual  eyes  of  the  insect.  The  name  “  elephant,”  too,  is  really 
applicable  to  the  caterpillar,  because  it  has  a  habit  of  elongating 
and  then  shortening  the  front  segments,  which  suggested  a  resem¬ 
blance  to  an  elephant’s  trunk.  In  France,  however,  the  people 
call  the  caterpillars  of  this  and  other  species  ‘‘  cochonnes,” 
comparing  them  to  the  snout  of  a  pig  !  Some  of  them  produce 
strong  winged  moths  of  bright  colours  ;  one  of  the  handsomest  is 
the  Oleander  Sphinx,  abundant  in  some  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa, 
found  occasionally  on  the  Continent  where  the  Oleander  flourishes, 
and  stragglers  have  crossed  over  to  English  gardens. 
The  humming  bird  hawk  (Macroglossa  stellatarum)  is  an 
insect  which  has  attracted  notice  in  many  a  garden,  and  is  responsible 
for  various  statements  in  newspapers  about  the  appearance  of  a 
“  humming  bird  in  England.”  No  doubt  there  is  a  resemblance — 
the  size,  the  attitude  of  the  moth,  its  outspread  tail,  its  hum,  too  ; 
and  there  are  countries  where  people  call  it  the  bird  fly.  But  it 
lacks  the  brilliancy  of  hue  which  is  characteristic  of  the  exotic 
birds,  or  of  most.  A  good  old  entomologist,  given  to  florid 
language,  thus  apostrophises  this  lively  moth — “What  is  this  at 
our  Jasmine,  with  brilliant  eye,  with  outspread  and  parti-coloured 
tail,  humming  loudly,  and  though  driven  away,  returning  from  the 
rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun  ?  It  is  the  humming  bird  hawk  ; 
from  January  to  December  we  have  some  flower  welcome  to  her, 
and  she  is  welcome,  most  welcome  to  us  and  ours.”  Here  is  a  little 
exaggeration,  for  this  moth  is  hardly  out  on  the  wing  quite  as  long, 
though  it  is  seen  sometimes  from  spring  to  autumn,  and  has  been 
taken  in  the  winter  months.  Certainly  it  does  come  back  repeatedly 
to  a  flower  or  a  resting  place  from  which  it  has  been  disturbed,  and 
it  is  specially  partial  to  Jessamine. 
Coming  to  fragrant  plants  on  window-sills  this  moth  frequently 
passes  through  an  open  sash  into  some  room,  creating  surprise  by 
its  erratic  flight  up  to  the  ceiling  and  round  the  walls.  The  long 
tongue  suggested  the  generic  name,  and  the  specific  one  reminds  us 
that  the  caterpillar  feeds  upon  starry-flowered  plants — i.e.,  on  some 
of  the  Bedstraws  or  Galiums.  It  has  a  horn,  blue  tipped  with  red, 
the  green  body  marked  with  white  lines  and  dots.  Years  ago  I 
used  to  find  this  caterpillar  along  some  of  the  banks  among 
Fulham  market  gardens,  which  have  now  been  swept  away.  The 
moth  just  described  has  two  near  relatives,  also  natives  of  Britain, 
but  less  common,  which  any  gardener  might  excusably  mistake  for 
a  large  bee.  Both  have  tufts  of  hair  along  the  body,  which  the 
insects  spread  out  when  flying,  and  transparent  wings,  but  the  long 
tongue  they  extend  in  hovering  over  flowers  is  an  implement 
no  bee  could  rival.  Hence  they  dart  rapidly  from  one  to  another  ; 
if  alarmed  going  at  immense  speed,  and  are  difficult  to  capture. 
One  of  our  species  has  a  narrow  border  to  the  wings — this  occurs 
chiefly  in  the  north,  the  other,  with  a  broad  border,  haunts  the 
south.  They  are  partial  to  the  open  spaces  in  woods,  and  lanes 
near  them,  but  sometimes  they  appear  as  visitors  to  gardens, 
tempted  by  their  floral  attract  ions. — Entomologist. 
SARMIENTA  REPENS. 
This,  “  F.  J.  B.,”  is  the  sole  representative  of  a  Chilian  genus  of 
Gesneracese.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  many  plants  from  Chili  have 
pendulous  flowers  of  a  red  or  scarlet  colour,  such  as  Lapageria  rosea  and 
Fuchsia,  and  the  one  now  referred  to,  which  is  represented  in  fig.  81,  is 
no  exception,  the  flowers  being  scarlet  and  pendulous.  The  stems  are 
long  and  slender,  straggling  over  the  ground,  and  rooting  at  the  nodes. 
The  leaves  are  about  half  an  inch  long,  ovate  and  fleshy,  the  upper 
surface  dark  green.  The  peduncles,  which  are  about  1  inch  in  length, 
carry  one  flower,  of  which  the  sepals  are  very  small  and  have  many 
hairs  on  them.  The  tubular  corolla  is  an  inch  long,  constricted  at  the 
FIG.  81.— SARMIENTA  REPENS. 
throat  and  spreading  at  the  mouth.  Two  of  the  stamens  are  half  an 
inch  longer  than  the  corolla,  and  when  carrying  their  yellow  anthers  add 
largely  to  the  beauty  of  the  plant.  Sarmienta  repens  does  well  in 
baskets  in  peat,  sphagnum,  and  a  few  pieces  of  sandstone.  Care  must  be 
taken  not  to  overwater  during  the  winter.  Its  graceful  habit  and 
beautifully  coloured  flowers  should  win  for  it  more  extensive  cultivation. 
THE  FORMATION  OF  DEW. 
The  following  observations  by  Dr.  J.  G.  McPherscn,  F.R.S.E.- 
Lecturer  on  Meteorology  in  the  University  of  St.  Andrews,  are  cited 
from  the  “  Wakefield  Express”  : — Until  very  recently  the  exact  constitu¬ 
tion  of  the  Dature  and  formation  of  dew  was  unknown  even  by  scientific 
men.  The  opinion  was  generally  held  that  if  you  sped  through  the 
glistening  meadow  on  a  summer  evening,  through  tbe  diamond  drops 
sparkling  in  millions,  you  would  get  your  boots  or  trousers  moistened 
with  dew.  It  was  also  believed  that  dew  fell  from  the  air  upon  the 
ground.  Now  in  both  cases  the  opinion  is  wrong,  for  it  is  not  dew  at 
all  which  was  encountered  in  the  meadow,  and  dew  does  not  fall  from  the 
air.  If  you  look  into  the  garden  on  a  dewy  night — for  there  is  such  a 
thing  as  dew  for  all  that — you  will  find  some  plants  moist.  Glistening 
drops  appear  on  tbe  Broccoli,  but  the  Peas  are  dry.  Place  a  hand- 
lantern  below  one  of  the  healthiest  Broccoli  leaves,  and  you  will  find 
that  the  moisture  is  collected  in  clear  drops  along  the  edge  of  the  leaf  and 
at  the  end  of  the  veins  of  the  leaf.  The  leaf  veins  radiating  from 
