1 RAhlST /*! Mi\/kJLlikJ A VI. 1. Greasy Fritillary. 2. Glanville Pntillary. 3. Pearl-bordered Fritillary. 4. Weaver's Fritillary. THE YOUNG MATUEALIST HANDY VOLUME COLLECTION, PRESERVATION, AND ARRANGEMENT BUTTERFLIES AND SHELLS. BY H. G. ADAMS. f:llustratetr. LONDON: GROOMBRIDGE AND SONS. 1879. ^-7^ /f-^6 BEAUTIFUL BUTTEEFLIES. BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES an!& $llnstrate& HISTORY OF A BUTTERFLY TEBOUGH ALL ITS CHANGES AND TRANSFORMATIONS; AND AN EXPLANATION OI TH K Smntjfu Struts use!) bg Jtuluralists in rtftrenu thcrtto. BY H. G. ADAMS, AUTHOB 07 'NESTS AND EGGS OP FAMILIAR BIRDS,' 'JAVORITE SONG B1KUS, 'BEAUTIFUL SHELLS,' 'HUMMING BIRDS,' ETC. KTC. ILLSTBATED WITH COLOUEED PLATES AND NUMEEOUS WOOD ENGEATINGS. LONDON: GEOOMBRIDGE AND SONS. B? J. K. AULARD, BiRTUOLOMBW CLOSE. CONTENTS. c 4 as INTRODUCTION . . . . . 1 WHAT is A BUTTEEPLV ? . . . . 6 ENTOMOLOGY . . . . .. 7 LEPtDOPTEEA . . . 8 PAPIUO ....... 10 HISTORY OF THE BUTTERFLY ... 13 BUTTERFLY HUNTING ... 45 vi Contents. PA&E DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES 65 SWALLOW-TAIL ..... 67 MAEBLED WHITE . . . . .61 SCOTCH AEGUS ..... 68 WHITE ADMIRAL ..... 66 BED ADMIRAL ..... 69 PEACOCK BUT TEE FLY ..... 73 LAEGE TOBTOISE-SHELL .... 76 SMALL TOBTOISE-SHELL ..... 81 CAMBEEWELL BEAUTY .... 84 COMMA BUTTEBFLY ..... 89 PAINTED LADY ..... 92 SCABCE PAINTED LADY ..... 95 PITBPLE EMPEBOB ..... 97 BBOWN HAIBSTBEAK ..... 103 GBEASY FBITILLABY .... 105 GLANVILLE FBITILLABY ..... 108 PEABL-BOBDEBED FBITILLABY . . . no WEAVEB'S FBITILLABY ..... 112 Contents. vii DESCRIPTION OF SPECIES (continued) PAGE HIGH BEOWN FBITTLLARY .... 113 VENTTS FBITILLAEY . . . . . 115 LABGE COPPEE ..... 117 LABGE BLUE . . . , . . . 120 LIST OF SPECIES 125 INDEX OF SPECIES 135 BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES. INTRODUCTION. " Lo ! the bright train their radiant wings unfold, With silver fringed, and freckled o'er with gold ; On the gay bosom of some fragrant flower They, idly fluttering, live their little hour, Their life all pleasure, and their task all play, All spring their age, and sunshine all their day." MBS. BABBAULD. HAT a pleasant life that must be to lead ! " methinks I hear my young readers exclaim j " who would not join in the song, 1 I'd be a butterfly, born in a bower, Where roses, and lilies, and violets meet ?* No tiresome books to bother the brains ; no fagging at lessons then ; no cross looks, no angry words ; no head- aches, no stomach-aches, no whippings, no brimstone and treacle; no anything but what is delightful and pleasant j flitting about in the sunshine all day long. 2 Beautiful Butterflies. and rocked to sleep at night in a lily bell, or some other such agreeable resting-place ; sipping the sweet juices out of the flowers, and sporting in the air with com- panions that never get out of temper, and quarrel. Oh, that would be delightful ! Yes, I'd be a Butterfly ! Would not you ?" My dear young Master, or Miss, as the case may be, most assuredly I would not be a Butterfly. Nay, do not look so incredulous, but listen, and I will tell you why. In the first place I have no fancy to be snapped up by a winged monster two or three hundred times bigger than myself, as yon bright-winged flutterer has just been by the Swallow, that has a little hungry family up in the chimney there, and must find Butterflies or some other equally gay and thoughtless creatures wherewith to satisfy their wants. In the next place, 1 should not like to undergo such a series of changes and transformations as the Butterfly does, before he comes out in his beautiful silken dress, to live his little life of a few hours in the sunshine ; and for all that is said in praise of " a short life and a merry one," by the thoughtless and careless among mankind, yet would I rather, if it so pleased God, live a long life, that I might have time to cultivate and exercise these high and noble faculties of the mind, which dis- tinguish man from the rest of creation, and so exercise them as at once to glorify my Maker, and benefit my Beautiful Butterflies. 3 fellow- creatures. Nay, nay, my young friends, do not wish to be a Butterfly, nor any other merely soulless thing ; you have within you an immortal prin- ciple " A vital spark of heavenly flame," as the poet has finely termed the soul, which the But- terfly has not ; which the most sagacious and long-lived of animals has not ; for the salvation of this soul of yours a great price has been paid, a tremendous sacrifice offered, and young as you may be, I would have you think seriously of this. You are not a Butterfly, thank God that you are not ! Never wish to be one ! Do not lead a Butterfly kind of life, as too many do, flitting and fluttering, and sporting away the precious time given you for other purposes. Be diligent, be useful. Head- aches and heart-aches, too, you must have, and many hard lessons you must learn, even when your school- days are over; for it is ordered by an all- wise Providence, that the human soul shall be purified by trouble and affliction, and so prepared for the better land towards which we are all journeying. The end of the Butterfly is here ; your end is in eternity. Think of that, and think, too, of the many pleasures which you enjoy, of which the Butterfly can know nothing; intellectual pleasures pleasures of thought and feeling ; warm affections and lively hopes are yours, out-gushing from your own heart and bosom, and from the hearts and 4 Beautiful Butterflies. bosoms of those to whom you are dear, and watching round you like angels wherever you move. You can speak, and write, and think, and above all you can pray, and be prayed for. Here is a privilege ! For the poor soulless Butterfly there are none of these good things. " Its little hour of sunshine o'er, It passes from the view, To breathe the breath of life no more It is not so with you. Your soul shall from the tomb arise In beautiful array, To dwell for aye in Paradise, And everlasting day." Beautiful Butterflies. WHAT IS A BUTTERFLY ? ' Who can follow Nature's pencil here ? Their wings with azure green and purple glossed, Studded with coloured eyes, with gems embossed ; Inlaid with pearl, and marked with various stains Of lively crimson through their dusky veins." MBS. BABBATJLD. HAT is a Butterfly? An insect. True; and the name we are told is a literal translation of the old Saxon word Buttor-fleoze, applied to those silken-winged flies, because they usually be- come plentiful in the butter season. I have next to ask you what you understand by an Insect ? A little crawling, or flying thing, with Nay, that will not do at all. Let us find out Johnson's definition of the word. Ah, here it is, in Latin Insectum, that which is cut " Insects may be considered together as one great tribe of animals : they are called Insects from a separa- tion in the middle of their bodies, whereby they are cut into two parts, which are joined together by a small ligature, as we see in wasps and common flies." You have no doubt noticed this remarkable peculiarity of the Insects here named ; it is especially conspicuous in the wasp, the lower part of whose yellow body looks as 6 Beautiful Butterflies. if it would drop off at every motion. We have heard a very slim and genteel lady spoken of as having a waist like a wasp, but hope she was not waspish in other respects. Another meaning for the word insect, given by the great dictionary-maker, is " Anything small or contemptible." Let us illustrate this meaning. " Sir," said a little upstart man, desirous of impress- ing the person he addressed with a due sense of his consequence, " do you know what sect I belong to ? " " I should say, by the look of you," was the good- humoured, yet cutting reply, " to that called Insect." We must not, however, consider that because things or persons are small, that they are therefore mean and contemptible ; arrogance and undue assumption of im- portance always make people so ; but in the world of Nature we find so much that is wonderful in design, and beautiful in construction, in the minutest creatures, that to the philosophic mind they can never be so. With the poet Cowper, " In the vast and in the minute we see The unambiguous footsteps of the God Who gives its lustre to the insect's wing, And wheels His throne upon the rolling worlds." I am now going to introduce to you another member of the learned family of OLOGIES. In a former volume of this series you made the acquaintance of two or Beautiful Butterflies. 7 three members of this family.* This is rather a tall individual. What do you think of him? ENTOMOLOGY. FIVE syllables, thus En-to-mol-o-gy. Let us see what account Dr. Johnson gives of him. None at all ! Not in the big folio ? Nay; then he must have sprung into existence since the great lexicographer's time ; for all that he stands upon Greek legs entom, an insect ; and logos, a discourse. Now you know what it means literally a discourse on an insect, or as generally ap- plied, "That part of ZOOLOGY, or Natural History, which treats of Insects." By this science we are con- ducted into the most extensive and populous province in the whole empire of nature, and shown a greater diversity of form and colouring, and more surprising adaptations of means, than is presented to us by any other branch of physical science. Truly has it been said that " Entomology claims it as its right to demon- strate the existence and perfections of that Almighty Power which produced and governs the universe. It is one chapter in the history of creation, and naturally leads every intelligent mind to the Creator ; for there are no proofs of His existence more level to the appre- * ' Nests and Eggs of Familiar Birds.' 8 Beautiful Butterflies. hension of all than those which this chapter offers to the understanding." " Iii an insect or a flower, Such microscopic proofs of skill and power As hid from ages past God now displays," says the poet Southey, in allusion to the wonders revealed by the microscope in the natural world, and especially in that branch of it with which Entomology has to do. But it is to one particular division of the insect tribes that I have now to direct the attention of my readers. LEPIDOPTERA is the name given to that order of insects in which " Beautiful Butterflies " are included. Here is another long word not to be found in Johnson's dictionary Lep-i-dop-te-ra, five syllables, derived from two Greek words lepis, a scale ; and pteron, a wing. Butterflies and Moths, then, are Lepidopterous or scaly-winged insects ; if you observe one of them closely, you will find that the wings are covered with a fine downy sub- stance like meal. Examined under a microscope this will be found to consist of minute scales of uniform size and shape, that is, upon one species of fly, for they Beautiful Butterflies. 9 differ considerably in this respect in different species, as the following drawings will show. They are fixed to the wing by means of a fine pedicle, or stalk, similar to that of a plant, only so small as not to be seen by the naked eye. It is in these scales that the beautiful colours, which make the wings look like painted velvet, exist ; if you rub them off, nothing but a thin transparent membrane remains ; this is veined all over, much like the skeleton leaves which you may have seen, and these veins no doubt answer the double purpose of canals for conveying nourishment to the frame, and of ribs for giving it mechanical strength. A naturalist named Leiuwenhoek has counted as many as four hundred thousand scales upon the wings of the Silk Moth, and some of our British Butterflies are four times as large as this ; there are foreign Moths which sometimes measure nearly a foot across the wings: think of the number of scales required to cover them. It has been said that " a modern Mosaic picture may contain eight hundred and seventy Tesserulae, or sepa- rate pieces, in one square inch of surface ; but the same 10 Beautiful Butterflies. extent of a Butterfly's wing may sometimes consist of no fewer than one hundred thousand, seven hundred and thirty-six : he would be a rich man indeed who had as many guineas. How long would it take him to count them, suppose he were to pick them up sixty a minute, and work ten hours a day at that rate ? There's an exercise in mental arithmetic for you. Now let us go back to our subject, which you know is Lepidopterous Insects recollect that long word or Butterflies, we were going to say, but the thought occurred that all these scaly-winged insects are not Butterflies ; some of them are Moths, and some Hawk Moths. The three great divisions into which natura- lists have divided this order of insects are, as you must try and remember, first, Butterflies, or Diurnal, that is, Day, Lepidoptera; second, Moths, or Nocturnal, that is, Night, Lepidoptera ; and third, Hawk Moths, or Crepuscular, that is, Twilight, Lepidoptera; these names indicate their different seasons of flight. It is with the first division only that we have to do at pre- sent ; and this forming a genus of itself, is distinguished by a generic name, and here it is PAPILIO. Look at it well, now, so that you may know it again when you see it, as you often will in books of Natural Beautiful Butterflies. 1 1 History. Pa-pil-io, pronounced pa-pil-yo ; it comes from the Latin, and means a Butterfly, which is all I can tell you about it. In botanical works you will sometimes see plants spoken of that have papilionaceous flowers, that is, with petals something in shape like the wings of a Butterfly, as the sweet pea has, and several other beautiful ornaments of the garden, with which you must be familiar. This resemblance of the bright-hued flowers to the Butterflies' wings have been often alluded to by the poets, one of whom, named Thomas Moore, describes " A child at play, Among the rosy wild flowers singing, As rosy and as wild as they, Chasing with eager hands and eyes The beautiful blue Butterfles That fluttered round the jasmine stems, Like winged flowers or flying gems." In another part of the same poem, which is called " Lalla Rookh," the name of an Eastern princess, we find a scene described in which " Sparkle such rainbow Butterflies, That one might fancy the rich flowers That round them in the sun lay sighing, Had been by magic all set flying." But let us get on with our lesson. Butterflies, then, we have learned, are a day-flying genus, called Papilla, of the Lepidopterous or mealy-winged order of that 12 Beautiful Butterflies. class of living creatures called Insects, the study oi whose nature and habits is termed ENTOMOLOGY. The great Swedish naturalist, Linnaeus, arranged all the flying, walking, creeping, and swimming things known in his time into six classes; these classes included several orders; the orders various genera; and the genera distinct species ; more or less numerous as the case might be. This was called the Liunaean system of natural history. I need not explain to you the principles on which it was based, nor tell you in what respects it differs from the systems of the illustrious Frenchman Cuvier and other naturalists. One of these days I may perhaps do this, but at present it is scarcely necessary to puzzle your brains about it. I want you clearly to understand what a Butterfly is ; to learn one letter of the great alphabet of nature first, and it will assist you in acquiring the rest. Now, what is a But- terfly ? " An insect of the Lepidopterous order " Nay, you are going to tell me what it is called merely ; undoubtedly it is all that, but it is also something more a wonderful manifestation of the wisdom and the goodness of the Almighty Creator, as I am now going to show you. HISTORY OP THE BUTTERFLY. HISTORY OF THE BUTTERFLY. ]E will now trace the history of the butterfly, from the time it was a tiny egg, not so big as the head of a good-sized pin, glued by the mother insect to that particular kind of leaf on which the caterpillar, that it will shortly turn to, feeds. Now, here is a wonder at once ; the Butterfly, recollect, does not feed upon leaves, but the sweet juices extracted from flowers and those by no means flowers of the plant from which it derives nourishment while in the caterpillar or larva state, as it is called. How then should it know the particular description of food suitable for its crawling progeny, in every respect so unlike itself? We can only say that God teaches it. INSTINCT is the name generally given to the mysterious knowledge which seems to direct all the members of the brute creation. Man, you know, has Reason for his guidance, animals have not ; still they are guided, and often more surely to the desired end, than man with all his boasted rea- son The poet Pope has said " Reason raise o'er Instinct as you can, In this 'tis God directs, in that 'tis man." 16 Beautiful Butterflies. Well, then, guided by this mysterious principle called Instinct, the Butterfly affixes its eggs just where the young Caterpillars, when they issue forth, are sure to find plenty of suitable food ready for them. To the naked eye all Butterflies' eggs look round, and pretty much alike, but by the following represen- tation of those of six different species, magnified, you will see that they are by no means so. You cannot fail to be struck with the beautiful regularity of the shapes and the markings. Do they not seem to say to you The baud that made us is Divine ! The term CATERPILLAR is supposed to be derived from two old French words acat, food or provision, whence comes the term cates, sometimes used by English authors ; and piller to rob or plunder, the origin of the word pillage. There is here an obvious Beautiful Butterflies. 17 reference to the voracious habits of these creatures, the most destructive of any to vegetation. In Scripture they are spoken of as eating up what the other insect ravagers have left, as you will see by turning to the fourth verse of the first chapter of the prophet Joel. In Hebrew the Caterpillar is called a consumer, and well does the cultivator of the land know it to be such ; it begins to eat directly it comes out of the egg, and continues to eat, eat, nothing but eat, except grow, which it does very fast, and crawl from place to place in search of fresh food, of which it sometimes consumes more than double its own weight in twenty-four hours. Think if you were to do this, what bakers', butchers', and grocers' bills your parents would have to pay. The body of the caterpillar is, as you know, long, and nearly cylindrical, that is, like a tube, or pipe ; it is divided throughout into twelve segments, as they are called, that is, divisions, as though pieces of thread were tied round it at equal distances, and drawn sufficiently tight to make slight indenta- tions. The skin, which covers this body, is usually soft and membranous, that is, web-like, covered with little lines, which cross and re-cross each other, as in a piece of network; sometimes, however, it is of a coriaceous texture, that is, tough, like leather ; in both cases it is very flexible, so that the creature can easily turn and twist itself about. 18 Beautiful Butterflies. Most of the Larva of the Diurnal Lepidoptera have sixteen legs, six of which, that is, three pairs, are placed on the three first segments of the body, the part which corresponds with what is called the thorax of the winged insect; these foremost legs appear to be the ones principally used for locomotion or travelling ; they are of a hard substance, rather wide where they join the body, and gradually tapering down to the bottom, where they terminate in a strong claw, by which they can draw themselves along. Like the leg of the future fly, each of them is 'divided into several segments, or, in other words, it has several joints, as represented in this figure. You will see that he is rather a bandy-legged fellow this Caterpillar, but there is wisdom displayed in this, as in every other part of his structure, how admirably are these legs adapted for clasping and holding fast. Now for the other, or pro-legs, as they are sometimes called ; pro, in Latin, means for ; therefore this is as much as to say these are not legs, but substitutes for Beautiful Butterflies. 19 legs, and such it appears they really are ; their prin- cipal use seems to be to support the body, to the hinder part of which they are attached ; a pair on each seg- ment up to the ninth, and the remaining pair on the last; by adhering to the twigs or shoots, on which the animal crawls. You stare at the word animal applied to a Caterpillar, but it is quite correct. All living creatures are animals; you are one, and I am one, and the invisible animalcule that sports in a drop of water is one. But we will not stop to discuss the point now, having the pro-legs of our crawler to exa- mine. I have said that they are soft and fleshy, or membranous legs, or things that in some measure answer the purpose of legs. They are of a cone, or sugar-loaf shape, and can be lengthened and shortened at pleasure, like the horns of a snail ; each of them is terminated by a triangular-shaped foot, if foot it may be called, at the bottom of which is a flat surface, or what may be termed the sole ; on the inner edge of this is a row of small hooks, or claws, consisting of a long and short one alternately placed. When the foot is extended, these claws are turned outwards, and their curved points find inequalities on which they can take hold on almost any substance, however smooth it may appear. Here are two cuts; one exhibiting this curious pro-leg with the foot expanded, and the other Beautiful Butterflies. showing how a pair of them embrace and hold fast to a twig or branch. "We have now to speak of the head of the Cater- pillar, which is harder than the rest of the body, and is generally composed of two oval plates joined toge- ther ; in the next cut is represented the under side of this head ; that part marked b is the mouth, consisting of an upper lip, with a notch in the centre ; c c are the two strong mandibles, or jaws ; and d is the under lip. near the top of which is a cone-shaped protuberance, from the centre of which, through a small hole, issues Beautiful Butterflies. 21 the fine silken thread which serves several important purposes in the changes which the insect undergoes ; the spinnaret is the name which has heen given to this organ; on each side of it is a similar shaped, but smaller, protuberance, marked e e; these are gene- rally thought to be the palpi, or feelers. The rapidity with which a Caterpillar eats proves that its cutting machinery is in good order, and well arranged for facility of working; if you watch the creature feeding, you will observe that the leaf on which it intends to operate is taken edgeways, and held steady between two of the fore feet. Before com- mencing, the body is stretched out as far as possible ; the rapidly-moving jaws take off piece after piece, which is instantly swallowed, and at every bite the head is drawn in, until it comes close home to the legs, which hold the leaf, when another extension takes place, and another series of bites is commenced, till, by and by, the substance bitten is hollowed out like a half-moon. The notch in the upper lip, being even with the place where the jaws unite, appears to answer the purpose of a groove, to keep the margin of the leaf steady, and guide it in the proper direction. The eyes and the antennas, or horns, have now to be noticed; the first appear to the naked eye like two little dark spots; the microscope shows that each of them consists of six distinct eyes, or lenses, arranged 22 Beautiful Butterflies. in a circle; they are placed in the fore part of the upper side of the head, and are therefore not seen in the cut. The antennce, or horns, although usually large in the perfect insect, are small in the Lepidopte- rous larva?, being composed of two or three short joints, fitting into each other, like the tubes of a telescope, like which, too, they can with some species be drawn in, so as to be almost imperceptible ; the letters a a point out their situation in the cut. You will have noticed that Caterpillars differ very much in appearance ; some being smooth, and others rough and hairy ; with some again the hairs are long and silky, with others short and harsh; some have them in tufts placed at regular intervals along the back or sides of the body ; indeed they are seldom, if ever, irregularly placed ; but whether few or many, a certain order of arrangement may be observable in the little tubercles, or lumps, from which they spring; these tubercles are placed in rows across the middle of the segments, and each segment is armed for the spines may be considered as defensive armour with a transverse, that is, a crosswise, series, varying in number from four to eight. The mode of arrangement and structure of these spines is exhibited in the section here given of a not uncommon species of British Cater- pillar. Why some Caterpillars should be hairy and others Beautiful Butterflies. 23 smooth it is impossible for us to tell ; in His wisdom God has so ordered it, we may be sure, for some good and useful end. Upon the hairy species, it has been observed that the birds seldom prey ; and there is no doubt some sufficient reason why they should be espe- cially guarded from their enemies. Many of the Caterpillars are very beautifully coloured and marked, appearing to have silken coats, embroi- dered with gems ; this is more especially the case with the larvse of some of the foreign day Lepidoptera ; in this country those of the crepuscular division, or Hawk Moths, are the most beautiful, and to these we shall have to refer in another volume. There is nothing more curious in the whole history of the Caterpillar than its moulting s, or changes of skin, of which there are, at least, three, before the full size is attained. When it gets too big for its coat, the creature by a laborious effort, which is a painful, and 24 Beautiful Butterflies. at times even a fatal one, wriggles itself out, and leaves the old garment for whoever may take a fancy to it ; but there is no occasion to go and get measured for another, as there would be with you or I, for a new one quickly forms around the body, fitting as nicely as need be. Sometimes the colours of this new coat are different from those of the old one, and the markings have a fresh arrangement, as if the fashions of the season had been studied in its preparation ; but no, it was made in accordance with certain laws ordained from the beginning, in which there is no variableness nor shadow of turning. The fashion of a man's coat, or a boy's jacket, changes constantly ; but the fashion of a Caterpillar's skin never : under certain circum- stances it is always the same ; its variations are regular, so that one who has observed these matters can tell what kind of covering a particular species at a parti- cular age will have. The Naturalist will know at once the nature, and the character, and the age of a certain smooth or hairy worm which crosses his path, or feeds upon the leaf near at hand, by the shape and markings of its outer garment ; suppose we could tell as much of men and boys by the cut and colour of their coats and jackets ! Would not this be convenient ? Much might be said about the internal structure of the Caterpillar, but we cannot say it now ; the same wisdom of design and nicety of adaptation is ex- Beautiful Butterflies. 25 hibited there as in the parts more exposed to ob- servation. We will now suppose the creature passed through all the changes incidental to the larva state; this word in Latin means a mask ; in this state the future fly is hidden or masked; Larvae, the word we have hitherto used, is the plural it has eaten its own weight over and over again, may be a hundred times or more, in nettle, or cabbage, or some other leaves, and has now arrived at a ripe old Caterpillar age, so it prepares to go into what is called the pupa state, the second stage of its strange existence. Pupa in Latin means a puppet, a baby, a thing wrapped up, swaddled, as they say, of no particular shape a lump; such is a chrysalis, as the insect, in the pupa state, is called. Singular, Chrysalis ; plural, Chrysalides from the Greek chrisos, golden. The Latin authors termed these aure* 26 Beautiful Butterflies. lia, from aurum, gold ; because the cases of some of the pupa have a glittering appearance, as though they were partly composed of that metal. You may have seen one, that of the Tortoise-shell Butterfly, generally found near a bed of nettles, on which the Caterpillar feeds ; it is rugged, uneven, angular in shape, as is also that of another common species, the Cabbage Butterfly; this latter is of a greenish-yellow colour, marked with black spots. Some Caterpillars, when about to change into chry- salides, creep into holes and crevices, others bury them- selves in the earth; some envelope themselves in a tissue of fine silk, as the silkworm does ; this is called a Cocoon, of the origin of which word we must confess our ignorance ; my readers will do well to try and find it out. Some of these chrysalides, again, suspend themselves to a bough, or other convenient object, by means of a silken cord, sometimes fastened round the middle, sometimes to one end, of the oblong case, as shown in this cut, designed by Thomas Hood to illus- trate the popular ballad " I 'd be a Butterfly." Here the part downwards is the head. A very interesting account is given by a naturalist named Reaumar of the way in which the Caterpillar proceeds to effect this suspension, and change from the larva skin into the pupa case ; but it is too long for quotation here ; by- and-by you will, I hope, read it for youself in some Beautiful Butterflies. 27 larger Entomological work. It is related that it some- times takes as long as twenty-four hours to effect these changes. Reaumar observes that " it is impossible not to wonder that an insect which executes them but once in its life should execute them so well. We must necessarily conclude that it has been instructed by a Great Master : for he who has rendered it necessary for the insect to undergo this change, has likewise given it all the requisite means of accomplishing it in safety." When first the larva skin is thrown off, the chrysalis is soft and tender ; it is covered with a sticky kind of fluid, through which portions of the future Butterfly can be clearly seen; like a thing closely packed up and put away until it is wanted. Gradually the fluid covering hardens, and closely enveloping all the parts of the insect, forms a case impervious to wet or any other atmospheric influence. ''It was a shrivelled shrouded form, Though but of late a living worm ; A caterpillar it had been, Once clad in suit of silken green ; But now how changed by nature's laws ! Where are the eyes, the legs, the jaws ? No signs of being can one trace In the cold mass ; its outer case, Like cere cloth round a mummy spread, Is passive, motionless, and dead." And there it swings, or lies wrapped up in its silken 28 Beautiful Butterflies. cocoon, or hid in the earth, or some snug hole or corner, until the time arrives for the release of the little prisoner, when " Lo ! the shrouded thing Loosed from its earthly covering, From shape uncouth and dusky hue Like some fair vision springs to view, A glossy wing in burnished pride Unfolding rises from each side ; Its tapering form in beauty dressed, Like gold dust o'er a yellow vest j Whilst hands unseen had giv'n the power To gather sweets and suck the flower, It is a Butterfly, as bright As ever sparkled in the light." And this third state of its existence is called trie Imago, or perfect state of the insect ; this term is the Latin for Image, whence comes Imagination, that faculty of the mind which produces images of things unknown, &c. I will now recall the stages through which the insect has passed before it assumed that glorious shape that complete image of beauty, in which it now hovers and flutters before our eyes " The brightest and the lightest thing That flits about on snort ive wing ;" and to impress these more deeply on your memory, Beautiful Butterflies. 29 will place, beneath the name of each, its pictorial repre- sentative. The appearance of these creatures in their various states of Caterpillar, Chrysalis, and Butterfly, is so strikingly dissimilar, that it was long a general belief LABVA. PUPA. IMAGO. Caterpillar. Chrysalis. Butterfly. that they underwent, at each successive stage, a com- plete transmutation, or change from one being to ano- ther ; " but it is now clearly seen/' says the naturalist Swammerdam, " that within the skin of the Caterpillar a perfect and real Butterfly is hidden, and therefore the skin of the Caterpillar must be considered only as an outer garment, containing in it parts belonging to the nature of a Butterfly, which have grown under its defence by slow degrees, in like manner as other sen- sitive bodies increase by accretion," that is, by growing or gathering of new matter. In every Caterpillar, therefore, it would seem that from the earliest period of its life there exists the germ or seed, if I may so call it, of the future fly, even as in the interior of the 30 Beautiful Butterflies. unexpanded bud may be discovered the germ of the future flower. So that all these changes are but a series of developments, a throwing off of outer coats, so to speak ; and showing more and more clearly the per- fect form within. All this is very wonderful, and worthy of our closest study and attention. So striking did these changes which the insect undergoes appear to the ancient Greeks, that they regarded the Butterfly as the fittest emblem of the soul of man ; accordingly we find that their word Psyche, pronounced Syke, with an accent on the last letter, signifies both the human soul and a Butterfly. And very beautiful and appropriate is this emblem. How like a rising from the tomb and soaring upward to the realms ,of light, is this bursting forth of the imprisoned fly from its dark chrysalis chamber, to spread its glittering wings and float aloft in the golden sunshine. The poet Rogers has written some fine lines upon this subject, which, I think, you will be able to understand and appreciate : here they are " Child of the sun ! pursue thy raptnrons flight, Mingling with her thou lovest in fields of light ; And, where the flowers of paradise unfold, Quaff fragrant nectar from their cups of gold, There shall thy wings, rich as an evening sky, Expand and shut in silent ecstacy. Beautiful Butterflies. 31 Tet wert thou once a worm, a thing that crept On the hare earth, then wrought a tomh, and slept ; And such is man ! soon from his cell of clay, To burst a seraph in the blaze of day." And now let me read to you a lesson of moral in- struction, which the natural history of this insect is calculated to enforce ; I will do it in the words of a German fabulist, or writer of fables ; this story is called an Allegory: A humming-bird met a Butterfly, and being pleased with the beauty of its person and glory of its wings, made an offer of perpetual friendship. " I cannot think of it," was the reply, " as you once spurned me, and called me a drawling dolt." " Impos- sible," exclaimed the humming-bird, " I always enter- tained the highest respect for such beautiful creatures as you." " Perhaps you do now," said the other, " but when you insulted me, I was a caterpillar. So let me give you this piece of advice : never insult the humble, as they may one day become your superiors." No, never insult the humble, nor despise that which is mean-looking, merely because it is so. The smallest and lowliest creatures have in them much that is worthy of admiration, aye, even of respect, for they are all the works of one Great Creator, and you know not what they may be destined to. " Look round creation, and survey Life springing forth from life's decay i 32 Beautiful Butterflies. In gladsome April view the tree Resume its verdant livery ; From bars of ice the river freed, Pursue its course along the mead : And earth, escaping from th' embrace Of winter, show a joyous face. E'en thus the worm, though lowly found, Groping its way upon the ground, May yet revive, a creature fair, And wander 'midst the realms of air." We will now examine a little into the structure of the perfect insect a common Butterfly ; and a truly wonderful piece of living machinery we shall find it. The body is divided into two principal divisions, called the Thorax, meaning the breast or chest, and the Abdomen, or stomach. The first of these is composed of three segments, something like those described on the Caterpillar, and the last of six or seven; these two sections of the body have, as in most insects, a very narrow line of connection ; they are both covered with hairs, more or less long in different species. The upper one is always thicker than the lower, because to it are attached the organs of motion the legs and wings, the muscles of which, especially those of the latter, are numerous and powerful. The legs are six in number, and this is the case with all true insects : there are three on each side, and their points of junc- tion with the body are pretty close to, and at about Beautiful Butterflies. 33 equal distances from, each other. In each leg there are three principal divisions, the thigh, the tibia, or pipe, and the tarsi, or toes, just as there are in the human leg, only the shape differs considerably, as you know. A Butterfly would not look well with silk stockings, because he has no calf; the thigh is often fringed with long hairs, and the tibia armed with a spur in the middle, and two others at the top ; the tarsi are five-jointed, and furnished with two claws at the extremity, which are often what is called bifed, that is, cleft in two ; this word comes from the Latin bi two, whence also comes biped a two-legged creature, and several other words beginning in the same way. When I tell my little boy he is a biped, he says, te and you are another," and he is quite right, for we are all bipeds bi, two ; pede, foot literally, two-footed, as quadru- ped is four-footed ; and tripod, a kind of stool that stands upon three feet ; from the Latin quatuor four, tres three ; also the roots of many English words. But why do I trouble you with all this about roots and de- rivations ? because I am desirous of making you look into things, to be thoughtful and inquiring, so that you may know the reason why this or that name is applied to a certain object or operation. This is the way to learn. Some Butterflies are called tetrapod, or four- footed, because, although they have six legs, they have but four feet, two of the legs being what are termed 3 34 Beautiful Butterflies. spurious or false, there being only one joint in the tarsi's, and consequently no claw or foot. From the legs we go naturally to the wings, they being situated very close together ; of these butterflies have two pairs, the upper pair being generally of a tri- angular form, and the lower pair nearly circular ; the shape, however, as well as the size, varies greatly in different species ; and the difference in the colours and markings is, as you know, great indeed. I have already spoken of the mealy powder or scales (feathers they are sometimes called) , in which the colour resides, and may, therefore, pass on to observe that the thin membrane, of which the wing itself consists, is traversed by small tubes called nervures, filled with air and air- like fluid, which acts so as to expand the wing when the fly first issues from the pupa state, and to strengthen and keep it extended afterwards ; the principal nervures rise from the point where the wing joins the body, and where there is a horny scale covered with tufts of hair, so that it resembles a little epaulet, such as the soldiers wear ; and the parts between the main pipes, as they may be called, are termed by naturalists areolets, that is, little spaces, from area, an open or flat surface between lines or boundaries. Naturalists consider the upper wing of the Butterfly divisible into three of these spaces, and across them from branch to branch ramify, that is, spread out, Beautiful Butter/lies. 35 smaller pipes, so as to form a complete network, as I have before observed. In some species these minute veins are much more numerous than in others, and in some they scarcely or at all occur. It may be observed that Butterflies, when at rest, generally carry their wings upright, so that the backs of them meet together, and only the under sides are visible ; and here is an obvious mark of distinction from the Moths, which keep theirs flat, even with the ground, or whatever they may rest on, and so show only the upper part; the flight of the Butterfly, too, is more wavering than that of the Moth generally. It does not go in a direct line, but keeps rising and falling, and herein often lies its safety from the pursuing bird, with whose beak it is level one instant, and the next far above or below it. Thus it is that the weaker creatures are often able to elude or baffle the pursuit of the stronger by superior cunning or agility a something which is given as a compensation for want of power, and a means of preservation from their foes. Not all the Butterflies, however, are distinguished by this irregular and fitful mode of flight ; some of the larger sorts, which are strong upon the wing, go more directly to their object, and sometimes even make way against currents of air which would make the less weighty and powerful flutterers seek shelter in a lily- bell, or a tent of green leaves. A practical entomolo- 36 Beautiful Butterflies. gist can generally tell the species of a Butterfly by its mode of flight, so much difference is there in this respect. One very important part of the structure of the insect I have not yet described, that is, the head, the most conspicuous and curiously constructed organ of which is the long flexible tube used for sucking the juices out of the nectaries of the flowers ; this is of a cartilaginous or gristly substance, arranged in rings, woven together, as it were, by means of minute fibres, so that it can be curved or twisted in any direction, with great ease and rapidity. This tube is, in reality, the mouth of the creature, for it has no other, nor any occasion for one, as it lives by suction, and is hence classed among the Haustellated (from the Latin Haustus, a draught) or suctorial tribes of insects. The Proboscis or trunk of the Butterfly is divided into two distinct portions, which can be separated throughout their whole length, each portion being grooved on the inner side; they form, when united, a sort of canal of a squarish shape, through which passes the nourishment which the insect sucks up. The union of the two halves of the trunk is effected by the interlacing of an immense number of threads, which form a kind of fringe along the edges, and so close is it that the canal is perfectly air-tight ; and on each side of it there runs from top to bottom a circular passage, the use of which does not appear to be very Beautiful Butterflies. 37 clearly known, although it is thought most likely to be the transmission of air for the purposes of respiration or breathing, which, however, is mainly carried on by means of pores, or very minute openings in the sides of the body, called stigmata, from stigma, a mark, these pores presenting the appearance, under the microscope, of little pits or dots. Near the outer extremity of the trunk, which, when not in use, is curled up like the spring of a watch, are generally a number of projections resembling leaflets; a scientific naturalist would call them papillae, the Latin for nipples. Reaumur supposes that the iise of these is to steady the organ, by adhering to the sides of the flowers into which they are inserted. In order that my readers may have a clearer understand- ing of the structure of this wonderful little instrument, I have caused three cuts to be executed. A is a mag- nified view of the trunk, exhibiting its general form, and the papillce near the tip. B is a highly magnified 38 Beautiful Butterflies. section in which the mode of connection is shown, with B the central and two lateral or side canals. C is another section showing the under side. Is it not marvellous that all this is in a little tube not much thicker than a hair ; human skill and ingenuity can do much, but they would surely be at fault here. We have seen that the proboscis of the Butterfly is composed of two distinct parts, which may be considered as occupying the same place in the general structure of the insect, as the maxillce or under jaws of the man- dibulated tribes. We have here two Latin words, and when I tell you their meaning, you will understand what I wish to express; maxilla, then, means the upper jaw-bone the termination ce makes it plural ; mandibula is the Latin for jaw, so the term above used Beautiful Butterflies. 39 would signify tribes that have jaws, as much the larger number of living creatures have. It was, per- haps, not quite correct of me to say that the Butterfly had no mouth, for there is a little cavity just below the insertion of the trunk, which, although it hardly de- serves the name of a mouth, and does not appear to be used at all as yours and mine, or even that of the Cater- pillar is, yet it must, I fancy, be so called. And we must now speak of the oral appendages, that is, the parts which belong to the mouth. The word comes from the Latin os or oris. Now, if you should hear or read that a person has or intends to communi- cate with another orally, you will understand that it means by word of mouth that is, by speech. This little cavity that I spoke of is covered by a small trian- gular plate, " which must be regarded," says an autho- rity on these matters, " as the labium or under lip." There is another Latin word for you to remember. Those letters of the English alphabet, such as b, p, v, f, m, which are pronounced chiefly by the lips, are called labials, you know, or should know. You have, no doubt, noticed two short points projecting from the front of the head of a Butterfly I do not mean the horns, which are long, slender, and nobbed at the ends but I mean what are called the labial palpi. In describing the head of the Caterpillar, I spoke of the palpi or feelers ; this latter term comes from the 40 Beautiful Butterflies. Latin palpus, and it expresses the action of feeling gently or timidly, just as the snail does, you know, which draws in its horns directly they come in contact with anything. The term also means to flutter, hence you may hear a weak person say that his heart palpi- tates, when he has used great exertion, or been over- excited. Now, both these meanings will apply to the palpi of the Butterfly, which sometimes has a quivering or fluttering motion, and I have been thus particular in explaining them, in order that you may see what great significance there is in scientific terms generally. Igno- rant people often wonder what use there can be in these long names, but you here see that they have a use, and you may also see how necessary to a right understand- ing of them is a knowledge of the Greek and Latin languages, on which they are chiefly founded. These languages may be considered as the keys to all the sciences by all means try and obtain possession of these keys, for they will well repay you for years of study; with them to guide you, and the habits of ob- servation and method, and analysis, which their very acquisition will induce, much that now seems difficult and strange will be clear and simple, and full of order. Now let us go back to the palpi, it would be palpa if only one, but that there are two is c^mie palpable, that is, plain they can be seen and felt, and those who have examined them through a microscope, tell us that they Beautiful Butterflies. 41 are three-jointed, and in shape like this. In this cut, the letter a indicates the organ I have been describing ; and b the antenna, plural antennae. The term I have used before in describing the insect in its larva state ; but I did not then speak of its derivation. The Latin word antenna means the sail-yard, as it is called, of a ship, that is, the piece which crosses the mast, and to which the canvas is affixed; these horns of the insect, in some cases sticking out in nearly opposite directions to each other, suggested the idea of the cross-pieces on a mast, and so the same Latin name was applied to them. They are generally of considerable length, and consist of a great number of joints, usually increasing in thickness towards the extremity, where they form a kind of knob; this formation you must often have noticed ; it is peculiar to the Diurnal Lepidoptera, and by its variations of shape affords an obvious distinction 42 Beautiful Butterflies. between different genera. In the Moths the antennae are often beautifully feathered and fringed, but we do not find this the case with the Butterflies. I have now only to speak of the eyes, which are of two kinds, the stemmetic or simple eyes, which are usually two in number, and placed on the crown of the head, where, if seen at all, which is not the case in all species, they appear as little clear spots, nearly covered with hairs and scales. Their use as organs is some- what questionable, but they may be of service in some way, as yet undiscovered by the investigation of scien- tific men. The ordinary or compound eyes, as they are called, are plain enough ; they occupy a great part of the head on each side, and project from it like a half globe ; unlike the human eye, which can move in various directions, they are fixed, but to compensate for this they are composed of an immense number of little lenses, each of which is capable of reflecting a perfect image, so that on whatever side you approach a Butter- fly (and it is the same with most other insects), it can see you without moving its head or rolling its eye-ball in the socket, as you or I would be obliged to do, to be aware of any danger approaching from a direction other than the front. Naturalists tell us that they have counted as many as seventeen thousand three hundred and twenty-five lenses in a singe eye ; double that for the pair, and it gives thirty-four thousand six hundred Beautiful Butterflies. 43 and fifty little circular looking-glasses, to a single pair of eyes, contrived and fashioned for an insect destined to live but for a few hours. I can tell you nothing more wonderful than this, so I think I may as well bring my description of a Butterfly to a conclusion, the more especially as I have mentioned all with which it is necessary for you to be acquainted about the history and structure Of that wonder of wonders, the bright-winged fly, That flits to and fro in the azure sky ; That has died, and been buried, and sprung from the tomb, To live amid sunshine, and beauty and bloom. As the subject of my present volume is ' British Butterflies,' I would say a few words with especial reference to them. They are neither so large nor so beautiful as some of the foreign ones, yet are there many of the native species remarkable for elegance of form and richness of colour, as the examples here given will serve to show ; and, by the way, here let me men- tion one peculiarity in the wings of the Butterfly, which should not go unnoticed the under, as well as the upper, side of this wing, is beautiful!) painted by the Divine Hand, often of a different pattern fiom that displayed on the outer surface. How elaborately finished are all God's works ! How perfect in every part! The Lepidopterous order of insects ranks next to the 44 Beautiful Butterflies. Coleoptera, or Beetles, in point of numbers ; in Eng- land, where the variable and moist climate is certainly unfavorable to their increase, there are not much less than two thousand species : between two and three thousand of the Diurnal Lepidoptera alone have been discovered and described all over the world; and of this division of the order seventy-five species inhabit Britain. At the end of the volume will be found a complete list of these, arranged according to their genera, with a specification of their times of appear- ance, and of the places they usually frequent. BUTTEEFLY HUNTING. BUTTERFLY HUNTING. j]N a boy the desire to capture one of these beautiful insects that comes dancing and flut- tering before his eyes, as if to invite pursuit, is natural and instinctive ; off goes the cap without any other thought than how the prize is to be obtained ; trampled flower borders, torn trousers, even bruised limbs, are as nothing in the account, and probably he sits down at last, flushed, heated, tired, and disap- pointed ; but it is only to start up again and renew the chase, should the same chance of a capture offer itself. " Before your sight Mounts on the breeze the Butterfly, and soars, Small creature as she is, from earth's bright bowers Into the dewy clouds." And while you stand wondering what has become of the insect which seemed but now within your grasp, another brighter and more beautiful still issues from the variegated tulip cup, and as Mrs. Hemans has it, 48 Beautiful Butterflies. " like an embodied breeze at play," wavers about amid the flowers ; and off you go again in hot pursuit, like the child of Vigillia, in Shakspere's play of ' Corio- lanus,' but not like him, I hope, to get into a rage and destroy wilfully the poor fly, because you have a tumble or two in endeavouring to catch it. " I saw him," says Valeria to the boy's fond mother, "run after a gilded Butterfly, and when he caught it, he let it go again, and after it again, and over and over he comes, and up again catched it again; or whether his fall enraged him, or how 't was, he did so set his teeth and tear it ; O, I warrant how he mammocked it." This is by no means a pleasing picture, but I fear it is too often re- alised among young Butterfly hunters, who, if they do not get into a passion and designedly destroy the object of their pursuit, frequently do so accidentally in their efforts to secure it. So delicate and fragile is the crea- ture, that but the brush of a cap, or the slightest pres- sure of a finger, will, if it crush not that wonderfully organized frame, and render it lifeless, take away much of its beauty, and with it, no doubt, much of its capa- city for enjoyment. And after all, if their efforts are crowned with success, how poor is the prize gained. The poet Byron has some beautiful lines on this subject which I should like you to read ; Beautiful Butterflies. 49 " As rising on its purple wing The insect queen of Eastern spring, O'er emerald meadows of Kashmeer, Invites the young pursuer near ; And leads him on from flower to flower, A weary chase, and wasted hour, Then leaves him as it soars on high, With panting heart and tearful eye." The poet thus, after saying, -which is true, how full- grown children, that is, men, are lured by things which, if as beautiful, are also as fragile as Butterflies, sup- poses that the prize is gained, and goes on " The lovely toy so fiercely sought, Hath lost its charm by being caught, For every touch that woo'd its stay, Hath brush'd its brightest hues away, Till charm, and hue, and beauty gone, 'Tis left to fly or fall alone." We have heard of an enthusiastic entomologist who followed a Butterfly for nine miles, in the hope of cap- turing it ; and this must be set down to the account of ardour in scientific investigation. Not all grown But- terfly hunters, however, would we hold so excused, many, very many, more unfortunate insects are swept down with the net, and pinned out in the collecting case, than are required for the purposes of science ; and this wholesale destruction of insect life we think scarcely compatible with that abhorrence of cruelty, and rever- 4 50 Beautiful Butterflies. ence for the works of the Great Creator, which is enjoined by Him " Who formed the gilded fly, and o'er its wing, A picture, decked in rainbow colours, drew ; To sport amid the sunshine of the spring." My young readers must not suppose from this that I would harshly condemn in them that love of Butterfly hunting which is common to all children. I have felt it myself, and know how strong is the temptation to follow " the painted toy." There is perhaps no prettier sight than such as that described by Grahame, in his poem on July, when "At noontide hour from school the little throng Rush gaily sporting o'er the enamelled mead, Some strive to catch the bloom-perched Butterfly j And if they miss his mealy wings, the flower From which he flies the disappointment soothes." In gazing on such a scene as this, I become a boy again, and am half inclined to join in chase myself, and to whoop and halloo with the maddest there; but then the thought occurs would it be right to risk even doing injury to a creature so wonderfully fashioned, and to shorten the little span of its joyous existence. Let this thought restrain your hand ; run and leap as much as you like, it is Beautiful Butterflies. 51 natural to your age and good for your health to do so, and follow "The little fly with wings of sunbeams," from end to end of the green meadow, but do not attempt to catch it ; let it be to you as a sacred thing, sent by God to beautify the earth, and delight your eyes, but by no means to be wantonly injured or de- stroyed. I should like to repeat to you many beautiful poems which have been written on the Butterfly, and many striking observations that have been made on it by naturalists, such as Messrs. Kirby and Spence, whose admirable work on Entomology I hope you will read when you are older, but I cannot do so now, as my book is but a small one, and I shall want all the avail- able space to describe the species of which figures are given. In the poems above spoken of allusion is some- times made to the Butterfly as a fop a light careless thing ; thus Thompson says " While a gay insect in his summer shine, The fop, light fluttering, spreads his mealy wings." The same poet too, in his * Castle of Indolence,' speaks of it as an emblem of pleasure : 52 Beautiful Butterflies. " Behold ! ye pilgrims of the earth, behold ! See, all but man with unearned pleasure gay j See her bright robes the Butterfly unfold, Broke from her wintry tomb in prime of day, What youthful bride can equal her array ? Who can with her for easy pleasure vie ? From mead to mead with gentle wings to stray, From flower to flower on balmy gales to fly, Is all she has to do beneath the radiant sky." Leaving unquoted those fanciful lines by Roscoe ' The Butterfly's Ball,' and ' The Butterfly's Funeral,' with which many of my readers must be familiar, as well as other Butterfly poems which I have at hand, I will conclude this Introductory Chapter with some lines by the quaker poet, Bernard Barton, who thus addresses the bright insect BEAUTIFUL creature, I have been Moments uncounted watching thee, Now flitting round the foliage green Of yonder dark, embowering tree ; And now again in frolic glee, Hov'ring around those opening flowers, Happy as nature's child should be, Born to enjoy her loveliest bowers. And I have gazed upon thy flight, Till feelings I can scarce define, Awakened by so fair a sight, With desultory thoughts combine Beautiful Butterflies. Not to induce me to repine, Or envy thee thy happiness ; But from a lot so bright as thine To borrow musings born to bless. For unto him whose spirit reads Creation with a Christian eye, Each happy living creature pleads The cause of Him who reigns on high ; Who spann'd the earth, and arch'd the sky, Gave life to everything that lives, And still delighteth to supply With happiness the life He gives. This truth may boast but little worth, Enforc'd by rhet'ric's frigid powers : But when it has, its quiet birth In contemplation's silent hours ; When summer's brightly peopled bowers Bring "home its teachings to the "heart ; When birds and insects, shrubs and flowers, Its touching eloquence impart. Though many a flower that sweetly deck'd Life's early path, but bloom'd to fade : Though sorrow, poverty, neglect Now seem to wrap their souls in shade ; Let those look upward, umlismay'd, Turn thorny paths in anguish trod, To regions where in light array'd, Still dwells their Saviour and their God. 54 Beautiful Butterflies. Sport on then, lovely summer fly, With whom hegan my votive strain : Yet purer joys their hopes supply, Who by Faith s alchemy obtain Comfort in sorrow, bliss in pain, Freedom in bondage, light in gloom, Through early losses, heavenly gain, And life IMMOETAI through the TOMB. DESCBIPTION OF SPECIES. 1. Swallow-tail. 2. Marbled White. SWALLOW-TAIL. PLATE I. FIG. I. MACHAON is the name applied by Linnaeus and most naturalists to this large and beautiful species of Butterfly ; the mean- ing of the first, or generic name, has already been suffi- ciently explained ; the second, or specific name, has reference, it is likely, to the peculiar shape of the two lower wings of the insect, from each of which issues, as will be seen by a reference to the plate, a projection shaped like a dagger or knife, the Latin word for which is Machera. There are only two British Butterflies which have wings of this singular form; and it is likely that few of my readers have seen either of them, except, perhaps, in the cases of the British Museum, or some other entomological collection. The species to which our attention is now directed, is the largest Butterfly found in Britain, sometimes measuring as much as three inches and three quarters across the expanded wings, of which it will be seen the ground- colour is yellow, with black markings ; these markings being remarkably bold and distinct, and the broadest of them being powdered over with very small dots, 58 Beautiful Butterflies. which look like gold dust; and some of the yellow portions have a like sprinkling of little blue dots ; on each hind wing, as it is called, is a patch of a rich purple colour, and on the inner side a red spot like a fiery eye. The body of the insect is like black velvet powdered with gold; and altogether it is so richly dressed, so gracefully formed, and so large of size, as well to deserve the title bestowed upon it by one naturalist, named De Geer, of Papilio Regina, the Queen Butterfly. And where think you does her Queenship delight to hold her court ? On the sunny uplands, and in dry pastures, gay with Nature's gold and silver the buttercups and daisies? Nay, amid the moist fens and reedy islands, which abound in the shires of Lincoln, Cambridge and Huntingdon; there it is that the Swallow-tail Butterfly is most plentiful, and may be taken from the beginning of May to the end of August, by those who are venturous enough to follow it into the swampy grounds, amid which it delights to dwell. Here, too, may be found the beau- tifully-marked green and yellow caterpillar, with its black bands, and rows of little rings like eyelet holes across the back, feeding away upon the marsh parsley, the wild carrot, and the fennel, and other plants which flourish in such moist situations. From June to Sep- tember is the feasting time; in the latter month the change into a chrysalis takes place, and a curiously- Beautiful Butterflies. 59 shaped case it is that the voracious feeder goes to sleep in all points and angles, of a light green colour, with yellow marks, and a row of dusky dots down each side. There are several English counties "besides those before named in which this Butterfly has been found, but in none of them is it so plentiful as in those low and moist districts, Where the dragon-flies dart 'mid the rustling reeds, And the great sleek water-rat builds and breeds j Where the moorhen glides through the waving sedge, And leads her young to the marshes' edge; Where the stagnant pool is with duckweed green, And gnats rise in clouds when the air's serene ; And the alder grey like a sentry stands To warn men's feet from the swampy lands. Since the draining of the fens in Lincolnshire, and other parts of the country, it is said that the beautiful Swallow-tail has become less plentiful, and a fear has been expressed that entomologists may in time lose this most conspicuous ornament of their cabinets. Well, better so than suffer such waste and barren spots to remain uncultivated; such nurseries of fever and pestilence to send forth their unhealthy exhalations, and spread sickness and death throughout the sur- rounding districts. Wholesome food and pure air for man is of far more consequence than the preservation of an insect, however beautiful and rare ; so let them 60 Beautiful Butterflies. drain Whittlesea Mere, as they have lately been doing, and turn the fens into farms, where something more than flocks of cackling geese can be bred and fed ; even although the race of Swallow-tails should become extinct in consequence. But we have little fear of this ; for many centuries to come there will be marshy waste places, where umbelliferous plants, such as the wild parsley, carrot, and fennel grow and flourish, and where, if anywhere, one may expect to find this Queen of British Butterflies, in company, perhaps, but this would be a rare chance indeed, with the SCARCE SWALLOW-TAIL, called by naturalists Papilio Poda- lirius, of which but a few specimens have been taken in England. Why it was called Podalirius, we cannot tell, this was the name of a son of the ancient Greek physician, Esculapius. Both in shape and markings this insect differs considerably from the more common kind the wings are more pointed and slender ; there are no red eyes in the lower ones, nor patches of purple, but dark blue spots shine on each side in the place of them. The Caterpillar is shorter and stouter, green with yellow and red markings. It is said to feed on the leaves of the apple, sloe, plum, peach, and almond ; the chrysalis is light brown. Beautiful Butterflies. 61 MARBLED WHITE. PLATE I. FIG. II. j APILIO, or Hipparchia Galathea, is the Latin name of this species. You will remember what I told you about the genera into which naturalists have divided the members of the animal and vegetable kingdoms. Hipparchia is a genus of Butter- flies including many species, of which this is the largest, and perhaps also the handsomest ; most of the others differ from it greatly in the colours of the wings, which are brown of various shades, sometimes tinged with red, and sometimes with dusky yellow. The Cater- pillars are nearly always green, more or less marked with yellow, and sometimes with red. They feed on different kinds of grasses; that called the cat's-tail grass being the favourite food of the larva of the Marbled White, which obtains its English name from having its wings chequered and veined as we sometimes see marble; these wings, however, are not, strictly speaking, white, but a pale yellow ; in some there is a much greater proportion of black than in others. But we have got something more to say about the scientific title. Hipparchus, we find, was the name of 62 Beautiful Butterflies. an ancient astronomer; but why it applied to this genus of insects we cannot tell. A group of crustaceous animals, or shell-fish, has had the term Galathea given to it by some naturalists, but why, our reading does not inform us, any more than it does wherefore a cer- tain species of Butterfly should be so called. Lac is the Latin, and gala the Greek, for milk; hence we have galaxy, that collection of stars in the heavens called the milky way ; Galactites, precious stones, of a milk-white colour, etc. The wings of this beautiful fly are of a milky, or rather of a creamy tint, and hence perhaps may have originated the specific name of the insect, which appears in its perfect state in the months of June and July. It may be found in every county in England, although only in certain spots, or localities, as they are called ; usually in lonely places, in and near woods, or on wide open downs or moors. It measures from one to two inches and a half across the extended wings; the Caterpillar is about an inch and a quarter long, with yellow stripes running along the sides of its thick, green body ; the chrysalis is scarcely half the length, of a light brown colour ; it is usually found suspended from the stalk of the cat's-tail, or some other grass. 1. Scotch Argus. 2. White Admiral. 3. Red Admiral. 4. Peacock Butterfly. Beautiful Butterflies. 63 SCOTCH ARGUS. * PLATE II. FIG. I. IPPARCHIA BLANDINA. This is a v^, beautiful, although at first sight it appears a sober-coloured Butterfly ; the wings, of a rich brown, ornamented with veins and patches of bright copper colour, and beset with small eye-like dots, are well deserving of a close examination. They measure, when extended, from an inch and a half to two inches across, and their outline is at once bold and graceful ; the under sides of the hinder pair, seen when the insect is at rest, have on them two broadish waves of a grey tint, and both pairs on either side are margined with yellowish brown, which being crossed with darker lines, looks like a delicate fringe. This insect, which is not uncommon in many parts of Scotland, especially the southern counties, has also been captured in Northumberland, Durham, and York- shire, as well as some other parts of England, in which country, however, it is by no means plentiful. The Caterpillar is light green, with brown and white stripes, running lengthwise, these would be termed longitudinal stripes; the head is of a reddish colour; 64 Beautiful Butterflies. what it feeds on does not appear to be known ; nor as far as we can learn, has the chrysalis been discovered. Respecting the name, we can only say that Argus refers to the little spots on the wings, that being the designation in the ancient mythology of one who is said to have had a hundred eyes ; so we say of a very watchful person, like your schoolmaster, for example, that he is argus-eyed he sees everything. But for that matter, all Butterflies are Arguses, for, as I have already shown, they have each a great many more than a hundred little reflecting lenses; to these real eyes, however, the term does not refer, but to the eyelike rings with dots in the centre, which appear in the wings of this and many other species. The Wood Argus (Hipparchia JEgeria) and the Arran Argus (H. Ligea) are two of these; the latter closely re- sembles the one we have just described. It is very rare in Britain, having only been found in the Scottish Isle of Arran, whence it takes its name. The former is an elegant fly, with dark brown wings, specked with buff-colour, from which the little eyes peep out; the under sides are much lighter, beautifully streaked and mottled. This insect is found in woods and lanes all through the country, from April to August. It is sometimes called the Wood Lady, or Speckled Wood Butterfly. We have before mentioned three generic names Beautiful Butterflies. 65 Blandina, JEgeria, and Ligea, to what do they refer ? The nearest approach we can make to the first, in the Latin, is Blandusia the name of a fountain near the country seat of the ancient Roman poet, Horace. Bland, you know, in our language, means soft, smooth ; and this comes from a Latin root having the same sound and signification. ^Egeria, in the old mythology, was the name of a disconsolate maiden, who took to crying so, that it was thought hest to make her a fountain at once ; and so travellers tell of the grotto of JEgeria, near Naples, whose trickling waters do not taste at all like salt tears. Ligea was the name of one of the Nereides; and who are they? you may well ask. Oh, they were nymphs of the sea, fifty of them, and all sisters a nice little family ; they lived in grottoes and caves on the sea-shore, all decked with shells and shining spars, and when they went out for an airing, they rode upon dolphins. They had the power of calming the waters, and so sailors in old times used to pray to them for prosperous voyages. But what has all this to do with Butterflies ? I am sure I do not know ; ask the grave naturalists who gave such pagan out-of-the-way names to our little brown Arguses, and led us away into the regior of myths and fables. 5 66 Beautiful Butterflies. WHITE ADMIRAL. PLATE II. FIG. II. APILIO, or Limenitis Camilla. This is an insect most usually found in the shady wood- lands of Essex, Sussex, Hampshire, Suffolk, Kent, and Middlesex; it is by no means a common species in any part of England, and is remarkable rather for grace and elegance of form than richness of colour. The wings, which, when expanded, sometimes measure as much as two inches and a half across, are, on the upper side, of a dull brownish black, with a broad band crossing each; this is very irregular in shape, and varies considerably in breadth in different individuals ; there are also white specks scattered here and there about the wings, the under sides of which are of a light reddish brown, with the white markings of the upper sides showing through ; near the body of the insect, they become of a grey tint ; the back and upper parts of the body also assimilate to the outer surface of the wings in hue. The Caterpillar, which feeds on the honeysuckle, is from an inch to two inches long; of a green colour, ringed and ornamented with faint red lines, and tufts Beautiful Butterflies. 67 of hair along the back. The angular-shaped chrysalis is pale brown, marked with black lines and golden spots. It has a curious projection, like a knob, on the back, and where the head of the insect is are two dis- tinct lumps. It is found suspended by the point to a honeysuckle or some other stem. English naturalists, we believe, have not been fortu- nate enough to discover this gilded mummy case, al- though many a hunt has taken place in the hope of doing so ; neither has the insect in the larva state been found in this country. Those few who have been fortu- nate enough to have opportunities of observing the fly on the wing, have been struck with the peculiar grace of its movements. Thus the Rev. Mr. Haworth says, " The graceful elegance displayed by this charming species when sailing on the wing, is perhaps greater than can be found in any other we have in Britain." And the Rev. Everett Sheppard tells us that " In its beautiful flight, when it skims aloft, it rivals the Purple Emperor, which it strongly resembles in appearance. It seems, however (unlike the latter), to avoid the sun- beams ; for it frequents the glades of woods, where it rapidly insinuates itself by the most beautiful evolu- tions and placid flight through the tall underwood, on each side of the glades, appearing and disappearing like so many little fairies," and seeming, as the rev. gentleman might have added, to say to the pursuer, 68 Beautiful Butterflies. " Through the wood, through the wood, follow and find me, Search every hollow, and dingle, and dell." With respect to the scientific name, it may be ob- served that Limenitis may have reference to the flashing appearance of the white bands on the wings, as the in- sect flies about in the dusky glade ; leme being an old English word, signifying a ray or flash. Camilla, in the mythology, was the name of a queen of the Volschi, so swift of foot, that she could pass over a field of corn without bending the ears, and over the sea without wetting her feet. We should rather believe that our dusky -winged Camilla could do this than the Volschian queen, however swift-footed she might have been. This insect, we are told, is not rare on the continent of Europe, where there are four other species belonging to the same genus, and closely resembling it. Beautiful Butterflies. RED ADMIRAL. PLATE II. FIG. III. \APILIO, or Vanessa Atalanta. This large and magnificent Butterfly is by no means un- common. It comes out of the chrysalis in August, and may frequently be seen flitting from flower to flower in the garden, seeming to prefer the large globe-like dahlia and the little green blossoms of the ivy, two very different objects of regard; doubtless, however, the nectar of the one is as sweet as that of the other, and little need the gaily-dressed insect care about richness of colour, for he has that himself; look at him now, as he sails proudly in the autumn sunshine, which seems to sink into the soft velvety down of his rich brown wings, and give them a golden gloss. The colour is deep, approaching to a black, and across the middle of each upper wing a painter seems to have drawn his brush filled with the brightest ver- milion ; along the bottom edge of the lower pair, there is also a band of the same colour dotted with dark brown or black ; there are several irregular white specks on the upper ones towards the angles of their widest 70 Beautiful Butterflies. expansion, where they measure in some instances as much as three inches across ; near the tips is an in- distinct wave of purple, which catches the eye in certain lights, and all round the margins of both pairs is a fringe of white arranged like a chain of little crescents. The inner sides of the wings can hardly be described ; they are beautifully mottled and variegated with black, brown, buff, steely blue, and other metallic tints ; the ground colour is lighter than that on the outer side, the red and white markings of which gleam through like flashes of different coloured flame. Oh, a glorious fellow is the Red Admiral ! and so bold and fearless, too, as an admiral should be ; you may come close up to him as he sits sunning himself upon the flowers, and examine him at your leisure ; but do not attempt to touch him, unless you really want a good specimen for your cabinet ; and even in that case, it is better, perhaps, not to risk the spoiling of these magnificent wings, but to search for a caterpillar : they are not difficult to find among the nettles where they feed. The colour is dusky green, with a yellow line running along each side ; it is sparingly covered with short hairs, and its length varies from an inch and a quarter to one and three quarters ; it often conceals itself by drawing together several of the nettle leaves by means of silken threads. Beautiful Butterflies. 71 When you have captured it, give it some of the seeded tops of the plants, for this is the part which it seems to prefer. By and by it will turn into a chry- salis of a greyish brown colour, having golden spots sprinkled over it ; the back is rough and ridgy, the tail end sharply pointed, and the opposite end bearing a remarkable resemblance to the snout and head of a miniature pig. It is generally at the latter end of August or begin- ning of September that this beautiful fly makes its appearance, in its new suit all fresh and glossy, and it generally disappears by the end of October ; a few, it seems, manage to get into some snug hole or crevice, and live through the winter, coming out again for a short time in the spring, but with wings sadly rubbed and faded insects which "have seen better days." Usually, however, the life of the gallant Admiral, is, as short as it is, no doubt, merry. But why is it called Vanessa ? why Atalanta ? Let us see if we can find it out. The first you know is the generic name, and the genus to which it is applied, in- cludes some of the most common, as well as the most beautiful of the British species; several of them we shall presently describe. Our business is now with the Red Admiral, or Alderman, as he is sometimes called, because, perhaps, aldermen once wore, and in some places still do wear, scarlet gowns edged with brown 7 Beautiful Butterflies. fur, making a mixture of colours something like the wings of this noble fly. But what about Vanessa? well, here again we are at fault ; we can find no name, proper or common, no Greek or Latin root, at all like it, except vanesco to vanish in the Latin tongue, and therefore must give it up. Atalanta I could tell a long story about, did I wish to entertain my young readers with old fables; she, too, according to mythological story, was one of the swift-footed, and did some very wonderful things, how many hundred years ago I am afraid to say -, and now, that her name may not be clean forgotten, which I think it might just as well be, naturalists have bestowed it upon this gorgeous insect, although it appears quite a misnomer, as the Admiral is rather a heavy flyer for a Butterfly, and the English name which he bears is thai of a gentleman, and not a lady. All the flies of the Vanessa genus are remarkable for their robust bodies, and the thick texture of their wings ; they are strong and handsome, rather than light and elegant ; that is, comparatively speaking, for lightness and elegance are inseparable from the whole race of diurnal Lepidoptera. Beautiful Butt&rflies. 73 PEACOCK BUTTERFLY. PLATE II. FIG. IV. \APILIO, or Vanessa lo. We have here another magnificent species, on which many of my readers must have often looked with intense admiration, for it is common enough through- out the greater part of England, especially in the more southern counties ; it gets rare towards the north, and in Scotland is seldom found. Old writers called this Butterfly Omnium regina, that is the Latin for Queen of all, and we ourselves are half inclined to rank it before all others for beauty and richness of co- louring. It is scarcely so large as the Red Admiral, seldom measuring more than two inches and a half across the expanded wings, which are of a rich dark brownish red, the upper pair several shades lighter than the lower ; at places there is an inclination towards a purple shade, and a large eye, or, as naturalists call it, an ocellus, from the Latin word oculus an eye, covers a consider- able portion of each of the four wings ; being situated, in the upper pair, near the extremities farthest from the 74 Beautiful Butterflies. body, and in the lower, also near the tips and outer margins ; these ocelli are much like the many-coloured spots on the tail of the peacock, and hence the insect has been named after the bird. lo was the name of a heathen goddess, about whom there is told a cock-and-a-bull story, not worth repeat- ing, more especially as we cannot learn that it has any relation to the habits or appearance of the insect to which the name is applied, and the under side of whose wings are very different from the outer, being of a uni- form dark brown colour, traversed by black waving lines, which form a complete network, through which, like stars through a mist, the blue and white spots on the outer sides faintly peep. The body of this insect is blackish, clothed with rust-coloured hairs, and the legs are of a dull yellow colour. The Caterpillar is also black, or nearly so, with nu- merous white points dispersed in rows across the body, which is partially covered with hairs ; the legs are a rusty red. Its habits are gregarious, that is, numbers live and feed together; it feeds on two very common species of stinging nettle, amid which it may be found without much difficulty about July. The chrysalis is, both in shape and colour, much like that of the Red Admiral ; there is something more of a green tinge in it, and the indentations along the back Beautiful Butterflies. 75 are deeper. The resemblance of the thicker end to the head of the swine is also more marked and distinct, and piggy here appears to he adorned with two stick-up ears, which is not quite in accordance with swinish fashion. 76 Beautiful Butterflies. LARGE TORTOISE-SHELL. PLATE III. FIG. I. \APILIO, or Vanessa Polychloros. The Tor- toise-shell Butterfly is one of the commonest of our native species, but the Great Tortoise- shell, or Elm Butterfly, as it is sometimes called, must not be confounded with this ; it is larger, handsomer, and also very much rarer ; in the colours and markings of the two species there is not a great deal of differ- ence ; neither is there in the shape of their wings ; the smaller is perhaps the more graceful of the two ; the larger the more bold and noble more rounded and full, and sturdy, so to speak, as though one were the per- sonification bless us, that is a long word well, then, the figure, the showing forth of manly beauty, and the other of womanly loveliness. If we saw the two flying together, we might take them to be brother and sister, so great is the family likeness, and yet they are quite different species, although belonging to the same genus ; and a naturalist would never take one for the other, however closely they might approach in size, as they sometimes do. Oh, these are sharp fellows, these naturalists j we sometimes fancy that they have micro- 1. Large Tortoise-shell. 2. Camberwell Beauty. Beautiful Butterflies. 77 scopic eyes, that is, that they carry microscopes in their heads as well as in their pockets ; they can detect such minute points of difference, and so quickly too. They can see things that nobody else can see, and they tell such wonderful stories about the creatures that inhabit drops of water, and grains of sand, that one is at times inclined to think they have only been dreaming, and ought to begin their almost unbelievable stories with the line of the poet Coleridge " In a vision once I saw." But then they tell us how we may convince ourselves of the truth of their statements, and bid us look through their glasses at some of the monsters of the invisible world, which are frightful enough in pictures ; but all alive and kicking are, oh dear! enough to make a nervous person go clean out of his senses " off his head," as they say in some parts of England. One of these days I mean to write a little book for your instruction, all about the animalcules, and the uses of the microscope, and then we will get our engraver to serve you up such a dish, or rather a number of plates, of odd-shaped creatures, which inhabit the world out of sight, that if you won't be startled and surprised, that's a pity ! But what is our Vanessa Polychloros doing all this time? enjoying himself in the sunshine no doubt, 78 Beautiful Butterflies. like an idle fellow as he is, for the song says, you know that " The Butterfly was a gentleman, Of no very good repute, And he roamed in the sunshine all day long, In his scarlet and purple suit." There he goes fluttering, fluttering, with his gaily- painted wings spread out, with the tips as much per- haps as three inches apart, without appearing in the least incommoded by the long name he carries about with him, and which, if he should let it fall so as to break it into two halves, would turn out to be made up of the Greek words Polus many, and Chlorus spot, so that it means, literally, many-spotted ; and this we must confess to be a very appropriate title, better than all the Atalantas and Camillas, and such like proper, or rather improper, names of fabulous persons. It was most likely on a bright July day that the Great Tor- toise-shell Butterfly you know why he is called that, because he is marked like the shell of a tortoise burst from his chrysalis prison, and he will most likely leave this gay and busy scene before the end of September ; either dying, as is generally the case, or stowing him- self away in some nook or cranny, where his superb wings can be kept dry for a little spring exercise, should the weather prove at all genial ; they get, how- ever, sadly rubbed and rumpled, and cannot be made Beautiful Butterflies. 79 to look like new by all the dyers and scourers in Butterfly land. I shall not attempt to describe these wings, for all my readers have seen the Small Tortoise- shell fly, and often enough to know every marking; should any of them unhappily belong to that class of persons who go about the world with their eyes shut, they can open them for once, and look at the beautiful pictures with which our artist has illustrated this volume, and they will see at a glance what it would take many words to express in a very imperfect manner. The under side of the wings is a dull brown, approach- ing to a black, with here and there a streak of blue, and waving lines of dusky white, and irregular bands of deeper colour. The Caterpillar of this species may be found most usually on the leaves of the elm tree, where they feed, numbers of them together, under little silken tents, spun out of their own bodies ; their colour is a bluish- brown, and along each side runs a broad band of orange, which, with numerous tufts of yellowish hair, gives them quite a gay appearance. After the first change of skin they break up their family parties, and disperse to seek their livelihood singly ; they are sometimes found on the willow and several kinds of fruit trees, especially the cherry. The chrysalis is brownish flesh-colour, with golden 80 Beautiful Butterflies. spots. It has the peculiar conformation at one end mentioned in the two preceding species. This butterfly is to be met with in all the southern counties in England ; in some years it occurs in large numbers at particular places, but not so regularly as to be called a common fly anywhere in this country, where its near relative, the Small Tortoise-shell, is very abundant. I. Small .Tortoise-shell. 2. Purple Emperor. Beautiful Butterflies. 81 SMALL TORTOISE-SHELL. PLATE IV. FIG. I. j]HIS is the Papilio, or Vanessa urtica of natu- ralists, and when I tell my readers that the Latin for nettle is urtica, and that the Cater- pillar feeds upon nettles, they will at once see the fitness of the title. This Caterpillar is found in the beginning of June, and again about the middle of August. In the early stages of its growth it is gregarious like the larva of the last species ; the body is a dull greenish brown, with paler lines down the back and sides ; the head black, as are also the tufts of hair ; the chrysalis is brownish, and shaped much like that of the larger species. It is sometimes nearly covered with gilding, and is generally suspended by the smaller end. Everywhere in this country, and throughout the whole of the summer, one sees the Little Tortoise-shell Butterfly, of which species there appears to be two goal deliveries in the year, one in June and the other in September, so that by the time one batch of released prisoners dies out another comes to take its place, and thus the summer sunshine glanceth ever upon Tortoise- shell wings, and frequently the spring sunshine too, for 6 Beautiful Butterflies. LARVA, CHETSALIS, AND INSECT OP THE SMALL TOETOISE -SHELL BUTTEBFLY. ( Vanessa urtica.) Beautiful Butterflies. 88 more of this species than of any other manage to pre- serve life through the rigors of the winter, and they venture forth, when the blasting March gales have sunk to rest for a time, and the sun has melted the snow from off the hills, and the primrose blossoms and the violet buds are just beginning to unfold their fra- grant petals in woods and on mossy hedge-row banks. But full often do they share the fate of the venturous insects described by the Peasant Poet of Northampton- shire, John Clare, who says " The Butterflies by eager hopes undone, Glad as a child, came out to meet the sun, Beneath the shadow of a sudden shower Are lost, nor see to-morrow's April flower." The same poet, we remember, has another allusion to the Butterfly making its appearance in March, much to the delight of the old village dame ; in this case, however, it is one of the white species spoken of, most likely the Common Cabbage Butterfly (Pontia brassicce), which sometimes comes out very early. " The old dame then oft stills her humming wheel When the bright sunbeams through the windows steal And gleam upon her face, and dancing fall In diamond shadows on the pictur'd wall ; While the White Butterfly, as in amaze, Will settle on the glossy glass to gaze And, smiling, glad to see such things once more, Up she will get and totter to the door." 84 Beautiful Butterflies. CAMBERWELL BEAUTY. PLATE III. PIG. II. \APILIO, or Venessa antiopa. This is the crowning glory of the British Butterfly collec- tor's cabinet, and a happy man is he \vho gets a perfect specimen of an insect which is at once so rare and beautiful. It measures across the expanded wings from a little under to considerably over three inches, and is, therefore, one of the very largest of the native species, from all of which it differs greatly in shape, and still more in colour. Deep purplish-brown, of a rich velvety appearance, is the tint spread over nearly the whole upper surface of these wings ; round the outer edges this colour deepens into a broad black band, which is ornamented with a row of violet blue spots, some of which are oblong, some of a crescent shape ; attached to this band is what looks like a wide silken Mnge, of a pale yellow or cream colour, slightly waved on the inner side, and sprinkled with little black dots at the angles; the top edges of the upper pair are slightly mottled with yellow, and on each, near the tip, are two spots of the same. Underneath the wings are a shining ashy brown, with a network of black waved Beautiful Butterflies. 85 lines all over them ; the yellow spots, so distinct on the outer side, showing faintly through. The Caterpillar is large and black, with red spots along the back, and reddish legs ; it is thinly furnished with clusters of hairs ; it is gregarious, and feeds upon the leaves of the birch, willow, and poplar, and is said to be most usually found among the upper branches of these trees. The chrysalis is of a dull black colour, spotted with deep yellow, and of a very irregular shape. In neither the larva nor the pupa state has the insect been found, we believe, in this country, where its appearance occurs, except just here and there a single specimen or two, at long and uncertain intervals. About eighty years ago it was seen in great numbers in many parts of the kingdom, and again in 1819, but not since then, although almost every year one or more specimens are taken or seen. This fly obtained its common name from having been first observed in the neighbourhood of Camberwell, in the county of Surrey ; it is also sometimes called the Grand Surprise, and the White Border. The scientific name will take us again among the heathen gods and goddesses. Antiope, we are told, was a daughter of Nycteas, king of Thebes, who went through a variety of strange adventures, of the account of which we can only say, that if it is altogether false, so much the better ; for, little as we like story-telling, what this Antiope is 86 Beautiful Butterflies. said to have done we like far less. The fair Camberwell Beauty the loveliest of British Butterflies is by no means complimented in having such a name bestowed upon her. We cannot refrain from quoting here a passage from a monthly publication called ' The Naturalist/ wherein this butterfly is very touchingly and pleasingly alluded to. Our young readers, we have no doubt, will fully enter into the feelings and associations there expressed : "It was on a summer evening, of early life, when little more than a child, in rambling through a wood on a holiday, my attention was drawn to a spray on which rested a Camberwell Beauty. I had never seen such perfection before. My eye rested on the rich dark velvety wings, fringed with ermine white, relieved by an inner border of metallic blue spots, like bracelets of lapis lazuli. At this moment I could mark the very spot in the forest where this vision was revealed, and well do I remember the thrill of delight with which I captured and carried off my prize in triumph, to ex- hibit before a little knot of schoolfellows. I can see their uplifted hands, I can hear their exclamations of surprise, as they beheld the splendid captive. I can recall their features and their forms as if now living, though every individual among them has long since been called away, and now possibly familiarised with Beautiful Sutler/lies. 87 greater things than it is permitted man's philosophy to dream of here. " But to me, trifling as this little incident may appear to many, the results through life have been neither un- important, useless, nor uninfluential ; for it is to it I stand indebted for many a happy hour. That ' poor insect ' awakened a taste which has never slumbered ; and the cultivation of Natural History has been my solace in times and seasons, when the mind required something to fall back upon, apart from the business and pursuits of the world. It so happened that from the time I have alluded to until a few summers ago, in one of the mountain passes of the Pyrenees, I had never met with a single living specimen of Vanessa antiopa, when, on a lovely day, on a spray the very counterpart of that of the days of my childhood, I saw the expanded wings of this insect, and the days of t auld lang syne,' which first introduced it to my notice, came across my mind vivid and clear as though but of yesterday. This summer, again (and not unfrequently) I fell in with this associate of my early years. Children, indeed, may they be called of the sun. In the hot and sultry hours of noonday, they would flit by, rendering it almost impossible to watch their course ; if in these flights two or three met in the glade, they paused in their speed, and fluttering together, so busied themselves in conflict of rivalry or affection, I know not which, that I more 88 Beautiful Butterflies. than once caught two at a time, and after admiring them, in gratitude for the benefit I had received at their hands, sent them forth once again to enjoy their summer revelries. At other times (I particularly recollect one occasion), in a wood on the summit of the Drachenfels, when the wind was rather keen, I found numbers resting on the backs of trees, in a state of stupor ; they made no attempts to escape, and when thrown into the air their wings barely opened, or flapping feebly, eased their fall, or enabled them to seek repose on the stem of a rotten trunk." 1. Comma Butterfly. 2. Painted Lady. 3. Scarce Painted Lady. Beautiful Butterflies. 89 COMMA BUTTERFLY. PLATE V. FIG. I. \APILIO, or Vanessa C-album. This curious Butterfly is distinguished from all other British species, by the deeply cut or indented outline of the wings ; which, forming the kind of curve presented by the stop called a comma, gave occasion for the name by which it is commonly known. Naturalists we find term it C-album, the latter term meaning white; because there is marked on the under side of each of the lower wings a letter C in white, as distinctly on some individuals as though it had been painted in. This is a very singular distinctive mark, the like of which is to be found, I believe, on no other member of the Butterfly tribe. The Comma is the smallest species of the Vanessa genus which inhabits Britain, the utmost extent of the wings seldom exceeding two inches ; in colour it closely resembles the Tortoise-shell Fly, being reddish brown and black ; there is, however, less variety in the shades and markings. The under sides of the wings are in some instances elegantly variegated with brown and grey of various shades, and metallic green ; in others 90 Beautiful Butterflies. they are of a uniform dull brown, which held in different lights has a bronzy appearance. There are two broods of this fly in the year, one coming out in June, and the other in August or September ; and it has been observed that the wings of the latter brood are much less bright and various in colour than those of the former. The Caterpillar, which feeds on the elm, willow, honeysuckle, hop, nettle, and several other plants, is of a reddish brown, rather thickly set with hairs, and having a curious hairy projection on each side of the head, which is nearly heart-shaped. The chrysalis is a pale dirty brown, spotted with gold ; shaped much like those previously described. This is by no means a common fly in this country, that is generally speaking, for in some years it occurs in great plenty. York, Worcester, Dorset, Warwick, Suffolk, Gloucester, Herts, and Middlesex are the English shires where it has been chiefly taken. Also in Fifeshire, in Scotland, but in no other part of that country, except, perhaps, some of the southern coun- ties. A celebrated entomologist named Westwood, has observed a great variety in the shape of the wings of this insect, some not being nearly so deeply indented as others ; so that there are Common Butterflies, the outlines of whose wings present rather the form of a Beautiful Butterflies. 91 note of interrogation, (?) as though they would bid the student in entomology to pause and ask himself, can it be a Comma or some other species ; and so perhaps bring him to a semicolon, (;) or a colon, (:) or even a full stop. (.) While struck with the beauty of the insect, he will, it is likely, utter a note of admiration. (!) Beautiful Suiter/lies. PAINTED LADY. PLATE V. FIG. II. or Cynthia cardui. The genus Cynthia into which we now pass, so closely re- sembles the Vanessa that it is considered by some naturalists as only a sub-genus or kind of lesser division thereof. Cynthia is a name sometimes applied to the moon, as it was to one of the fabled goddesses of the Grecian mythology, between whom and that enlightener of the night, there was supposed to be some mysterious kind of relationship. We have only two Cynthias in Britain, and one of these can hardly be called a native species, but a single specimen, I believe, having been taken in this country ; of this I shall presently speak. Now let us examine into the merits of the Common Painted Lady, which is a truly beautiful fly, graceful in form, and harmonious, if not brilliant, in colouring. A reference to the plate will show this better than any description, as far as the general shape and outer side of the wings are concerned ; but a chief beauty of this fly consists in the marking of Beautiful Butter/lies. 93 the under side, which looks like an exquisite piece of mosaic or inlaid work, in which the several pieces of red, orange, buff, olive, brown of various shades, black, and white, are nicely fitted in to form a diversified pattern, with small white veins dividing the compart- ments. Near the outer edge of the under pair is a row of four or five round spots, encircled with rings, so that they resemble eyes : on a close examination it will be seen that two of these are powdered in the centre with green, and two with blue. Between these and the edge of the wing is a row of small purple crescent- shaped spots. Over the whole of the under side of the upper pair is spread a delicate crimson flash, like that which tells the approaching dawn of a summer's day. The body of the insect is clothed with reddish brown hairs above, and white beneath. The Caterpillar, which is found generally in July, is of a reddish brown colour, with interrupted yellow lines along the sides ; it is pretty thickly covered with hairs. It feeds upon thistles, nettles, mallows, arti- chokes, and several other plants, and lives singly. The chrysalis is light brown, with ash-coloured lines and golden spots ; it is of an irregular angular shape. The expanded wings of this insect sometimes mea- sure two inches and three quarters across. It is gene- rally somewhat scarce in England, although it occa- sionally occurs in great abundance ; in the year 1828 94 Beautiful Butterflies. there passed over Switzerland a vast swarm of these flies, occupying several hours in the transit ; two years previous to this the species was very abundant near London ; it has been found in Ireland, and the more southerly of the Scottish counties. Beautiful Butterflies. 95 SCARCE PAINTED LADY PLATE V. FIG. III. \APILIO, or Cynthia Hunter a. Of this fly but one specimen is recorded to have been taken in Great Britain, and that was at Withybush, near Haverfordwest, South Wales, in the midsummer of 1828. It was thought to be but a variety of the common kind, but afterwards discovered to belong to a distinct species, occasionally plentiful in America, where it is said the Caterpillar is found about the end of the months of April and July, there being two broods in a year. It measures about two inches and a quarter across the expanse of the wings, which both in colour and shape are much like those of the C. cardui. We should have explained, by the way, that this word means a thistle. The wild balsam and a kind of cudweed, called the obtuse-leaved, are said to be the food of this species in the larva state. Authorities differ as to the colour of its Caterpillar ; its chrysalis we are told is " placed in the leaves of plants folded up and spun together, 5 ' so says the Rev. F. O. Morris, in his beautiful work on ' British Butterflies.' 96 Beautiful Butterflies. The markings on the under sides of the wings of this insect are yet more elegant and delicate than those of the last; there is also somewhat more grace and beauty in those of the upper surfaces, as will be seen by a reference to the plate. Beautiful Butterflies. 97 PURPLE EMPEROR. PLATE IV. FIG. II. APILIO, or Apatura Iris. Ever has purple been the imperial colour, that of the robes of kings and emperors, and altogether great per- sons, there is a fitness therefore in the name of this king of British Butterflies, than whose wings no colour more rich and magnificent ever decked the shoulders of the mightiest monarch upon earth. To see these wings in perfection, it must be in the broad sunshine, and rather at a side-angle of the vision than looking directly at them ; in any other than a strong light they appear dull and lustreless a rusty, dingy, brownish black, with just a tinge of purple, and no more ; but even then it appears a noble fly stout-bodied and strong-winged, with a flight like that of a bird, far up amid and above the topmost branches of the loftiest trees ; there it flies, and there it sits on some projecting spray in right royal state, and where is the puny ento- mologist that with rod and net shall reach it down from thence ? But sometimes it descends from these elevated positions to sail majestically amid the glades and along the wood-side hedge-rows, and then is the time of 7 98 Beautiful Butterflies. danger to liberty and life. Mr. Morris tells us of one collector who stated that he took as many as one hundred specimens in the county of Essex in a fortnight! What an arch regicide he must have been. Who ever heard of such a king-killer as this ? One hundred crowned heads in a fortnight ! Here was a wardrobe! ten times ten sets of royal robes. Bah ! we do not like to think about it ; so many beau- tiful insects deprived of life ; so many bright flutterers stopped in the mid career of their enjoyment, for what ? to satisfy a mania, as in too many instances the ento- mological furor may truly be called. May be he did it for profit ; he dealt in Butterflies, and so depopulated the glades of Emperors to increase the value of his stock-in-trade. Well, we scarcely know that any valid objection can be offered to this ; all we can say is, that we hope no such necessity for obtaining a livelihood will ever be laid upon us. We would not have such an amount of insect slaughter upon our consciences for all the Butterflies in the British Museum, much as we should delight in the possession of a good collection of these most beautiful of the works of the Almighty Creator. The scientific name of this fly is a bit of puzzle. Apatao, in Greek, means I cheat, trick, or beguile; hence Apaturia was the name of a festival at Athens, instituted in remembrance of a stratagem, by which Beautiful Butterflies. 99 one king, who had challenged another to fight, put his opponent off his guard, and so killed him. One of the names of Jupiter we learn was Apatenor the de- ceiver, and Apate is by one Greek author, applied to a plant. What connection, real or supposed, there is between all this and the generic name of our splendid Emperor we cannot imagine. With the specific name Iris we have no such diffi- culty. In the mythology the messenger of the gods was called by this name, and the rainbow, more poeti- cally than truthfully supposed to be her pathway from the regions above to earth, was also so termed ; hence the word Iris came to signify that which was rich and various in colour, especially such as shifted and changed in different lights, or as we should say was iridescent. The rich purple flag-flower we call an iris, and so do naturalists term this glorious fly, whose dark wings are so richly overspread with purple down, and which is that well described by a British entomologist named Haworth. "The Purple Emperor of the British oaks, is not undeservedly the greatest favourite of our English aureleans (Butterflies of which the chrysalis are marked with gold). In his manners likewise, as well as in the varying lustre of his purple plumes, he possesses the strongest claims to their particular attention. In the month of July, he wakes in the winged state, and 100 Beautiful Butterflies. invariably fixes his throne upon the summit of a lofty oak, from the outmost sprigs of which, in sunny days, he performs his aerial excursions ; when the sun is at the meridian, his loftiest flights take place, and about four in the afternoon he assumes his station of repose. He ascends to a much greater elevation than any other insect, sometimes mounting higher than the eye can follow; especially if he happens to quarrel with ano- ther Emperor, the monarch of some neighbouring oak ; they never meet without a battle, flying upwards all the while, and combating with each other as much as possible ; after which they will frequently return again to the identical sprigs whence they ascended. The wings of this fine species are of a stronger texture than those of any other in Britain, and more calculated for that gay and powerful flight which is so much admired by entomologists. " The females, like those of many other species, are very rarely seen on the wing ; in three days I captured twenty-three (another regicide), nine of them in one day, and never took a female at all. The males are only to be taken with a long net, fixed at the end of a rod twenty or thirty feet long. There have been in- stances, though rare, of their settling on the ground near puddles of water, and being taken there. When the Purple Emperor is within reach, no fly is more easily taken j for he is so very bold and fearless, that he Beautiful Butterflies. 101 will not move from his settling-place until you quite push him off ; you may even tip the end of his wings, and be suffered to strike him again." Here is the character of his majesty given with great truth and freedom ; he is somewhat quarrelsome, it appears, as kings are apt to be; jealous of any intrusion upon his own territories. A bold proud insect, this Purple High-flier, as he is sometimes called, you see him there in the picture the size of life, and very life- like he looks, with the white patches beautifully re- lieving the otherwise heavy richness of his dark velvety wings, of which if you were to see the underside, a very different view would be presented ; silvery grey, tawny orange, white and black, are there the principal colours, here fading off one into the other, there exhibiting strong contrasts and striking changes of hue. The Caterpillar and Chrysalis of this species are both green, of a fresh vivid tint ; the former is marked with pale yellow lines ; it swells considerably at the middle of the body, and tapers off at the tail to a point; it is not hairy, and the head is black, with a couple of projec tions like horns sticking straight up, which gives it a very singular appearance. It may be found about the end of May, feeding on the broad-leaved sallow and oak. The Purple Emperor is chiefly confined to the southern counties of England; we do not hear of its Beautiful Butterflies. being taken at all in the north. Yorkshire, "Warwick- shire, Hampshire, Northamptonshire, Middlesex, Suf- folk, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, and Essex, are those divisions of the country where it has been chiefly captured; sometimes, as we have already shown, in great numbers : so that it can scarcely be called a rare fly. In several of the Kentish woods, not far from where this little book is written, it may be found at the proper season, but generally flying high out of the reach of the net, so that the captures are not numerous ; the chrysalides are occasionally found, and the Cater- pillars sometimes, but very rarely. Beautiful Butterflies 103 BROWN HAIRSTREAK. PLATE VIII. FIG. I. \APILlO, or Thecla BetulcB is the scientific name of this insect, which is the largest of the five British species contained in the genus Thecla a pretty little family group, by no means re- markable for brilliancy of colour, the upper side of the wings being mostly brown ; the under sides, however, are beautifully marked and pencilled with delicate wavy lines, like hair, hence the name Hairstreak, and spots and bands of yellow and white. One species has the under side nearly all green, on another is a zigzag mark like the letter W ; on one the wings approach nearly to a black, and one has a fine purple reflection playing over the brown ground colour. And so we have Purple, Green, White- W, Black, and Brown Hairstreak Butterflies, all of which have a little spike-like lengthening of the lower wings, which distinguishes them from the Argus, and most of the other smaller British flies. The specific name Betulae, given to the Brown Hair- streak, has reference to the food of the Caterpillar ; 104 Beautiful Butterflies. Betula, in Latin, signifying a birch tree. This species is not very common in England ; it generally makes its appearance about the end of August or beginning of September, and may be taken mostly near oak or beech trees. Beautiful Butterflies. 105 GREASY FRITILLARY. PLATE VI. FIG. I. \APILIO, or Melitcea artemis. The Fritillaries, although by no means the gayest in colour, are among the most beautifully marked of our native Butterflies; there are as many as twelve different species of them, five or six of which only bear the generic name Melitcea, derived, it may be, from the Latin Milites, a precious stone, of an orange colour that tint prevailing more or less in all Butterflies belonging to this genus. Artemis occurs in the my- thology as the name of a Greek goddess. Artemesia is found in ancient history several times ; it is also the name of an extensive genus of plants, mostly remark- able for their bitterness, such as wormwood and southernwood, none of which, however, appear to be the common food of the Caterpillars of these elegant flies ; that of the Greasy, or, as it is sometimes called, the Marsh Fritillary, feeding on the plantain and the scabious. The first of these names is derived from the peculiar shining appearance of the under side of the 106 Beautiful Butterflies. fore wings, which look as if they had been oiled ; the last from the moist marshy places in which the fly is mostly found. It is generally first on the wing about the middle of May, and may be seen as late as that of July, chiefly in the southern counties of England, but sometimes as far north as Durham and Northumber- land. In Sussex, about Brighton ; and Berks, about Enborne, it is said to be particularly plentiful. It measures across the extended wings from an inch and a half to two inches ; these wings are of a reddish orange colour, crossed with wavy lines of black, and variegated with patches and spots of delicate straw-colour ; the upper and under pair are much alike in their markings; they generally have a dark brown border, and a fringe of silky grey for edging; the under sides are of lighter colours cream, straw, and silvery grey, with the black lines showing through, and little eyes peeping out here and there, and small crescent-like spangles, and faint waves like clear water or curl- ing smoke, making the prettiest variety that can be imagined. The Caterpillar is hairy, black above and yellow beneath, with a line of small white dots along the back, and another on each side: it has reddish legs. The chrysalis is dingy white, with brown spots and Beautiful Butterflies. 107 markings; it is generally suspended between several blades of grass, drawn together and fastened at the top. It is not so irregular in shape as many before described, nor is it marked with gold 108 Beautiful Suiter/lies. GLANVILLE FRITILLARY. PLATE VI. FIG. II. APILIO, or Melitcea Cinxia. This, although not uncommon on the continent of Europe, is a rare fly in the British Islands. It has been found most plentifully amid the romantic glens and seaward-sloping hills in the Isle of Wight; also in Kent, near Dover and Dartford ; and in the counties of Yorkshire, Warwickshire, Lincolnshire, and Wiltshire. May, June, and July are the months in which it may be looked for. It closely resembles the species last described in size and shape, but is somewhat different in colour, and in the arrangement of the markings; the cross lines are more regular, and beautifully waved, and the spots more numerous and distinct ; the under sides of the wings are paler, having much of pale straw-colour, the black veins and spots of the upper side being clearly visible. The Caterpillar of this species is black ; it is faintly spotted with white, and has a red head and legs. It feeds on such wild plants as the narrow-leaved plan- tain, hawkweed, and common speedwell. An English entomologist, named Westwood, says that " these Beautiful Butterflies. 109 Caterpillars are found in the autumn living in societies under a kind of tent formed by drawing together the tops of the leaves on which they feed, and covering them with a web." The chrysalis is pale brown, spotted with orange ; in shape much like that of the last species. It is always suspended by the tail end. The specific name Cinxia probably comes from the Latin Cinctus a girdle, having reference to the band- like markings of the wings of the perfect insect, the white dots on the larva, or the row of raised orange spots on the pupa case. 110 Beautiful Butterflies. PEARL-BORDERED FRITILLARY. PLATE VI. FIG. III. \APILIO, or Melitcea Euphrosyne. This is a very beautiful little fly, although it has not much variety of colour : its markings are very regular, or what we should call symmetrical, that is, having a certain accordance or agreement with each other; veins, and spots, and crescents, and dashes of black, upon a deep orange ground, all as regular and even as though they had been traced out by means of rule and compass, and then carefully filled in by a very steady and practised hand, and all round the outer edge runs what seems to be a silken string of tiny pearls. It is indeed an exceedingly pretty fly, with its under wings like embroidered satin of yellow and pale brown, with the faintest flush of red, all so curiously marked, and veined, and mottled. You may see it flitting about towards the end of May, and again quite late in the autumn, when it appears that a second brood issues from their prisons, the shape and colour of which have not been exactly ascertained, to sport awhile in the sunshine, spreading their wings to the extent of Beautiful Butterflies . Ill perhaps two inches across, although more frequently an inch and a half is the utmost reach of the downy membranes. This fly may be found in most parts of England, as well as Scotland ; it is by no means a rare species, although not so common as many. The Caterpillar feeds on the leaves of different spe- cies of violet. It is black and hairy, with a double row of orange spots along the back. The specific name Euphrosyne, carries us again to the ancient mythology, where we find it applied to one of three sisters, so beautiful that they were termed the Graces. Fair and graceful they might be, Stepping lightly as a fairy; But they could not sport like thee In the sunshine Fritillary ! Beautiful Butterflies. WEAVER'S FRITILLARY. PLATE VI. FIG. IV. \APILIO, or Melitcea dea. This it will be seen is a smaller fly than the species last described ; it is also much rarer, only a few specimens having been taken in this country : the first of these to which the attention of scientific entomolo- gists was called, was captured in Sutton Park, near Tamworth, in Staffordshire, by a Mr. "Weaver, by whose name the insect was called. It is a remarkably elegant little fly, resembling closely in its tints and markings Miss Euphrosyne, to whom we have just dedicated a line or two. The Caterpillar, which is dark-coloured and hairy, feeds upon the leaves of the sweet violet ; the chrysalis has not been described, probably because not found by a British Naturalist. There are said to be two broods in the year. The specific name seems to come from the Latin di or dis, meaning something which differs from another, as this fly does, although but slightly, from the better known preceding species. Vll 1. Brown Fritillary. 2. Venus Fritillary. Beautiful Butterflies. 113 HIGH BROWN FRITILLARY PLATE VII. FIG. I. j APILIO, or Argynnis adippe. There are but five species of British Butterflies included in the genus Argynnis; these are all Fritil- laries, and are the largest and most richly ornamented of that family group; the generic name comes, no doubt, from the Latin word argent silver, as these flies are especially remarkable for the large spots and streaks of beautiful silvery white with which the under sides of the wings are decorated. The High Brown is a fine species of Fritillary, mea- suring as much as two inches and a half across the expanded wings. It is found in considerable numbers in most of the southern counties of England, and has been taken as far north as Nottinghamshire. It appears about the end of June, or beginning of July; and com- monly frequents heaths and the borders of woods. The upper side of the wings is a rich red brown, with a greenish tinge at the base, that is, where they are united to the body, which is also red brown. Lines, and dots, and crescent-shaped waves of black, arranged with the utmost regularity, give to the whole a tesse- 8 114 Beautiful Butterflies. lated or chequered appearance, as though it were a piece of inlaid work. We have in this country a wild plant a kind of lily the leaves of whose flesh- coloured blossoms are in like manner chequered with black spots; the old English name of this plant is Fritillary, and in the resemblance, real or fancied, of its blossoms to the wings of the Butterflies so called, originated their family title. The Caterpillar of this species feeds upon the leaves of the sweet violet, and upon those of its near relative the pansy; no doubt also upon several other plants, although this has not been clearly ascertained. It is of a reddish colour at first, but turns to olive green after the first or second change of skin; it has an interrupted white line along the back, and a row of longish white spots on each side. It is hairy, but not very thickly covered. The chrysalis is of a reddish colour, with silvery spots ; the insect remains in this stage of its existence about a fortnight. Beautiful Butterflies. 115 VENUS FBITILLARY. PLATE VII. FIG. II. \APILIO, or Argynnis Aphrodite. This is at once the rarest and most beautiful of all the Fritillaries with which we are acquainted, and the name of the ancient goddess of love and beauty has therefore been bestowed upon it. Aphrodite is but another title of that fabulous personage ; it comes from a Greek word signifying froth, because she is said to have been born of the froth of the ocean a frothy kind of story altogether, and the sooner it is blown away by the wind of truth the better. Of this Venus among Butterflies, which is properly an American species, but a single specimen appears to have been taken in England, and that was captured in the summer of 1833, in Upton Wood, a few miles from Leamington, Warwickshire. The lucky captor was James Walhouse, Esq. ; so says Mr. Morris, in whose large and magnificent volume on ' British Butterflies ' will be found depicted the under sides of the wings of this lovely visitant from the " far west ;" here is his description of them, as far as words can describe such fair and delicate pieces of Almighty workmanship : 116 Beautiful Butterflies. " Underneath, the ground colour is buff, tinged with pink, the tips greenish/ the dark marks showing through. The hind wings are bronze green, but dark at their base, and lighter towards the outside j a row of semicircular silver spots follows the margin, and there are numerous other silver spots." Of the Caterpillar and Chrysalis of this species, nothing seems to be known. The figure in the plate is the size of life; its elegance of shape, beauty of markings, and rich, harmonious tone of colour all must admire. VIII 1. Brown Hairstreak. 2. Large Copper. 3. Large Blue Beautiful Butterflies. 117 LARGE COPPER. PLATE VIII. FIG. II. \APILIO, or Lycana dispar. There are five species of Copper Butterflies, so called from the brilliant coppery hue of the wings, known in Britain, but only two that can be called at all com- mon j indeed, perhaps only one, for the above-named species, since the draining and cultivation of the fenny districts of Cambridge and Huntingdonshire, Norfolk and Suffolk, its favourite places of resort, has in a great measure disappeared. This fly, the largest of its genus, is remarkable for the flashing appearance of its burnished wings, which measure about an inch and a half across ; it flits about among the reeds of the fens and marshes, and sports amidst the rank vegetation of the moist waste lands like a gleam of red fire ; when at rest it presents a very different aspect, pale orange and blue ashy grey being the colour of the under sides of the wings ; these are diversified with spots of black, encircled with yellow rings and veins, and crescent-shaped marks of the same dark colour. In this fly, as in many other members of 1 18 Beautiful Butterflies. the Lepidopterous order, there is a marked difference between the male and female ', the latter is considerably the longest, and instead of the wings being entirely of a bright copper colour, except just a narrow black margin and a small, irregularly-shaped spot on each, they are covered with dusky black at the bases, and have wide margins, and many large spots of the same, which greatly detract from the brilliant appearance of the insect. The Caterpillar is short and thick, swelling up in the middle, and tapering off to a point at each end ; the colour is bright green, with a dark line along each side, and little dots like a white powder sprinkled all over it. The food to which it is most partial is a kind of water- dock. The chrysalis, according to Mr. J. F. Stephens, " is at first green, then pale ash-coloured with a black dorsal (that is, back) line, and two abbreviated (shortened) white ones on each side ; in shape it bears a close resemblance to a shell twisted and pointed at one end and open at the other." Curtis says of this splendid fly that " it was first dis- covered in Wales by the celebrated botanist Hudson; it has since been captured in considerable abundance in Wittlesea Mere, Huntingdonshire. July is undoubtedly the right season for this insect, although it is met with in the beginning of August, flying among reeds about the centre of the Mere near Yaxley ; it is very active, Beautiful Butter flies. 119 and in windy weather conceals itself amongst the highest reeds. Upon these the Caterpillar probably feeds, as the Butterfly has been found upon them just emerged from the chrysalis drying its wings." The origin of the generic name LycH W -S ^H CQ M U O i a .1 128 Beautiful Butterflies a a 3 'S w nil UHlfl I II If I I _g 3 3 3 3 o o g. *E 3 ^ 'I I ^ O) O) rd rQ a a Q) 1 - '-*~, 3 tc S .S a, - o o .2 ^ "3 in the spring, July to October, the spring, , 1 r a? O "a. S tc 1 CS i 1 ^ d f _ 43 8" s c5 ^5 S o W a ^J ^ . B o> tS rt as 5 d" .P "S H %3 ri 43 43 43 .52 "3 O-i IB M 1 g 1 i en I I DQ B, &J Bi < O 1 Bi B, a, Bi B, a S a W W W W W Hj > > > s fl * ENGLISH NAME. 2 pq |I 1* S 1 cotch Argus, Ai 1 OJ Tc S ^ S ilver-bordered Ringl Hate Admiral, 1 g 'eacock Butterfly, large Tortoise-shell, mall Tortoise-shell, M 00 OQ ^ 12 .., M T3 o r^ -*j ^3 c oc 'S en CQ S SS o 13 PLACES OI m 3 B 1 Fields and com Hampstead. a E B Woods and for( In and near we "3 I I & n" <3) QJ s ^ c & o 12 une to October, 'ut one taken. M I a & o> 02 5 -S _>> ^> "3 "3 3 1 I e +3 1" 3 "3 3 o c 3 ugust and Sep1 "3 -s -2 o ^ ^ O *" 2 ^ i-s ^ -9 < >-5 S .2" ri I o X o S M cT 1* s" 3 -2 o> E s '3 -3 ^ "c rf .2* .-* | jO ^ J" ef .5 1 t-J * H H M 1 es 6 jj .5 S .5 hH 3 13 ^ 1 "b P < IS cj M 15 15 15 3 r5 ^ rS ^eS eJ g J a 1 S t? "S 1 "c C? -f o OS QJ < H O H 1 2 H 3 S il f ^ rf W* h*^ . * >> ;t! 5 r^ lj| B EJ ENGLISH NAl Camberwell Beaut) Comma Butterfly, Albin's Hampstead ."i '5 es S eS o Purple Emperor, Purple Hairstreak, Green Hairstreak, White-W Hairstrei Black Hairstreak, Brown Hairstreak, Duke of Burgun tillary, Greasy, or Marsh F Beaiitiful Butterflies. 131 1 rf 2 o S ^rt DO bO i rj I j ^ i f 2 M 1 ^ & e ? O 05 no 1 ^ gg O i a a? -g ^ DO m g & O 1 S CO a 1 ii 1 | 1 O O Sj .2 o 11 e g C3 ^ "PH CO B rc N ^3 *O 01 ^3 *T3 *C 1 I Gin ^i ^j "^ TO 0) O o O O < i O C co E 13 o fl 1 i te l> 5 > 11 1 ri C o 1 i i 1 | 5 tT ? 3 1 1 C 3 E 5 . o 8 A J3 1 -4J ,a 1 H 0> 3 "8 i^* ~i. CO ' 6C 5 p : 1 E M O) ^ I 1 01 -U +J Qj i "3 | P< 02 3 ^ o o M O QQ a) I 1 OS 8 1 S C I 1 1 s eS cS c a C S3 "3 a 1 '~ 5? >> : tc t 2 be p. M O 8 8 S S S ^ ^ <3 1 <3 ^ 3 $ 5 $ 8 'C > !> S 1 c^ ^ >^ ENGLISH NAME. Glanville Fritillary, Pearl-bordered Fritilla Pearl-bordered Like Fritillary, Small Pearl-bordered 6 ^ V2 Weaver's Fritillary, \ Dark Green Fritillary, n,,, )n Ti f r,n;r> liVifill Venus Fritillary, L o rt > | | O> . . CS g H-l 02 Scarce Copper, Purple-edged Copper, 132 Beautiful Butterflies. H -S 1 1 I > 3 a S >> "Sj ft ^> ^a JQ N 9) 4 ^3 "^ C3 OS 02 1-5 h^ ^ a g o o 3 o o ^ O -*3 O O O S 5> O) . "3 ' E S 1 a, cs <1 S >> 13 - i *-! > >. M 3 oT 3 T-^ T cf a" of O "I 3 .2" c O CO 'So g o "3 r ^ ? "i f jg 'S C * T3 'O O o , B H S * g B rf 5 S S a B 3 cs ci S S g S 5 ^ *2 M B d C ffj E. g 5 o s s O | 2 o 1 1 1 '1'^ I ff >^ >> >i >> ,>> ,>> QD SCO ff f2 (2 S S Q w w Ed ft aT oT 3. 1 ENGLISH NAM: Dark Underwing Co Mazarine Blue, oT 3 S tc Holly, or Azure Blu< Little, or Bedford B Silver-studded Blue, Common Blue, CM I S S 3 " a S f w s^i o Brown Argus Blue, Grizzled Skipper, s 3 02 02 >> OJ fff A - Beautiful Butterflies. 133 c 1 ri c? ea 1 " S 4 o i 1 -1 s -tJ P< i H 2 "S 3 PLACES OP mmons and p and about we 5g "3 "~5 1 n 2 t*3 c n QQ "no bo I 3 ol ^ 6 a h- 1 -C 1 1 _D S '^< o O 4^ rt !i 3 S P< s <1 s be fco : i 13 .9 ^3 g s tA -rf p^ o <5 *) 13 . *c ^3 ^^ s 1 P i o h 5 bo d H p rt* ^ ^>> ^_ sd 3 t-< 5 1 aT S .> M ! .2 M e? ts" 1 bo 3 "3 o o s c? g '3 5i H S o o .9 1 1 to 00 > o N . . . . .56 CONES, VOLUTES, MITRES, AND OLIVES . . 63 COWRIES 09 CONTENTS. BIVALVES. PAGE THE OYSTER 74 PEARLS 87 THE MUSSEL AND THE COCKLE .... 92 SCALLOP SHELLS 102 LIMPETS 105 ROCK-BORERS . . . . . . 108 MULTIVALVES. THE CHITONS Ill BARNACLES 113 CUTTLE-FISH 119 NAUTILUS AND AMMONITE 124 SHELLS OF COMMON OCCUREENCE. . 136 BEAUTIFUL SHELLS, WHAT ARE SHELLS ? DR. JOHNSON gives us no less than eight different meanings for the word SHELL. First, he calls it "The hard covering of anything; the external crust." Second, "The covering of a testaceous or crustaceous animal." And here we may stop, for this is just the signification which has to do with our subject; so let us turn the sentence inside out, and see what we can make of it. We all know what a covering is an outer coat, a case, a protec- tion from injury, a husk, a crust, a in short, a shell, scyll or scell, as our Saxon forefathers called it; schale, as the Germans now term it. No Latin nor Greek here, but the good old Saxon tongue, somewhat rough and rugged, perhaps, but stout and 2 Beautiful Shells. sturdy, and honest and serviceable ; a kind of lan- guage to stand wear and tear, like a pair of hob- nailed shoes, with little polish, but useful, yes, very useful ! Well, we have got so far, now comes a hard word TES-TA-CE-OUS, what can it mean ? It is pronounced ies-ta-shus, comes from the Latin tesfaceus having a shell, and means consisting of, or composed of shells ; so we find that a testacean is a shell-fish, and testaceology is the science of shells. Johnson's second meaning of the word tes- taceous is " Having continuous, not jointed shells, opposed to crustaceous." So we find that some naturalists call those testaceous fish, " whose strong and thick shells are entire and of a piece, because those which are joined, as the lobsters, are crus- taceous." Now some of the true testaceans have shells in more than one or two pieces, and therefore this last explanation of the term is rather calculated to mislead a learner; but we shall explain presently wherein the difference consists between them, and the CRUS-TA-CEOUS, or, as we pronounce it, Jcrus-ta- sJius, fish consists. Here is another long word, it comes from the Latin crusta, a word of many mean- ings, all having reference to an outer coat or covering. My readers know all about pie-crust, Conchology. 5 and have perhaps heard a surly, snappish, peevish person called a crusty fellow; they will now understand what is meant by a crustacean and crustaceology , that part of Zoology which treats of crustaceous animals. They constitute quite a large family, these ologies, and have a strange way of twisting themselves about, and exchanging limbs and features, so that one is puzzled at times to tell which is which. But here we have fixed two of them, called TESTACEOLOGY and CRUSTACEOLOGY, twin brothers, and very much alike in their character- istics. Let us have a good look at them, so that we may know them again if we should lose sight of them for awhile. Now we will spell over the name of the first CONCHOLOGY. Why, it is changed already ! Has this science of shells then another name? Yes, and this is it, pronounced kong-kol-o-gy, and derived from the Latin concha, which means properly a shell -fish with two shells, joined by a hinge, as the oyster, the cockle, etc. This present volume then is a work on Conchology, the subject of it is Conchiferous, and whoever studies it will be doing something towards becoming a Conchologist. Beautiful Shells. So much foiv names and titles ; but still we have the question to answer, What are shells? In a learned work called a Cyclopaedia, we find it stated that " shell is the hard calcareous (that is chalky) substance which protects, either partially or en- tirely, the testaceous mollusks externally, or sup- ports certain of them internally." All this you will understand, except perhaps the word " mol- lusks " ; this is a term applied to soft-bodied animals, such as shell-fish, snails, etc., about which we shall have more to say as we proceed. By this we learn that all shells are not external or outer coverings, some are internal or inner supports for the soft jelly-like bodies to which they belong, thua performing the duty of bones. An example of this is seen in the shell of the Cuttle-Fish, called by naturalists Sepia, a description of which will be found further on in the book. Shells are either Crystalline or Granular. Now look at those two words, they almost explain their own meaning. Crystalline shells are those which have more or less of clearness, transparency as we say, so that if held against the light it shows through them; they are sometimes called Por- cellaneous shells, from their resemblance in this respect to porcelain, or chinaware; the Common Conchology. 5 Cowry (Cyprcea Tigris) is a shell of this descrip- tion. Granular, or, as they are sometimes called, Concretionary shells, are the most hard and com- pact ; it is in these that the substance called nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is mostly found. One of the commonest examples is the oyster shell ; if broken across it will be seen to consist of very thin plates, or laminae, as they are termed, closely packed to- gether. The thinner these laminae may be, the more lustrous and beautiful appears the lining of the shell; that shifting play of colours which we call iridescent, from iris, the rainbow, is then brightest and most noticeable. A very remarkable substance is this mother-of-pearl ; smooth, and shining, and delicately-tinted. Who would expect to find such a beautiful lining to the rugged, rough, dingy-looking oyster, or mussel shell? Truly these mollusks, some of them, live in gorgeous palaces. And the most curious part of the matter is that from the fluids or juices of their own bodies, and from the chalky matter collected from the water, they are enabled to secrete or deposit such wonder- fully-constructed habitations, which after all are little more than chalk. Burn a heap of oyster shells, or any other testaceous coverings, and you 6 Beautiful Shells. get lime the same as that produced by "burning the white lumps from the chalk-pit, which lumps, by the way, are said to be composed wholly, or for the most part, of marine shells. This we should call cretaceous matter, from creta, which is the Latin for chalk, or calcerous, from calcis lime. Granular shells you have been told are sometimes called concretionary, this is because they contain a large amount of this chalky deposit. The rock called limestone, geologists tell us, is composed entirely of fossil shells and mud, or what was once mud, dried and hardened, most likely by extreme heat, to the consistence of rock. Wonderful this to think of; huge mountains, and mighty masses, and far-stretching strata, forming a large portion of the crust of the earth, made up chiefly of the coverings of fishes, a great portion of them so small as to be scarcely visible to the naked eye. Truly wonderful! But we shall have more to say upon this head when we come to speak of Fossil Shells, as well as on the subject of Pearls, in our chapter on the fish in whose shells they are chiefly found. It has been a matter of dispute with natu- ralists whether the testaceous mollusks have shells at all before they issue from the egg, and the main evidence favours the opinion that, generally speak- Conctwlogy, . 7 ing, they do possess what may be considered as a kind of pattern or model of the habitation which they are to build. This appears to be of a pale horn-colour, and destitute of any markings j but as soon as the animal enters upon an independent state of existence, it begins to assume its distinctive shape and colour, gradually increasing with the growth of its living tenant, and becoming more and more decidedly marked, until it attains its full perfection of testacean development. Thus the age of some shell-fish can be at once determined by the peculiar conformation and markings of the shell. The relative portions of animal and earthy, or rather chalky matter, which compose these shells, vary considerably in different kinds ; in those called Crystalline or Porcellaneous, the animal deposit is much less than in the granular or con- cretionary shells, where it not only constitutes a large part of the whole substance, but is more dense, that is, thick, and also has the appearance of being membranous, or organized matter. We can perhaps best explain this by saying that whereas the different chalky layers of the crystalline shell seem merely glued together by the intervening animal fluid ; those of the granular shell, as the oyster, appear to be connected by interlacing mem- 8 Beautiful Shells. branes. But all this my readers will learn more about from more advanced and scientific works if they proceed, as I trust they will do, in the study of CONCHOLOGT, a science which has in a greater or less degree attracted the attention of curious and contemplative minds in all ages, and the study of which it has been well said is peculiarly adapted to recreate the senses, and insensibly to lead us to the contemplation of the glory of God in creation. BEAUTY AND VALUE OF SHELLS. In shells, as in all the works of the Almighty Creator, we may observe an infinite variety of form, and if they do not all strike us as alike graceful, yet in each, however plain and simple, there is some peculiar beauty, whether it be the mere hollow cup, or the simple tube, the smooth or twisted cone, the slender spire, the convoluted oval, or half circle, ribbed or spiked, with a lip curving out like the leaf of a water lily, or a narrow rim, like that of a golden chalice; they are indeed elegant, each perfect of its kind, and bearing the impress of a constructive skill far above that of man, who copies from them some of the most graceful and elegant designs wherewith to ornament Beauty and Value of Shells* 9 his buildings, and shapes in which to fashion his articles of luxury or utility. The most beautiful scroll-work of marble chimney-pieces, cornices of rooms, and other enriched portions of both public and private struc- tures, are those in which the forms of shells have been taken for the patterns of the artistic designs ; and how tasteful and appropriate is the employment of the shells themselves as ornaments for the mantel-piece, sideboard, and chiffonuier. Then, too " The rainbow -tinted shell, which lies Miles deep at bottom of the sea, hath all Colours of skies, and flowers, and gems, and plants." Not only has it grace and elegance of form, but it has also richness, and delicacy, and variety of colouring. In some species the tints are intensely vivid as the shifting lights of the aurora borealis, or the glowing hues of an autumnal sunset; in others pale and delicate as the first indications of coming morn, or the scarcely perceptible tinge of a just-expanding flower-bud; in some the colours are arranged in patterns, regularly disposed ; in others, in masses and blotches, of varying shapes and degrees of intensity ; in some again they seem to change and melt one into the other, like the 10 Beautiful Shells. prismatic hues of the rainbow. In all, whether distinct and unconnected, or intimately blended, whether regular or irregular, they are beautiful exceedingly. Nor is their beauty of an evanescent, that is, fading, or vanishing character; unlike plants and animals, which, when once dead, are extremely difficult of preservation, Shells, being composed of particles already in natural combina- tion, are almost indestructible ; unless exposed to the action of fire, or some powerful acid, they will remain the same for ages, requiring no care or attention, beyond occasionally removing the dust, which would collect upon and defile their pearly whiteness, or obscure the brilliancy of their colours. So easily collected, arranged, and preserved, and withal so singular and graceful in form, and rich and various of tint, one cannot wonder that Shells have always had a conspicuous place in all museums, and other collections of natural history objects ; neither can we feel surprised that a high value should have been set upon rare specimens ; as much as a thousand pounds, it is said, has been given for the first discovered specimen of the Venus Dione ; another shell, called the Conus cedo nulli, is valued at three hundred pounds ; and the Turbo scaloris, if large and perfect, is worth one hundred Beauty and Value of Shells. 11 guineas; while the Cypraea aurantium, or Orange Cowry, if it has not a hole beaten through it, will fetch fifty guineas. It has been calculated that a complete collection of British Conchology is worth its weight in silver. The following quotation is from " The Young Conchologist," by Miss Roberts. Our readers will do well to peruse it attentively : " We admit that shells are beautiful, and that they are admirably adapted to the exigencies of the wearers ; but how shall we account for the endless diversity of shades and colours, varying from the sober coating of the garden snail to the delicate and glowing tints which are diffused over some of the finer species, in the infinite profusion of undulations, clouds, and spots, bands and reticulated figures, with which these admirable architects enrich the walls of their beautiful receptacles. The means of producing them must be sought for in the animals themselves. Their necks are furnished with pores replete with colouring fluid, which blends insensibly with the calcareous exudation already noticed, and thus occasions that exquisite variety in their testaceous coverings, which art attempts to emulate, but can never fully equal. Thus far is the result of obser- vation and experiment. It now remains to account 12 Beautiful Shells. for the extraordinary fact that the stony exudations of testaceous animals condense only on those parts where they are essential to their welfare. But here investigation ends the microscope has done its office. It seems as if material nature delighted to baffle the wisdom of her sons, and to say to the proud assertors of the sufficiency of human reason for comprehending the mysteries of creation and of Providence, thus far you can go, and no farther; even in the formation of a shell, or its insignificant inhabitant, your arrogant pretensions are completely humbled/ USES OF SHELLS. In speaking of shells as ornaments, and objects worthy of our study and admiration, we have already mentioned some of their uses, for surely that which contributes to the intellectual improvement and innocent pleasure of mankind, is in its degree useful. But on the more narrow ground of utility, shells may also claim a high place in our estimation. To man in a barbarous and uncivilized state, they furnish the means of performing some of the most important operations of daily life, being extensively used as a substitute for iron. The savage frequently forms his knife, his hunting spear, and his fish-hook Uses of Shells. 13 of hard shell. Lister relates that the inhabitants of Nicaragua, in South America, fasten a shell, called the Ostrea virginica, to a handle of wood, and use it as a spade. In North America the natives use a blue and white belt composed of shells, called the Venus mercenaria, as a symbol of peace and unity, and there, too, the gorget of the chieftain's war-dress is composed of the pearl-bearing mussel, called by naturalists Mytilus margaritiferus. Many African tribes use the Murex tritonis as a military horn, and a rare variety of this shell, which has the volutions reversed, is held sacred, and used only by the priests. Among the Friendly Islanders the Orange Cowry is a symbol of the highest dignity. The Money Cowry (Oyprcea moneta) forms the cur- rent coin of many nations of Africa ; and a certain number of these shells strung together, are con- sidered by the slave-hunting chiefs as an equivalent for so many black-skinned brothers, whom they sell into hopeless bondage. Among nations, too, in a high state of civiliza- tion, shells are often used for economical, as well as ornamental purposes. To say nothing of mother- of-pearl, which is converted into so many articles, useful as well as pretty, scallop, or oyster shells, are frequently employed as scoops by druggists, 2 14 Beautiful Shells. grocers, and the like ; and in the country the dairy- maid, with the larger kinds of the same shell, skims her milk, and slices her butter ; while sometimes by the poor people of both towns and villages, the deeper specimens are converted into oil-lamps. One very important use, my young readers will under- stand, when I speak of a ragged urchin, who shouts to every passer-by " Please remember the grotto 1" In ancient times, we are told, the people of Athens recorded their votes on public occasions, by marks upon a shell, thus Pope says " He whom ungrateful Athens would expel, At all times just, but when he signed the shell ;" in allusion to this custom, of which we are re- minded by such English words as Attestation, a certifying, a bearing witness; Testify, to give evidence ; Testament, a will, or written disposal of property, etc.; all having their origin, it appears,- in the Latin testa a shell. In ancient poetry, we find the word Testudo used to signify a musical instru- ment, also called a lyre or lute ; which instrument, according to tradition, was first made by passing strings, and straining them tightly, over the shell of a tortoise. So the poet Dryden, describing \ Uses of Shells. 15 those who listened to the music drawn from this simple invention, says " Less than a God they thought there could not dwell, Within the hollow of that shell That spoke so sweetly." A Greek writer, called Apollodorus, gives this account of the invention of music by the Egyptian god Hermes, more commonly known as Mercury. The Nile having overflowed its banks, and laid under water the whole country of Egypt, left, when it returned to its usual boundaries, various dead animals on the land; among the rest was a tor- toise, the flesh of which being dried and wasted by the sun, nothing remained within the shell except nerves and cartilages, or thin gristly bones ; these being shrunk and tightened by the heat, became sonorous, that is sounding. Against this shell Mercury chanced to strike his foot, and pleased by the sound caused thereby, examined the shell from which it came, and so got a notion, as we say, how he might construct a musical instrument. The first which he made was in the form of a tortoise, and strung with the dried sinews of dead animals, even as are the lutes, harps, and fiddles of our day. This fanciful mode of accounting for the origin of music is thus alluded to by a writer named Brown : 16 Beautiful Shells. " The lute was first devised In imitation of a tortoise' back, Whose sinews parched by Apollo's beams, Echoed about the concave of the shell ; [sound And seeing the shortest and smallest gave shrillest They found out frets, whose sweet diversity Well touched by the skilful learned fingers, Roused so strange a multitude of chords. And the opinion many do confirm, Because testudo signifies a lute." And now we are among the myths and fables of antiquity, we may just mention another applica- tion of the shell to musical purposes. Neptune, who, according to the Grecian mythology, was the god of the sea, is frequently represented as going forth in his car in great state and pomp, with a body-guard of Tritons; some of whom go before with twisted conch shells as trumpets, with which we are to suppose they make delightful harmony. Venus, too, the goddess of beauty, rode on the ocean foam in a testaceous car. Thus Dryden says, that Albion our native land, so called on account of its chalky cliffs, from the Latin alba white, " Was to Neptune recommended ; Peace and plenty spread the sails ; Venus in her shell before him, From the sands in safety bore him." Uses of Shells. 17 But without believing all these fables, more poetical than true, we may soon convince ourselves that in the hollow chambers of a shell, there does seem to dwell, like an imprisoned spirit, a low, sad kind of music. An English poet, named Walter Savage Landor, has well described this in these lines " Of pearly hue Within, and they that lustre have imbibed, In the sun's palace porch, where, when unyoked, His chariot wheel stands midway in the wave ; Shake one, and it awakens ; then apply Its polished lips to your attentive ear, And it remembers its august abodes, And murmurs as the ocean murmurs there." Wordsworth, too, gives a beautiful description of a child applying one of these pearly musical- boxes to his ear. Many other uses of shells might be mentioned, to show that they perform an important part in the operations of nature, as the means and modes by and in which God sees fit to order the affairs of this world are frequently called ; and also promote the ends of science, and the arts of every-day life. By the decomposition of the shells, of which they are partly composed, solid rocks frequently crumble to pieces, and spreading over a considerable sur- 18 Beautiful Shells. face, form a fruitful soil for the nourishment of vegetation. The character of the testaceous de- posits, too, enable geologists (as those who study the nature and structure of the earth are termed), to come to important conclusions on many points connected with the subject of this investigation. And if we include, as the subject of our book allows, the inhabitants of shells, how wide a field of usefulness opens before us. How many thou- sands of our industrious population depend wholly, or in part, upon the capture and sale of shell-fish for their support. In some parts, as the western and northern Islands of Scotland, they have in times of scarcity afforded sustenance to the dwellers on the bleak and barren shores, who but for them must have perished. But of all this we shall have more to say when we come to describe the different members of the testaceous family. We will now offer a few remarks upon THE INHABITANTS OF SHELLS ; Which belong to that division of Natural History called the Mollusca, from the Latin Mollis soft; these Molluscous animals, then, are animals having a soft body, and no internal skeleton. You may be quite sure that a Mollusk will never break Malacology. 19 its bones, because it has none to break ; it has a shell, however, which may be broken, at least in some cases, for all Mollusks have not snug habita- tions of the kind ; but wander about the watery or earthy world in which they live, quite naked ; such as the sea and land slugs, and some worms, leeches, etc. ; but with these we have nothing to do, our present subject including only a part of MALACOLOGY, another member of that queer ology family, deriving its name from two Greek words signifying soft, and a discourse ; hence it means a discourse upon soft, or soft-bodied animals, that is mollusca. It is only a part, then, of Malacology that we have to do with ; that part which relates to the shell-inhabiting mollusks, and strange creatures enough some of these are. We will have a look at them presently; just now it will be sufficient to observe that the mollusca testacea, or soft-bodied animals, furnished with shells, possess the power of exuding, that is, discharging from various parts of their bodies a sticky kind of fluid, which mixing with the chalky matter collected from the water, and becoming hard, forms, in process of time, the shelly covering which is at once a dwelling and a defence for the inhabitant. 20 Beautiful Shells. Miss Pratt, in her delightful book on " Common Things of the Sea Coast/' observes of these shells that, " We gather up those which we find, and look- ing at their structure would fain know something of the inmate of such a dwelling. All nature pro- claims the goodness of God. We hear that the bird which wings its way over our heads has a song of joy ; the bee hums delightedly by us ; and the little shrimp which darts in the clear pool, seems full of merriment. Was the inmate of the shell less cared for by its Maker ? No doubt the little builder had some sense of joy, as he framed from his own sub- stance the house which excites our admiration. Doubtless his existence, short and sluggish as it was, had its own consciousness of pleasure; and obscure as is his history, and little calculated as such a creature might seem to perform an important part in the economy of creation, yet we know that he had a work to do, not only for the living crea- tures of the sea, but for the well-being of man himself." CLASSIFICATION OF SHELLS. The great naturalist, Linnaeus, divided shells into thirty-six genera, each of which comprised a number of species; of these species somewhere about Classification of Shells. 21 two thousand five hundred have been described and classified; the varieties, more or less distinct, are almost countless. Of shells found on and about the British Isles, there are about five hundred and fifty species, or, we should rather say were, for dili- gent inquirers into this branch of Natural History are almost daily adding to the number. We have already seen that shells are sometimes called Crystalline, and sometimes Granular, in accordance with certain peculiarities of construction before mentioned: this is one mode of division. There are several others made use of in different systems of arrangement, which only a deeper study of the subject than can be here entered upon would enable one to understand; the plainest and most common, however, is that which has reference to the form of the shell, which is one of these UNIVALVE. BIVALVE. MULTIVALVE. Whelk. Mussel. Barnacle. 22 Beautiful Shells. These words are derived from the Latin, unus one, l)i two, multus many, and therefore it may at once be seen that they apply to shells having one, two, or several pieces or divisions. Valve comes from the Latin valva, and means a folding door, a lid, a piece moving on a hinge, as the divisions in several of these shells do. This order of arrangement is generally followed by those who make a collection of shells for a cabinet ; and to this we shall adhere, as at once the most simple and convenient, when we come to describe the several species of testaceous mollusks. We will now say a few words on TAKING AND PEESERVING SHELLS. A diligent searcher along any beach or coast line will be sure sometimes to light upon curious and valuable specimens, and especially after violent storms may such be sought for, with the greatest chance of success, for the agitation of the waters will then have loosened them from their natural beds and dwelling-places, and cast them on the shore. Very frequently, however, they will be so beaten about and defaced, that they will be compa- ratively valueless; if enveloped in tangled masses Taking and Preserving Shells. 23 of sea-weed, they are likely to be preserved from injury; and such heaps of uprooted marine vege- tation will often afford a rich harvest to the young conchologist, who should always carefully examine them. Many of the shells are so minute as scarcely to be seen with the naked eye, therefore this search can scarcely be properly effected without the assist- ance of a pocket lens, the cost of which is but trifling. The undersides of pieces of stranded timber, the bottoms of boats lately returned from a fishing voyage, the fisherman's dredge or net, the cable, and the deep-sea line; all these may prove productive, and should be looked to when- ever opportunity offers ; nor should the search for land and fresh- water shells be neglected, for many of these are very curious, as well as beautiful, and no conchological collection is complete without them. For these, the best hunting-grounds are the ditch side and the river bed, the mossy bank and the hedge-row ; amid the twining, serpent- like roots of the old thorn and elder trees; the crevices of the garden wall, the undersides of stones, and all sorts of out-of-the-way holes, nooks, and corners, where may be found the Striped Zebra, and other prettily-marked snail shells, and many other kinds worthy of a place in 24 Beautiful Shells. THE CABINET, which may be either large or small, plain or hand- some, in accordance with the means of the collec- tor. Perhaps for a beginner just a nest of shallow drawers in a deal or other case may be quite sufficient; these drawers should be divided into compartments, on the front side of each of which should be pasted a neatly- written label, with the common and scientific name of the species of shell contained in it, together with brief mention of the date when, and the place where, it was taken ; and any observations relating to it which can be com- prised in a few words, and may seem to the collector of sufficient interest to warrant their insertion. This would be a good beginning; by and by, when the collection is large, the knowledge more ample, and the outlay can be spared, it will be time to think of something ornamental mahogany and glass, and carved or inlaid work, such a Cabinet as would properly display and enhance the beauties of your testaceous treasures, which are too often stowed away, with other natural curiosities, in a very disorderly, higgledy-piggledy sort of manner, like the collection described by Dryden The Cabinet. 25 * He furnishes his closet first, and fills The crowded shelves with rarities of shells ; Adds orient pearls, which from the wave he drew, And all the sparkling stones of various hue." When live shells, as they are called that is, having the living fish in them are obtained, the best plan is to place them in spirits of wine ; this at once deprives the inhabitant of life, without injuring the shell, which should then be placed in hot water for a time ; the body of the mollusk is thus rendered firm, and may be removed by means of some pointed instrument. Care should be taken to leave no portion of animal matter within, or after a while it will become putrid, and give out a stain, which will show through and injure the delicate markings of the shell. The surest, most expeditious, and least troublesome mode of cleans- ing a shell, is to place it in an ant heap for a day or two ; the busy little insects will penetrate into its inmost cavities, and remove hence all offending matter. There will be no difficulty in this respect with the multivalve and bivalve kinds, which are only kept closed by means of a set of muscles, which can be tightened or relaxed at the pleasure of the animal within, and become powerless to keep the shell closed as soon as that is dead. 26 Beautiful Shells. Great care must be taken to preserve unbroken the smaller parts of these shells, such as the hinges or teeth, as on the structure of these the scientific arrangement into genera chiefly depends; the beard, also, as it is called, and silky threads, must not be removed, as these have much to do in determining the particular species. Eiver and land shells are generally very thin and brittle, and must be carefully handled ; their colours are not usually so brilliant as those of the marine species, but they form links in the tes- taceous chain, which are necessary to a proper study and elucidation of conchology. The most glowing and gorgeous of all shells are those brought from the Tropical seas, and, excepting in a few rare instances, specimens of most of these can be obtained at little cost from any dealer, or from sailors returning from a voyage. If it is necessary to send either those, or British shells, any distance, or to pack them away in a small compass, the best plan is to wrap them separately in soft paper, place them in a box, and then pour in sawdust, bran, or fine sand, very dry, until all the open spaces are completely filled up. On Cleaning and Polishing Shells. 27 ON CLEANING AND POLISHING SHELLS. All shells, whether inhabited or not, when taken, should be soaked for a while in hot water, to remove the dirt which may adhere to them, and dissolve the saline (that is, salt) particles contained in the sea water ; they shonld then be thoroughly dried, and if, as is the case with many, they natu- rally possess a good polish, they are at once fit for the cabinet. Generally, however, it happens that when shells are dry, they lose much of the peculiar brilliancy of hue which they possess when seen through the medium of the glistening water; to restore this, wash them over with a thin solution of gum arabic, or white of egg. Some collectors use a varnish made of gum mastic, dissolved in spirits of wine; this is, perhaps, preferable, as it is not affected by moisture. Many shells have a very plain, dull appearance, in consequence of being covered over with a kind of skin called an epi- dermis, a word derived from the Greek, and signify- ing the outer skin, sometimes called the cuticle. To remove this, soak the shell in warm water for some time, and then rub it over with a stiff brush until the covering is removed ; should this be very thick, it will be necessary to jn^-sc a little nitric 28 Beautiful Shells. acid with the water; but this must be done very cautiously, for if too strong it will remove all the lustre from the surface of the shell subjected to its influence. Sometimes the file, and a substance called pumice-stone, has to be used, but these are dangerous agents in inexperienced hands. The best polish for the shell, after the skin is removed, is a red earth called tripoli, applied on a piece of soft leather. FOSSIL SHELLS. An eminent geologist, named Dr. Mantell, has very beautifully and poetically termed rocks "the Medals of Creation." As on coins and medals we see stamped enduring records of great historical events, so upon the rocks are written by the finger of God a history of some of the mighty changes which the earth has undergone, and fossil shells are among the plainest and most easily read of the characters or letters in which these truths are written. As Dr. Harvey, in his " Sea-side Book," observes, " Shelly- coated mollusca have existed in the waters of the sea, and in rivers, from a very early period of the world's history, and have left in its most stratified rocks and gravels abundance of their shells preserved in a more perfect manner Fossil Shells. 29 than the remains of most other animals. Now, as the species in the early rocks differ from those found in later formations, quite as much as the latter from the mollusca of our modern seas, the gradual change in the character of the embedded shells marks a certain interval of time in the world's history/' So we see that these rocks are the leaves of a great book, written all over with wonderful truths, and those who study such sciences as Geo- logy and Conchology, are enabled to read much that is there written. Every fossil shell that such a student picks out of the chalk, or limestone, is like a letter in the Alphabet of Creation ; it has a significance, or meaning, and a number of such put together form, as it were, words and sentences, that can be made up into chapters, full of instruction, aye, and of amusement too. The study may seem a little dry at first, but never mind, go on, and you will soon be rewarded for your diligence by the wonders that will unfold themselves to your understanding the fresh and delightful views which you will obtain into the wide universe, the new and enlarged ideas of the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, and of the formation, habits, and connection each with each of his various creatures. 3 30 Beautiful Shells. Properly to treat of fossil shells would require a book of itself, and a large book too ; we can here but allude to the subject, as a part, and a very important and interesting part, of the study of Conchology ; more will be said about it in a volume which we purpose writing for this series, on Rocks, and the petrified organic remains found in and about them. " Those relics of an older world, which tell Of changes slow or sudden, that have past Over the face of Nature ; fossil shell, Shark's tooth, and bone of megatheran vast, Turned into stone, and so preserved to show Man of those things whereof he ought to know." UNIVALVES. GASTEROPODA is a name given by some naturalists to a very extensive group of molluscous animals; the term is derived from two Greek words, signi- fying stomach and foot; it has reference to the kind of fleshy foot which generally occupies the whole under side of the body, and by the con- traction and extension of the muscles of which, the creature is enabled to glide, with a slow but steady motion, from place to place. The Slug and the Snail are the commonest examples which can be adduced of gasteropods ; and one may tell by their slimy tracks, shining like silver in the morning sunshine, that during the night, which is their principal feeding-time, they manage to get over a considerable extent of ground, although " a snail's gallop " is a proverbial expression for slow motion ; but it is astonishing how much work of any kind may be done if one "keeps at it"; by doing this 32 Beautiful Shells. the Tortoise beat the Hare, illustrating the truth of the proverb, that " slow and sure wins the race." If you watch a Snail travelling with its house upon its back, it does not seem to make much way, and you are inclined to think that it will be long ere it reaches the new settlement to which it appears journeying with bag and baggage; but leave the spot for a while, and the chances are that on your return, the " slow coach " will have got somewhere out of sight. Here is a lesson for boys and girls ; whatever you take in hand, don't be in a hurry, and if people say you are " slow," think of the Snail, and keep on ! This, then, is a shelled mollusk of the third class, called Gasteropoda, according to the system of the French naturalist Cuvier. It has a distinct head, which, like the hinder part of the body, which we may call a tail if we like, projects, when the creature is in motion, considerably from the Univalves. 33 shell ; it is also furnished with what we commonly call horns, naturalists say tentacles, from the Latin tento trying, or essaying ; with these the creature, as it were, feels its way, being extremely sensitive ; they answer the purpose of organs both of sight and touch ; put your finger slowly towards one of them, and you will observe that, even before con- tact, it begins to retract, or draw in, as though sensible of the approach of some opposing body, as it no doubt is. These horns of the Snail, then, are its feelers eyes to the blind, fingers to the finger- less ; so God provides for his creatures all that may be necessary for their existence, and compensates for the deprivation of one sense or organ, by some admirable contrivance which meets the necessities of the case.* * It appears likely that the little knobs at the end of the Snail's feelers, are, as some naturalists assert, in reality eyes ; if so, we were wrong in calling the creature blind. Yet is their position and construction so different from organs of sight generally, that they serve rather to strengthen than invalidate the above observations. The number of the horns varies in different kinds of snails from two to six, and some have none at all. These tentacles, when present, are always situated above the mouth ; some of them have the knobs at the base, others at the sides; and it has been conjectured that they may be organs of smell, as well as of sight and touch. 34 Beautiful Shells. THE COMMON SNAIL Is called by naturalists Helix aspersa, the generic name being derived from a Greek work signifying spiral, and having reference to the shape of the shell ; the plural is Helices, a term applied to all convoluted or twisted shells, which terminate in a point like a church spire : a spiral- shelled fossil is called a helicate. The specific name comes from the Latin asper rough ; whence also our English word asperity roughness, and several others. The Heli- tidce, or Helix family, is that which includes the land shell Snails and the naked Slugs, and in this family there are several genera; they are distin- guished from the shelled water Snails, both sea and river, by having a different breathing apparatus, and some other points of internal construction which it is not necessary to describe here. The Common Snail has a mouth, of which it makes good use, as market gardeners well know, and yet this mouth is not furnished with teeth; instead of these, the upper lip, which is of a horny texture, is what is called dentated, from the Latin dentus a tooth, that is, divided or separated, so as to present somewhat the appearance of a row of teeth in the jaw ; this lip is of an arched form, and The Common Snail. 35 appears to be a very serviceable kind of instrument to Mr. Helix aspersa, who, if his character be not aspersed, is very des'ructive to all sorts of greenery. The lower lip is divided only in the middle, where there is an opening of some width : it is not horny, like the upper one. Snails lay eggs, which are about the size of very small peas ; they are soft, and of a whitish colour. Being semi, that is, half, transparent, or clear, their contents can be partly seen ; and in those of a water Snail, deposited against the side of a glass bottle, the young were detected with partially-formed shells upon their backs. To show how tenacious they are of life, it has been mentioned that Mr. S. Simon, a Dublin mer- chant, had a collection of fossils and other curiosities left him by his father; among these were some shells of Snails, andji/teen years after the collection came into his possession, his son had the shells to play with, and placed them in a basin of water, when lo ! out came the slimy bodies and knobbed horns of several of the Gasteropods, no doubt hungry enough after their long sleep. We all know that our Common Snails hybernate, or sleep through the winter. As soon as the chills of autumn are felt, they seek out some snug crevice 36 Beautiful Shells. in an old wall, or burrow in the earth, or congre- gate beneath garden pots, roots of trees, thatched roofs, or in any hole or corner that may be con- venient, and then throwing a kind of temporary skin, like a drum head, which naturalists call oper- culum, over the opening of their shells, and sticking themselves fast to the sides of their refuge, or to each other, they sleep away, careless of frosts and tempests. A moist and rather warm state of the atmosphere seems most congenial to the land Snails, some species of which are found in all countries, except those where the most intense cold prevails. Gene- rally speaking, they do not like dry heat, and to escape from it will get under stones, and into other cool places, from whence a shower brings them forth in such numbers, the smaller species espe- cially, as to lead to the popular belief that it some- times rains Snails. These Gasteropods, although extremely injurious to vegetation, must not be regarded as worse than useless, as they commonly are; besides furnishing food for several wild, as well as domesticated, birds, they are no doubt a nourishing article of diet for man. The Romans had their coclilearia, where Snails were regularly fed and fattened for the table ; The Common Snail. 37 and the French at the present day their escargo- toires f or Snailery, for the same purpose ; some of the Snails so kept attain an immense size, as well they may if fed, as by the Romans, on new wine and meal. Many poor persons, especially those who are consumptive, might no doubt derive much cheap sustenance and benefit from using the larger species of Helicidce, which might be collected from hedges and gardens as food. Why should they not eat those as well as the marine mollusks, such as Oysters, Cockles, Whelks, etc. ? Snails have an extraordinary power of re-pro- ducing any part which may be injured or cut off, even to the extent of the whole head, as has been observed to be the case ; the reparation of injury done to the shell they can effect easily, as can all testaceous mollusks. Eespecting the construction of the shell, it may be observed that it is produced in the thickness of the mantle, or cloak-like covering, which envelops the body of the animal; the forma- tion commences at the small end or spire, and gradually goes on, whorl upon whorl, as the still widening circles which gives the ridgy appearance to most univalves are called. Columella, or pillar, is the name given to the spire on which the cones are rolled; this is sometimes solid and sometimes 38 Beautiful Shells. hollow ; when the latter, the open end is called the Umbilicus, meaning the navel or centre. The opening at the bottom, from which the animal issues, is the last portion finished, and this is called the aperture, a Latin word adopted into the English dictionary. Some of these Helices are wide and flat, even hollow and cup-like, with the whorls rising above the pillar these are called discoid shells; DISCOID. TTOBINATED. others which are long and narrow, with projecting spires, are termed turbinated shells : the former being more or less flat or disk-like, the latter twisted, whirling, like a spinning-top, from the Latin turbo a whirling, a turning round. If we take a Common Snail, and plunge it into boiling water, which will instantly kill it, so that it can be removed from the shell, we shall find the whole of that part of the body which was lodged in the upper whorls, or spiral part of the shell, is covered with a thin membrane or skin; this is called the mantle, and that portion of it The Common Snail. 39 which corresponds with what we may consider as the back of the mollusk, and which is con- siderably thickened, is termed the collar; here are situated the glands, which secrete the colouring and other matter of which the shell is mainly composed; although the substance called nacre, or mother-of-pearl, is secreted in the thinner part of the mantle ; it is however from the collar that the growth or increase of the shell proceeds. It is in accordance with certain variations in the shape and disposition of this mantle and collar, that shells assume such very different shapes. Sometimes the whorls or spiral ridges, are pro- jected or thrown far out, and this produces the turlinated shell. Sometimes they scarcely rise above each other, but rather spread towards the sides, and then we have the discoid shape. Gene- rally speaking, the whorls of a shell take a direction from left to right, but occasionally an opposite one; they are then called smistral, or left-handed shells; such are not common. If one of the twisted shells be divided lengthways, it will be seen that the inside of the whorls wind in an ascending direction, round the Oolumella or central column, as the spiral staircases in the Crystal Palace. 40 Beautiful Shells. But let us return to our Garden Snail, who has many near relatives in Britain, several of which have beautifully-marked and convoluted shells, as will be seen by a reference to our coloured illus- trations, Plate I. We will introduce them in due order. Fig. 1, the Banded Snail (Helix nemoralis), from the Latin nemus a wood or grove ; the prettily-striped shells of this species may be found in great plenty among the roots and in the crevices of the rugged boles of old forest trees, as well as in hedge-rows and in mossy banks, and other situations near woods. Fig. 2, the Heath Snail (H. ericetorum), from erica, the Latin for heath; a small species with brown bands, remarkable for its large umbilicus, perforating the centre of the shell nearly through. Fig. 3, the Silky Snail (H. sericea), from the Latin sericus silk-like ; the shell of this species is covered with short slimy hairs, which give it a glistening appearance. Fig. 4, the Stone Snail (H. lapicida], from the Latin lapis a stone: Linnaeus called the species the Stone Cutter, probably on account of its habit of frequenting stony places, and the peculiar construction of the shell, which has a sharp edge running round each whorl; it is commonly found lodged in the cavities of loose-lying stones, The Common Snail. 41 but which it can scarcely be suspected of having hollowed out for its own accommodation. Fig. 5, the Elegant Cyclostome (Cyclostoma elegans). On turning to the dictionary, we find that cyclos- tomous means having a circular mouth. This species is sometimes called Turbo elegans ; the beautifully-marked shells are often found in chalky hills covered with brushwood. This pretty mollusk has a curious mode of travelling; the under surface of the foot, which is long, is divided by a deep fissure into two narrow strips, like ribbons ; these take hold of whatever the creature may be moving on alternately; one keeping fast hold while the other advances, in like manner to fix itself, and drag the body forward. Fig. 6, the Undulated Plekocheilos (P. undulatus) ; the Latin plecto to twist or twine, seems to be the root from which the generic name of this Snail is derived ; the specific name will be easily under- stood; to undulate, is to flow like waves, and the lines on the shell it will be seen are undulating. This is not a British species, but is introduced here to give variety to the group ; it is a West Indian Mollusk, and is found in immense numbers in the forests of St. Vincent ; it glues its eggs to the leaves of a plant which holds water, and thus 42 Beautiful Shells. secures for them a damp atmosphere at all times. And liere we must conclude our chapter of Land Snails, leaving unnoticed very many beautiful and interesting species, both British and Foreign. Many poets have alluded to the Snail, but we can only find room for a few verses by Cowper : To grass, or leaf, or fruit, or wall, The snail sticks close, nor fears to fall, As if he grew there, house and all Together. Within that house secure he hides, When danger imminent betides Of storm, or other harm besides, Of weather. Give but his horns the slightest touch, His self -collecting power is such, He shrinks into his house with much Displeasure. Where'er he dwells, he dwells alone, Except himself has chattels none, Well satisfied to be his own Whole treasure. Thus hermit-like, his life he leads, Nor partner of his banquet needs, And if he meets one only feeds The faster* Fresh-water Shells. 43 Who seeks him must be worse than blind (He and his house are so combin'd), If, finding it, he fails to find Its master. FRESH- WATER SHELLS. Many of the following group of Fresh-water Shells, are remarkable for elegance of form, and some for richness of colouring- ; hence, perhaps, the scientific name applied to the family in which they are mostly included Limnceidce, which, like fo'ww to paint, agrees with the French enluminer. These mollusks are found in rivers, streams, ditches, and moist marshy places. Like those which live wholly on land, they breathe through lungs, and therefore cannot exist without air ; which accounts for their frequently coming to the surface, when under 44 Beautiful Shells. water. In brooks, as well as in stagnant pools, which abound with aquatic plants, they may be found in vast numbers, feeding upon the moist vegetation. The Common Limnea (L. stagnalis) is mostly an inhabitant of stagnant waters, where it is often seen floating with the shell reversed, as in a boat ; this shell, like most of those of the Fresh-water Mollusks, is thin, and easily broken ; the shape, it will be seen, is peculiarly elegant, the spire being slender and pointed very different from that of the Spreading Limnea, called by naturalists, L. auricularia, from aurus the ear, to which the broad aperture, or opening of the shell, may be compared; this resembles the other species in its habits. The Horny Planorbis, in Latin P. corneus, from cornu a horn. The shape, you will see, is flat, the whorls rolling upon each other like the PJa.teI Fresh-water Shells. 45 folds of a bugle horn ; this shape would be termed orbicular, from orbis a sphere, or circular body. This is the largest European species of Fresh-water Shells so constructed; it is often found in deep clear ditches, and yields a beautiful purple dye, which, however, soon becomes dull, and changes; it cannot be fixed, and is therefore valueless. The mouth of this shell, in fine specimens, is tinged with pale violet or lilac. There is another kind, the Keeled Planorbis (P. lurinatus), which has the outer edge of the shell finely ridged, or keeled ; it is very small, and very plentiful in fresh-water, both running and stag- nant; where, too, is found the Common Physa (P. fontinalis), the latter word meaning a spring or fountain. This little mollusk is a quick and active traveller, it sometimes comes out of its shell and throws itself about in an extraordinary way, keeping fast hold by its foot; the generic name, Physa, would seem to have reference to the round, 4 46 Beautiful Shells. smooth, delicate shell, and to come from the same root as Physalite, which means a topaz : the members of this genus are very numerous, being found nearly all over the globe. The next belongs to the family Auriculadce, or Ear Shells. The Midas* Ear (A. Midce), this handsome shell is prized by collectors ; it comes from the East Indies. Midas, it is said, was one who set himself up for a judge of music in the old fabulous times, and not appreciating that of Apollo, was rewarded by the angry god with a pair of ass's earsc The Cone-shaped Melampus (M. corniformis) , also an Ear Shell, is found in the rivers of the Antilles Islands. It is a pretty shell; the formation is much the same as that of many of the most highly- prized varieties of Marine Shells ; of these we shall have to speak presently. Melampodium in Latin, signifies a poisonous plant called Black Hellebore ; in the Mythology, Melampus was a great magician, who did all sorts of wonderful things; but we cannot tell what relation there exists between either the plant or the magician and this pretty cone shell. To give variety to this group, we will now throw in a land species called Megaspira Ruschenbergiana, about the origin of whose name we cannot even hazard a guess; the termination of the generic name, The WMk. 47 you will see is spira, and a glance at the shell will at once suggest a reason for this ; its long tapering spire consists of twenty-three closely-set gradually increasing whorls. This is a rare shell, whose inhabitant has not yet been described by naturalists; several of the marine species closely resemble it in shape. Much more might be said about the Land and Fresh-water Shells, but we must here leave them, having a wide field before us namely, the Sea or Marine Testacea, one of the most common of which is THE WHELK, A univalve shell inhabited by a gasteropod mollusk, or, we should rather say, naturally so tenanted, for very frequently it is taken possession of by the Soldier or Hermit Crab, which having no hard covering to protect their soft plump bodies, are obliged to take lodgings where they can get them, and generally prefer the Whelk shell, of which we here give a figure. This is one of the commonest of our Marine 48 Beautiful Shells. Mollusks ; it is called by naturalists Buccinum un- datum ; the first, or generic term, being the Latin for a trumpet, and the second, or specific name, meaning waved, or, as we often say, undulated. So we call this the Waved Whelk ; fishermen term it the Conch, or the Buckie, and tell strange stories of its ravenous appetite and murderous propensities; how, with its spiny tongue, situated at the end of a long flexible proboscis or trunk, it drills a hole in the shell of the Oyster, or other testacean, and sucks out the contents; empty shells, so drilled, are frequently found on the shore, and often, when the dredge is let down into an oyster bed, it comes up time after time filled with Whelks, of which such numbers are sometimes taken, that they are sold to the farmers to be used as manure for the soil. This mollusk is a favourite article of food with the poorer classes of our land, but it is hard and indigestible. The shell may frequently be found in large numbers among the beach stones; Rock Shells. 49 it is strong and firm, from three to four inches long, of a dirty yellowish white. There are two other Whelks common upon our coasts the Stone or Dog Whelk (B. lapillus), from the Latin lapis a stone ; and B. reticulatum, so called because the shell is reticulated, or marked with many lines crossing each other, like net-work ; it comes from the Latin reticulum a net; hence also we have reticule a small work-bag, at one time very much carried by ladies. ROCK SHELLS, Are so called on account of their rough and wrink- led forms ; they are nearly allied to the Whelks, to which they bear a close resemblance. Several species are found on our shores, the most common being the Humble Murex (If. despectus], from the Latin despedo to despise; this is often used by the fishermen for bait. Some of the foreign Rock Shells are very curious and beautiful; three of them will be found on Plate II., Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The Common Thorny Woodcock (M. tribulus), from the French for trouble, whence we have also tribu- lation, which is sometimes said to be a thorny path. This curious shell is also called Venus' Comb. It 50 Beautiful Shells. is found in the Indian Ocean, from whence it is also brought. Fig. 2, the Woodcock's Head (M. Jiaustellum) , from the Latin haustus a draught; the bill of the Woodcock being adapted for suckiug. This term is also applied to insects that live by suction. The shell, it will be seen, is destitute of spines, but it is ribbed and beautifully marked. Fig. 3 is worthy of its name the Royal Murex (M. regius], from regno to reign. It is a splendid species, of the rich colouring of which art can give but a faint impression. It is brought from the western coast of Central and South America, where, as well as in the islands of the South Pacific, many new shells of the genus Murex have been discovered. One shell found on our own coast, often mistaken for a Whelk, is the Pelican's-foot Strombus, called in scientific language, Strombus pes-pelicanus, which is but a Latinized form of the English name. This shell varies greatly in shape in different stages of its growth, and by an inexperienced conchologist, the young, middle-aged, and old Strombus might be taken for distinct species. In the StrombiJce family, so called we know not why, the same word in Latin meaning a kind of shell-fish, are some species which have produced pearls. One member of the family which we sometimes see in collections, Hock Shells. 51 is a large and very beautiful shell ; this is the Broad- winged Strombus (S. latissimus) , probably from latesco to wax or grow broad, or large ; issimus being in the superlative degree, would indicate that this shell was very much so, as we find it is, some- times measuring as much as twelve inches across. In Plate II. is a representation of this handsome shell, greatly reduced in size, of course. See Fig. 4. We here give a figure, as more curious than beauti- ful, of the Scorpion Pteroceras (P. scorpius), which CHINESE SPINDLE. also belongs to the StrombidcB family ; as does the curious Chinese Spindle (Bostellaria rectirostris) . The generic name of the first of these species 52 Beautiful Shells. comes from the Greek Ptero, pronounced tero, meaning a wing, and cents waxen. Both the generic and specific names of the second refer to the peculiar conformation of the shell, being derived from the Latin, and meaning a straight line or beak. On Plate III. will be found the Imbricated Pur- pura (P. imbricate) i Fig. 1, which claims a close alliance with the Whelks. The generic name has reference to the dye yielded by this, as well as all the shells of the genus; the specific name comes from the Latin imbrex the gutter-tile ; thus imbricated, a term often used in Natural History, means ridged, like the roof of a house, where the tiles are placed to overlap each other, so that the rain will run off. The Persian Purpura, or, as it is called in Latin, Purpura Persica, Fig. 2, is another handsome shell of this family group ; its name indicates the place where it is found. The other species described comes from South America, and the P. lapillus (the meaning of the specific name has already been explained), is common on our shores, being found in great abundance on the rocks at low water. We read in Scripture of Tyrian purple, and there is every reason to suppose that the rich colour was obtained from these and other shell-fish. Periwinkle. 53 PERIWINKLE. This is the commonest representative which we have of the family Turbinidce, which comprehends, according to Cuvier, all the species which have the shell completely and regularly turbinated that is, if we translate the Latin word into English, twisted. The little Periwinkle (here he is) is by no means a handsome mollusk, but some of his relatives are very beautiful, as we shall presently show. He is called by naturalists T. littoreus from littoralis, belonging to the shore and is often eaten by boys and girls with great relish ; but he is not very digestible, and sometimes occasions dangerous disorders. The Swedish pea- sants believe that when the periwinkle crawls high upon the rocks, a storm is brewing from the south ; but Linnaeus quotes a Norwegian author to show that according to popular belief, it foretells the approach of a land wind with a calm on shore. Man may learn much of elemental changes from an observation of the movements and habits of all living creatures, which are instructed by God to provide for their safety and wants, and often per- 54 Beautiful Shells. ceive, long before man himself does, the indications of calm and tempest, rain and drought, etc. But our little Turbo, what of him? will you boil him, and pick out his curled-up form with a pin ? or let him go crawling about the rocks, feeding upon the delicate earlier growth of marine vegetation ? In the former case, you will have to reject the little kind of horny scale attached to his foot, which forms, when he retires into his habitation, a closely- fitting door to make all snug. Several species of this genus are found on our shores ; one of those is the Turbo rudis, or Red Turbo, which has a very thick periwinkle-like shell, about three-quarters of an inch long; the colour is dull red, fawn, or drab. Of the foreign Turbines, sometimes called Tur- ban Shells, we will now introduce two or three species, which will be found on Plate III. Fig. 3 is the Marbled Turbo (T. marmoratus) , from the Latin marmor marble; a large handsome shell well known to conchologists, and a native of the Indian seas. Fig. 4 is the Twisted Turbo (T. torquatus) ; this shell, when deprived of its outer coat or layer, is beautifully nacreous, or, if we may BO speak, mother-of-pearly. The specimens which have reached England were brought from King Periwinkle. 55 George's Sound. Fig. 5 is called Cook's Turbo (T. CooJcii] ; this is a handsome South Sea shell, oftentimes of large size. It has been found in great numbers on the coast of New Zealand. On Plate IV. we have placed two very curiously formed and marked shells, called Wentletraps, also belonging to the family Turbinidce. The scientific name is Scalaria, from the Latin scala a ladder, which the ribbed shells are supposed to resemble. Of this genus there are about eighty distinct species known ; they are mostly deep-sea shells found in warm latitudes, although several inhabit the Eu- ropean seas, and one, the Common False Wentle- trap (S. communis), Fig. 1, may often be picked up on our own shores. Fig. 2, the Royal Staircase Wentletrap, is a rare and valuable shell, generally brought from India and China ; the scientific name is S. pretiosa, given to it by the French naturalist Lamarck, on account of the high price which it fetched ; pretiose, in Latin, meaning costly, valuable. As much as 100 have been given for a single specimen of this shell; and a fine one, especially if it exceed two inches in length, yet commands a considerable sum, although not nearly so much as that. A good deal like the False Wentletrap in general outline, is the Awl-shaped Turritella, found 56 Beautiful Shells. in the African and Indian Seas. This is the T. terebra of naturalists; the first name referring to the turret shape common to the genus, and the last being the Latin word for an auger, or piercer. The Roseate Turritella (T. rosea) is also sometimes seen in collections ; the beautiful rosy tint of the live shell changes to a dull red or brown, on the death of the mollusk. TROCHUS, OR TOP-SHELL. " Of the shelled Mollusca which the dredge ever and anon brings up/' says Mr. Gosse, in his delightful volume on the Aquarium, or Aqua- vivarium, as the glass tank in which living marine animals and vegetables are kept, is called, from the Latin aqua water, and vivo to live, ' ' the Trochi are among the most conspicuous for beauty. The chief glory of this genus is the richly-painted internal surface of their shells, in which they are not excelled by any even of the true margaritiferous or pearly bivalves." Of this Trochidce family, a few of the members must be introduced to our readers; it is rather a Trochus. 57 numerous one, consisting of more than one hundred species, which are scattered nearly all over the world, few seas being without some of them. They are found at various depths, from near the surface to forty-five fathoms down, creeping on rocks, sand, masses of sea-weed, etc. We will first speak of those found on our own shores, the two commonest, as well as the smallest of which, are the Grey and the Spotted Trochi, scientifically named T. cinerarius and T. maculata, the translation of the first Latin specific name being ashy or ash-coloured, and that of the second, spotted. Trochus, in the same language, signifies a top, and has reference to the shape of most of these shells, which are some- thing like a boy's whip-top. Children on the coast sometimes call the last- named of the above species Pepper-and-salt Shells, because in colour they resemble the cloth so named. The Muddy-red Trochus (T. ziziphinus), so called, perhaps, because in colour it resembles the ziziphia, or fruit of the jujube tree, is also common with us. This shell is about an inch long, of a grey tint dashed with dark spots, these follow the line of the spiral turnings, which are very regular, proceeding from the opening below to the apex or point. Seen on shore, its colours are dull and faint, but beneath 58 Beautiful Shells. the water, inhabited by a living mollusk, it looks as though, made of pearl, and studded with rubies j the animal, too, is richly coloured, being yellow with black stripes. See Plate IV., Fig. 3. Not so common as the last is another British mollusk of this genus, called the Granulated Trochus (T. granulatus). It is the larger, and, as many think, the more elegant shell of the twucra&>), inflated or blown out, and fontiualis, residing in springs or fountains. Yet the creature is herbivorous, feeding on the leaves, especially of Potamogeton, in lakes and rivers. Beneath the water it glides along with moderate, uniform motion, produced by the undulations of its foot. In the air it advances by jerks, without pro- truding its tentacula : and Montagu asserts that it will sometimes let itself down gradually by a thread affixed to the surface of the water, as the Limax drops itself from the branch of a tree. P. hypnorum is found in ditches and stagnant pools in many parts Shells of Common Occurrence. 153 65-66. 75-76. 77-78. 65-66. Planorbis corneas (the Horny Coil Shell), Linnaeus. 67. P. albus (the White Coil Shell), Miiller. 68. P. nautileus (the Nautilus Coil Shell), Linnaeus. 69. P. margiuatus (the Margined Coil Shell), Draparnaud. 70. P. carinatus (the Carinated Coil Shell), Mutter. 71-72. P. vortex (the Whorl Coil Shell), Linnaeus. 73-74. P. spirorbis (the Rolled Coil Shell), Mutter. 75-76. P. con- tortus (the Twisted Coil Shell), Linnaeus. 77-78. P nitidus (the Fountain Coil Shell), ibid. 154 Beautiful Shells. of Great Britain and Ireland. The mud is prolific of shells; witness the Planorbis family, of which 79. Limnseus auricularius (the Wide-eared Mud Shell), Linnceus. 80. L. pereger (the Travelled Mud Shell), Muller. 81. L. stagnalis (the Lake Mud Shell), Linnaeus. 82. L. fossarius (the Ditch Mud Shell), Turton. 83. L. glaber (the Eight- Whorled Mud Shell), iUd. 84-85. L. palustris (the Marsh Mud Shell), Linnoeus. 86. L. gluti- nosus (the Glutinous Mud Shell), Muller. nine species are here figured. They have been likened to the fossil Ammonites, for which they might be taken as miniature copies. The name is hence a kind of contradiction in terms, compounded of the words which signify ' ' flat " and " ball." The largest is the P. corneus (Figs. 65 and 66), an inch in diameter; the others are P. albus, from one- Shells of Common Occurrence. 155 fourth to one-fifth ; P. nautileus, one-eighth to one- tenth; P. marginatus, five-eighths; P. carinatus, P. spirorbis, one-fourth; and P. contorlusj one-fifth of an inch in diameter; respectively; whilst P. vortex is usually only from three to four lines, and P. nitidus two and a-half lines. These shells are found in the slow rivers, pools, and stagnant waters of England. The P. vortex does not actually reside in the mud, but on its surface ; but more especially occupies the stems and leaves of plants, both in and out of the water, retiring into recesses and cavities in the banks formed by the plants or their overlying stems or leaves. In point of fact, the mud shells, par excellence, are the group of Lim- ncecea, of which there are given seven examples (Figs. 79 86). The family is wide-spread, the shells are fragile ; and Mr. Lowe has noticed that the property of walking upside down on the ceiling, appertaining to the house-fly (Musca domestica) , has been introduced by the Limnseus into the watery regions, " for it as easily crawls upside down on the surface of the water basking in the sun, aa it moves in the ordinary manner on the surface of the mud." The lake and river limpets, Ancylus oblongus and A. fluciatilis (Figs. 87 and 88) are small breathing animals; and the minute aedge 156 Beautiful Shells. shell, Carychium minimum (Fig. 89), though com- mon, is almost microscopical. The embryo naturalist, perchance, may imagine that a complete cabinet of- common shells could be easily set up j but it is not every one whose enthu- 90. 87. Ancylus fluviatilis (the Common River Limpet), MiiUer. 88. A. oblongus (the Oblong Lake Limpet), Kightfoot, 89. Carychium minimum (the Minute Sedge Shell), Muller. 90. Limax brunneus (the Brown Slug), var., Draparnaud. siasm would lead them to undergo the taslc. The man of science is well aware that he must trace out the wonders of the living creation in their native haunts, in order to their perfect comprehension; we are therefore glad to know that the York Natural History Society collects and sends out to subscribers the shells and fossils of different British districts and strata, at something like ten shillings a set. THE END. BOOKS FOR YOUNG NATURALISTS. Crown 8vo., elegantly bound, gilt edges, Illustrated with 16 beauti- fully coloured Plates and numerous Wood Engravings, price 5s. NESTS AND EGGS OF FAMILIAR BIRDS. Described and Illustrated, with an account of the Haunts and Habits of the Feathered Architects, and their Times and Modes of Building. BY H. G. ADAMS. Crown 8vo., elegantly bound, gilt edges, Illustrated with 8 beauti- fully coloured Plates and numerous Wood Engravings, price 3s. 6d. BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLIES. DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED. With an Introductory chapter, containing the History of a Butterfly through all its Changes and Transformations. A Description of its Structure in the Larva, Pupa, and Imago states, with an Explana- tion of the scientific terms used by Naturalists in reference thereto, with observations upon the Poetical and other associations of the Insect. BY H. G. ADAMS. Crown 8vo., elegantly bound, gilt edges, Illustrated with 8 beauti" fully coloured Plates and numerous Wood Engravings, price 3s. 6d BEAUTIFUL SHELLS, THEIR NATURE, STRUCTURE, AND USES FAMILIARLY EXPLAINED. With Directions for Collecting, Clearing, and Arranging them in the Cabinet. Descriptions of the most remarkable Species, and of the creatures which inhabit them, and explanations of the meaning of their scientific names, and of the terms used in Conchology. BY H. G. ADAMS. Crown 8vo., elegantly bound, gilt edges, Illustrated with 8 beauti- fully coloured Plates and Wood Engravings, price 3s. 6d. HUMMING BIRDS. DESCRIBED AND ILLUSTRATED. With an Introductory Sketch of their Structure, Plumage, Haunts, Habits, etc. BY H. G. ADAMS. GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, 5, Paternoster Row, London. Crown 800., cloth gilt, Illustrated with coloured Plates and Wood Engravings, Price 35. 6d. COUNTRY WALKS OF A NATURALIST BY THE REV. W. HOUGHTON, M.A., F.L.S. " Contrives to furnish a large amount of interesting natural history in a brief compass and in a picturesque and engaging manner." Pail Mall Gazette. " It is wonderful what a very large amount of most instructive matter connected with the animal and plant world the writer has condensed into a small compass." Land and IVater. " This pretty little volume forms one of thebest little books on popular Natural History." Birmingham Daily Journal. Crown %vo., cloth gilt. Illustrated with Coloured Plates and Wood Engravings. Price 35. 6d. SEA-SIDE WALKS OF A NATURALIST BY THE REV. W. HOUGHTON, M.A., F.L.S. " The wonders of the sea-shore are detailed in an easy, pleasant, and lucid Jtyle." Examiner. ' ' Families visiting the sea-side should provide themselves with this convenient and instructive work." The Queen. " It is pleasingly written, and the scientific information is correct and well selected." A thenceunt. Crown 8vo., cloth gilt. Illustrated with Coloured Plates and Wood Engravings. Price 3$, 6d. SKETCHES OF BRITISH INSECTS A handbook for beginners in the study of Entomology. BY THE REV. W. HOUGHTON, M.A., F.L.S. The object of this volume is to give a short sketch of our British Insects, with the hope of inducing dwellers in the country to take an interest in these winged denizens of the air, and to enable the reader to acquire a general knowledge of insect life, as exhibited in the fields and lanes of the country. Crown Svo., cloth elegant, gilt edges, price 6s. 6d. WALKS S NATURALIST CHILDREN BY THE REV. W. HOUGHTON, M.A., F.L.S. Illustrated with highly finished full-page Coloured Plates and numerous Wood Engravings. An interesting volume upon the common objects of nature, which may be observed in the country and on the sea-shore, descriptive and anecdotal of Birds, Animals, Insects, Wild Flowers, Plants, Aquatic and Microscopic objects, Fishes, Shells, Sponges, etc. GROOMBBJDGE & SONS, Paternoster Row, London. Seventh Edition, illustrated tuitk more than 150 wood engravings ; greatly enlarged and revised to the present time (\&1v). Crown &vo, cloth. Pricey. THE BEE-KEEPER'S MANUAL OR, THE HONEY BEE, Its Management and Preservation, with a description of the best approved hives, and other appliances of the Apiary. BY HENRY TAYLOR, Seventh Edition, Revised, and Greatly Enlarged, by ALFRED WATTS. "We consider this edition of Taylor, under the editorship of Mr. Watts, as good a Manual for the bee-keeper as is to be found in the language." Journal "y 'Horticulture. "A classic work among apiarian literature, A thoroughly trustworthy gnide." Land and Water. " It is unquestionably the best book of its kind, and the number of practical illustrations with which it abounds, makes it an invaluable manual." Live Stock Journal. " The book is to be thoroughly recommended." Graphic. "Abounds with the fullest information on every topic connected with the subject. It is a volume that no apiculturist should be without. 'Sunday Times. Crown &v0, cloth elegant, gilt edges. Price 6s. d. ; THE NEW PRACTICAL WINDOW GARDENER Being Practical Directions for the cultivation of Flowering and Foliage Plants in \\indows and Glazed Cases, and the Arrangement of Plants and Flowers for the Embellishment of the House. BY JOHN R. MOLLISON. CONTENTS : Pots, Vases, and Hanging Baskets The Window Box The Window Greenhouse Soil and Drainage Potting and Watering Insects : their Prevention and Cure Propagation and Training of Plants Select Flowering Plants Suitable forWindow Gardening Hardy Ferns for Window Gardening Wardian Cases Ferns in Cases Plants for Windows Balcony and Area Gar- deningThe Floral Decoration of Rooms, Halls, and Passages Monthly Cal- endar of Operations List of Plants suitable for Window and Balcony Gardens, and the Decoration of Rooms. " This is a useful little work. Mr. Mollison has handled his subject in a thoroughly business-like manner. His combinations of colours exhibit a con- siderable amount of taste, while his directions are as clear and precise as they are simple and practical, and the reader who takes him for his guide need have no fear whatever about succeeding. Moreover, the book is liberally illustrated, so that the reader can judge beforehand of the effects produced by this or that method of floral decoration or arrangement." Land and Water. Crown &vo, elegantly 'bound, gilt edges. Illustrated with Coloured Engravings. Price 3$ . (nf. TIKCIK! O .A. IN" ^ IR; Its Varieties, Management, and Breeding. BY THE REV. FRANCIS SMITH. Contains descriptions of all the Different Varieties of this popular Household Favourite, illustrated with Coloured Portraits of Birds in the possession of the Author. With this book every care has been taken to produce the most complete Manual, while the Illustrations, general appearance of the volume, and low price at which it is issued, will render it the most popular work on the subject. Elegantly bound. Illustrated with Seventy Engravings. Price 3*. 6d. NATURAL HISTORY OF CAGE BIRDS Their Management, Habits, Food, Diseases, Treatment, Breeding, and the Methods of Catching them. BY J. M. BECHSTEIN, M.D. "This beautifully illustrated edition of Dr. Bechstein's well-known work will be welcomed by every lover of natural history, and is remarkable for the fidelity and beauty of the engravings, no less than for its general elegant appearance. A copious alphabetical index is appended to the volume, which will enable the reader instantly to find the birds whose history and management are required." %* Order Groombridge' s Edition, with Seventy Illustrations , price 3*. & GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, Paternoster Eow, London. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, Illustrated with Coloured Plates of all the varieties ; price 4s., post free for 48 stamps. POULTRY. A Practical Guide to the Choice, Breeding, Rearing, and Manage- ment of all descriptions of Fowls, Turkeys, Guinea Fowls, Ducks, and Geese, for Profit and Exhibition. With accurate and beauti- fully Coloured Plates, illustrating all the different varieties. By HUGH PIPEB, Author of " Pigeons ; their Varieties, Manage- ment, Breeding, and Diseases." CONTENTS. CHAP. I. Profitof Poultry-keeping. CHAP. XII. Malays. II. The Fowl-House. III. The Fowl- Yard. IV. Food. V. VI. The Sitting Hen and Arti- ficial Incubation. VII. Rearing and Fattening Fowls. VIII. Stock, Breeding, and Crossing. IX. Poultry Shows. X. Cochin Chinas or Shanghaes. XI. Brahma-Pootras. XIII. Game. XIV. Dorkings. XV. Spanish. XVI. Hamburghs. XVII. Polands. XVIII. Bantams. XIX. French and Various. XX. Turkeys. XXI. Guinea Fowls. XXII. Ducks. XXIII. Geese. XXIV. Diseases. GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, 5, Paternoster Row, London. Price One Shilling (Post Free for Thirteen Stamps). PIPER'S POULTRY-YARD ACCOUNT BOOK. A Simple Plan for Keeping a Correct Account of Expenditure and Receipts ; also for Showing what Each Item Amounts to in the Whole Year. Adapted for Any Year, and for Beginning at Any Time of the Year. By HUGH PIPEB, Author of " Poultry, a Practical Guide," and " Pigeons." With the Aid of this Account Book, the following Statistics will le able to be determined : The Number of Eggs Laid Daily The Total Amount Received for Produce The Number of Eggs Sold The Amount Received for Eggs The Number of Fowls Sold The Amount Received for Fowls The Number of Chickens Sold The Amount Received for Chickens The Value of Feathers and Manure- The Number of Eggs Used in the Household The Number of Fowls Used in the Household The Total Amount of Expenditure The Number of Fowls Purchased The Value of Eggs Purchased for Setting The Cost of Food, Rent, Labour, and other Sundries The Number of Hens Set The Different Dates of Setting The Number of Eggs The Dates when Due The Number of Chickens Hatched, and the Number of Chickens Reared. The Balance Sheet at the end determining whether the Transactions of the Yard have been carried out at a Profit or Loss. GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, 5, Paternoster Row, London. Crown &vo., cloth, gilt edges, Illustrated with Coloured Plates and numerous od Engravings. Price 6s. A Practical Guide to the Management of the Garden and the Cultivation of Popular Flowers. BY SHIRLEY HIBBERD, F.R.H.S. CONTENTS : Forming the Flower Garden The Parterre The Bedding System, and the Plants required for it Cultivation of Bed- ding Plants A Selection of Bedding Plants Hardy Border Flowers A selection of hardy Herbaceous Plants Tender Border Flowers Hardy Annuals and Biennials The Rose Garden The American Garden The Subtropical Garden The Rockery and Alpine Garden Flowers for Winter Bouquets The Lawn Garden Vermin Reminders of Monthly Work. "It is practical throughout; the book will be useful and acceptable." Gardeners Chronicle. " An elegant and charmingly illustrated volume. It is intended for those who possess what may be called ' homely' gardens as distinguished from great and grand gardens ; and it is wonderful to find under the author's guidance how much may be made of ever so small a piece of garden ground." Leeds Mercury. Crown Svo., cloth, price 6s. Illustrated -with Coloured Plates and numerous Wood Engravings. THE GREENHOUSE < CONSERVATORY A COMPLETE GUIDE TO THB Construction, Heating, and Management, of Greenhouses and Conservatories, and the Selection, Propagation, Cultivation, and Improvement of Ornamental Greenhouse and Conservatory Plants. BY SHIRLEY HIBBERD, F.R.H.S. *' This book is well adapted for amateurs. It points out, in its earlier chapters, the main considerations which affect the construction and heating of conservatories and greenhouses. In the fourth chapter the amateur is initiated in potting, com- posts, propagation, etc. Then follows a series of chapters in which the treatment of the different groups and families is explained, Greenhouse Herbaceous Plants leading the way, followed by the Chrysanthemum, to which a chapter is given ; Soft- wooded plants ; Pelargoniums; Fuchsias; Hard-wooded Plants; Ericas and Epacrises ; Camellias, Azaleas, and Rhododendrons ; Climbers ; Oranges, etc. Hard-leaved Plants, as Agaves,Draccenas,etc. ; Succulent-leaved Plants ; Orchids and Pitcher Plants ; Greenhouse Roses, etc. One chapter is devoted to a general selection of Greenhouse Plants ; another to Summer Cucumbers and Seedling Pelargoniums ; while others afford reminders of monthly work. The volume is nicely printed and elegantly bound ; and, so far as we have had the opportunity of testing it, seems to be sound as to its practical recommendations." Gardener t Chronicle. _ _ GBQOMBRIDGE & SONS, Paternoster Row, London. Or. 8vo, cl. gilt, price 6., Illustrated with Coloured Plates and Wood Engravings. The Amateur's ROSE BOOK, COMPBISING THE Cultivation of the Rose In the Open Ground and under Glass: the Formation of the Rosarium- the Characters of Wild and Garden Eoses: the Preparation of the Flowerj for Exhibition: the Raising of New Varieties: and the Work of tht Eose Garden in every Season of the Tear. BY SHIRLEY HIBBEBD, P.B.H.S. CONTENTS : Wild Roses Forming a Rosarium Dwarf Roses The Propagation of Roses by Buds and Grafts Stocks for Roses Garden Roses Exhibition Roses The Characters of Roses Climbing Roses Pillar Roses Roses under Glass Seedling Roses Roses in Town Gardens The Fairy Rose Yellow Roses - Hedgerow and Wilderness Roses Roses for Decorations The Enemies of the Rose Sending Roses by Rail and Post On Buying New Roses Curiosities of Rose Growing Reminders of Monthly Work The Rose Show Selections of Roses Roses and their Raisers. " One of the readiest and most complete manuals published on the cultiva- tion of the rose." Standard. " We have great pleasure in thoroughly recommending to our readers Mr. Hibberd's ' Kose Book.' It is written by one who has fully mastered the subject, and the directions he gives are of that practical utility so much needed." Journal of Horticulture. " Mr. Hibberd writes in such a clear, practical, common sense way, that we do not hesitate to affirm that it is the amateur's own fault if he fail to profit largely by his study of the rose book. Every rose grower should possess it. It is an elegant volume. The coloured illustrations are beautiful." Literary World. " The work is eminently clear, earnest, and instructive. Every idea, plan, and notion of propagation and growing roses appears to be touched upon. A perusal of Mr. Hibberd's pages will not only assist the amateur grower, but will also prevent many disappointments." Lloyd's Weekly News. " It is a sound practical work.brimful of excellent advice,and possesses the merit of being as useful to the amateur of small as of large means." Leeds Mercury. Cr. 8vo, cl. gilt, price 2s. 6d., Illustrated with Woodcuts and Coloured Plates. The FERN GARDEN HOW TO MAKE, KEEP, AND ENJOY IT; OR, Fern Culture Made Easy. BY SHIBLEY HIBBEBD, P.B.H.S. CONTENTS : Ferns in General Fern Collecting How to Form an Out-door Fernery Rock Ferns Marsh Ferns Ferns in Pots The Fern House Fern Cases The Art of Multiplying Ferns British Ferns Greenhouse and Stove Ferns Tree Ferns Fern Allies. " Mr. Hibberd's books are always worth possessing, and this one is an excel- lent specimen of his work. All who love ferns, or who start a glass case or a rockery, should buy it." Publishers' Circular. " A charming treatise. Ladies interested in the beautiful art of fern culture will find Mr. Hibberd's book a pleasant and useful companion." Daily News. GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, 5, Paternoster Row, London. Crown Svo., cloth gilt, Illustrated with Coloured Plates and 90 Wood Engravings, price 35. 6d. FIELD FLOWERS, indy Book for the Rambling Botanist, suggesting what to For and where to go in the outdoor study of British Plants. BY SHIRLEY HIBBERD, F.R.H.S. ** It will serve as an excellent introduction to the practical study of wild flowers." The Queen. " We cannot praise too highly the illustrations which crowd the pages of this hand-book ; the coloured plates are especially attractive, and serve to bring before us very distinctly the most prominent flowers of the field, the heaths, and the hedgerows. Examiner. Post &vo., cloth, Illustrated, price 35. 6d. PROFITABLE GARDENING: A Practical Guide to the Culture of Vegetables, Fruits, and other useful Out-door Garden Products ; intended for the use of Amateurs, Gentlemen's Gardeners, Allottees, and Growers for Market. BY SHIRLEY HIBBERD, F.R.H.S. Crown 8vo., cloth elegant, gilt edges, price 6s. 6d. A HANDY BOOK FOR THE RAMBLING BOTANIST Suggesting what to lock for and where to go in the outdoor study of Field Flowers, and Ferns. BY SHIRLEY HIBBERD, F.R.H.S. Illustrated with Coloured Plates, and numerous Wood Engravings. "It will serve as an excellent introduction to the practical study of wild flowers." The Queen. New Edition, f cap. 8vo., cloth, price 45. DICTIONARY OF BOTANICAL TERMS Illustrated by nearly Two Hundred Woodcuts. By the Kev. J. S. HENSLOW, late Professor of Botany in the University of Cambridge. GEOOMBRIDGE & SONS, Paternoster Eow, London. Crown 8vo, elegantly bound in cloth gilt. Illustrated with coloured plates and wood engravings. Price 6s. THE AMATEUR'S KITCHEN GARDEN FRAME GROUND AND FORCING PIT, A HANDY GUIDE To the Formation and Management of the Kitchen Garden, and the Cultivation of useful Vegetables and Fruits. SHIRLEY Y HIBBEED. Formation of the Kitchen Garden The Amateur in the Kitchen Garden. Fits and Frames. Selecting for the Kitchen Garden Peas and Beans. Brassicas and spinach. Seakale and Asparagus. Artichokes, Cardoons, and Maize. Saladings. The Onion and its allies. Celery and Celeraic. The Potato. The Jerusalem Artichoke. The Turnip. CONTENTS. Tap-rooted Vegetables. Rhubarb. The Cucumber. The Melon. Squashes, Gourds, and Marrows. The Mushroom. The Herb Garden. The Storage of Boots. Exhibiting. The Tomato, Capsicum, and Egg Plant. Horseradish. Forcing. The Fruit Garden. Reminders of Monthly Work. OPINIONS OF THE PRESS. "We recommend the book, as one from which amateurs and even profes- sional gardeners may derive reliable information, which is the more acceptable as it is conveyed in an entertaining manner." Journal of Horticulture. " Correctly described as no mere compilation, but the result of a quarter of a century's work in gardens largely devoted to fruit and vegetable culture." Saturday Review. " A beautiful and well illustrated book, should be a very welcome addition to the library of any amateur gardener ; and we very confidently recommend it to all gardeners who wish to do the right thing at the right time, and in the best and most profitable and productive manner." Yorkshire Post. " It is a complete book, dealing well and wisely with every point incident to the comprehensive subject. The author has established wide and large renown, and many are the amateurs who owe him a debt of gratitude. The publishers have done him ample justice." A rt Journal. " Mr. Hibberd embodies in his work the results of his own practical ex- perience, and the directions he gives are so simple and comprehensive that anybody who sets about it can find no difficulty in understanding and following them. A better guide than this handy volume need not be desired by the amateur gardener. Scotsman. "Mr. Hibberd is now the best known among acknowledged authorities on the subject ol gardening. His present work aims wholly at utility. It shows the manner of laying out a kitchen garden to the best advantage." Sunday Times. " It shows the amateur what a kitchen garden ought to and might be, how to form one, and what to do with it when you have got it." Live Stock Journal. " An invaluable addition to garden lore, and among th'- best, where indeed all are excellent, of Mr. Hibberd's productions." Ladies' Treasury. GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, Paternoster Row, London. Crown 4*0, cloth elegant, gilt edges. With 36 large full page coloured Plates, Price 255. GREENHOUSE FAVOURITES: A DESCRIPTION OF CHOICE GREENHOUSE PLANTS, WITH PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR THEIR MANAGEMENT AND CULTIVATION. EDITED BY THE EDITOR OF "THE FLORAL WORLD." The design of this work is to place in the hands of all lovers of Flowers a good Practical Treatise, in an attractive form, on the Management of Greenhouse Plants ; which, while containing beauti- fully executed Coloured Representations of the most admired Plants cultivated in the Greenhouse, with appropriate letterpress de- scriptions of the Plants figured, shall embrace interesting and useful particulars, relative to their Character, History, and Culture, treated in a simple and practical manner. The Plants treated are those more generally cultivated, and such as almost every possessor of a greenhouse would desire to have ; at the same time the selection is sufficiently varied and generally interesting, and the Instruction on the subjects is given in as popular a form as possible, and directions are given in plain and simple language for the management and cultivation of the plants selected ; at the same time, where opportunity has offered, other in- teresting particulars concerning the subjects have been mentioned, as it has been the endeavour to make the book acceptable, not only to the horticulturist, but also to the general reader. "Whether as a drawing-room volume, or a handbook for the amateur or pro- fessional gardener, this work should take a very high position." Yorkshire Gazette. "A work of no mean beauty or importance. We cannot too highly congratulate the Editor and Publishers for the manner in which their respective tasks have been performed." Land and Water. " The conspicuous features of the work are the plain practical character of the instructions or advice furnished, and the copious yet discriminating lists of the varieties of each plant that are most deserving of the cultivator's attention." Gloucester Chronicle. " It is a practical treatise on the cultivation of favourite greenhouse plants, and the writer gives not only plain cultural directions, but a rare fund of historic anjl traditional notes about each plant. We know of no similar work which we can so confidently recommend." Tunbridge Free Press. " The large coloured illustrations are simply magnificent." Scarborough Gazette. "The chief object of the aut: or has been to make it really useful" Journal of Horticulture. " An elegant, and at the same time, practical work." Christian World. GROOMBBIDGE & SONS, Paternoster Bow, London. Demy 8vo., cloth, Illustrated witn Coloured Plates, price 3s. W. THE PEACH AND NECTARINE. CONTAINING The History of the Peach. Borders and Soils. Remarks on Peach Culture. Budding. Stocks. Walls and Aspects. Glass Covering?. Disbudding or Summer Pruning. Out-door Training. Peaches in Pots. Insects and their Cure. Mildew. General Treatment. Calendarial Directions. Lists of Sorts. Early Nectarines. Mid- season Nectarines. Late Nectarines. BY GEORGE MoEWEN. Demy 8vo., wrapper, Illustrated with Wood Engravings, price Is. THE STRAWBERRY. CONTAINING An Historical Notice of the Strawberry. Strawberry Forcing. Structures. Frame Culture. Soils. Potting. Watering. Open- air Culture. Raising from Seed. Insects, and how to Destroy them. Exhibition Hints. BY GEORGE MoEWEN. Demy 8vo., cloth, Illustrated with Seventy Engravings of choice varieties. Price 5s. THE APPLE AND ITS VARIETIES. BEING A History and Description of 942 varieties of Apples, cultivated in the Gardens and Orchards of Great Britain, with lists of select apples, adapted to various latitudes of Great Britain, and intended as a guide to the formation of large or small collections of the most choice and useful varieties. BY ROBERT HOGG. Foolscap 8vo., cloth gilt, Illustrated, price 3s. 6d. THE BOOK OF THE AQUARIUM; OB Practical Instructions on the Formation, Stocking, and Management iu all seasons, of collections of marine and river Animals and Plants. BY SHIRLEY HIBBERD. Crown 8vo., cloth, gilt edges, Illustrated with Coloured and Tinted Plates and Wood Engravings. Price 3s. 6d. THE MARVELS OF POND LIFE. A Year's Microscopic Recreations among the Polyps, Infusoria, Water Bears, and Polyzoa. BY HENRY J. SLACK, F.G.S. GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, 6, Paternoster Row, London. CUTHILL'S GARDEN MANUALS. New Editions, Demy i2mo, cloth, price 15. each. THE MUSHROOM. A Treatise on the Cultivation of the Mushroom, with an Appendix by JAMES CUTHILL, F.R.H.S. Price is. THE CUCUMBER AND MELON, A Treatise on the Cultivation of the Cucumber and Melon,byJ.CuTHiLL,F.R,H.S. Price is. THE POTATOE. Practical Instructions for the Cultivation of the Potatoe, also on the Management of Asparagus, Sea Kale, Rhubarb, Chicory as a Salad, Tomato, Celery, Liquorice, Rhubarb Wine, and Preserve. By JAMES CUTHILL, F.R.H.S. Price a. THE STRAWBERRY. The Culture of the Strawberry, as practised by the Author, showing how to obtain early and large crops off a small piece of ground. By JAMES CUTHILL, F.R.H.S. Price if. THE VINE. Suggestions, founded on Natural Laws, upon a better system of Cultivating the Vine, with a view to the prevention or miti- gation of the Mildew or Disease. By JAMES CUTHILL, F.R.H.S. Price is. MARKET GARDENING. Giving the methods adopted by Gardeners in growing the Strawberry, Rhubarb, Filberts, Early Potatoes Asparagus, Sea Kale, Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Celery, Beans, Peas, Brussels Sprouts, Spinach, Radishes, Lettuce, Onions, Carrots, Turnips, Water Cress, etc. By JAMES CUTHILL, F.R.H.S. Price is. The above Six Manuals are to be had bound togethtr tit one Volume, cloth gilt, price 31. 6d. CHEAP AND USEFUL HANDBOOKS On Farming, Gardening, and Rural Affairs. THE GREENHOUSE. ITS CONSTRUCTION & MANAGE- MENT POPULARLY TREATED. Contents I Construction, Situation, Erection, Glazing, the Stage, Heating, Ventilation, Soils, Potting, Watering, Lists of Plants, and Plants for Forcing. Price +d. FRUIT TREES & FRUIT-BEARING SHRUBS. Comprising plain directions for the cultivation of the Apple, Pear, Plum, Cherry, Apricot, Peach, Nectarine, Gooseberry, Currants, Raspberry, and Strawberry. Price ^d- THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF POULTRY. A concise Treatise upon the management of Ducks, Geese, Turkeys, and all Domestic Poultry, with Diagrams of Poultry Yards, etc. Price 4* THE HORSE. A Treatise upon its Varieties and Manage- ment, comprising accounts of the Dray Horse, Suffolk Punch, Cleveland, Clydesdale, Galloway, Highland and Shetland Ponies, Cob Horses or Road- sters, Coach Horses and Hunters, with a Chapter on breeding and rearing ANNUALS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. Being a description, with plain directions for Culture of Seventy Hardy Annuals, with the colours, height, and time of Flowering of each species. Price GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, Paternoster Bow, London. Crown 8vo, cloth gilt, gilt edges. Price 5*. AMONG THE WELSH HILLS BY M. C. HALIFAX. "A thoroughly pure, and extremely well conceived and well written story.*** Altogether we do not often meet with a story which we could more confidently recommend than this one." Literary World. " We wish our readers to take up the book for themselves, convinced that they will not lay it down again until they have finished it.**"* The interest is well sustained throughout, and we feel sure the book deserves to he popular." English Churchman. "The prologue is exceptionally vigorous and dramatic, while the relative positions of the hero and heroine are so cleverly arranged as to make the whole combination a very skilful piece of work.""** London. " it has a very dramatic prologue, a fair story, and certain touches of nature, and may be read with more pleasure than is usually awakened by the average novel. One is tempted to wish and earnestly, that at least half the novels sent out year by year were as good and as amusing." Academy. Large crown 8vo., cloth, gilt edges. Illustrated. Price 55. FOOTSTEPS TO FAME A Book to open other Books. BY HAIN FRISWELL. Author of " The Gentle Life," " Out and About," etc. CONTENTS : The Uses of Fame. Great Thinkers. Heroes. Rulers of Mankind. Leaders of Men. Lovers of their Country. Votaries of Science. Ploughers of the Deep. Pioneers of Science. Great Workers. Lovers of Nature. Searchers of the Skies. Watchers on the Shore. Patriots. Benefactors of their Kind. Workers and Thinkers. "Written not only to instruct and amuse, but also with the purpose of inculcat- ing good and honest principles. Its style is terse and elegant. The book betokens extensive reading, and the advice given is always kindly, often noble, and mostly shrewd and clever." Illustrated London News. Crown 8vo. t cloth, gilt edges. Illustrated. Price 35. 6d. OUT AND ABOUT, A Boy's Adventures. Written for Adventurous Boys. BY HAIN FRISWELL, "This is a capital book for boys, abounding in adventure and interest." Court Journal. " It is written simply, racily, and truthfully, and though teeming with adven- ture, it never verges upon improbability." Morning Chronicle. GROOMBRIDGE ARSONS, Paternoster Row, London. Price 5s. each Volume, Handsomely Bound and Illustrated. The Temple Anecdotes, A series of Original Volumes, designed to entertain and instruct, especially adapted for Family Reading. BY RALPH AND CHANDOS TEMPLE. 1st Vol. Anecdotes of Invention & Discovery. Price 5s., with 14 full-page Illustrations. 2nd Vol. Anecdotes of Enterprise & Adventure. Price 5s., with 14 full-page Illustrations. *** The following Critical Opinions welcomed the first appearance of the Temple Anecdotes. " Has a point and object, and a good one nicely worked out." Saturday Review. "Exhibits a conscientious regard for accuracy." Atheneeum. "The tendency to instil the principle of self-help and the advantage of earnest purpose." Bell's Messenger. " We can cordially recommend this series. All will be interested in the collec- tion of remarkable facts here brought before them." Working Man's Club and Institute Magazine. "An excellent book of reference we should say that nothing has been omitted of mechanical importance that has operated on our Nationallndustry." Public Opinion. "This work, which is in fact a perfect fund of never-flagging information, is beautifully printed, containing fourteen full-page illustrations. We know of no work which will make a more acceptable present than this extremely handsome and really useful book. Era- iarge Crown &vo. , cloth gilt and gilt edges. Illustrated with twelve beautifully Coloured Plates, by A.F. Lydon. Price 3s. 6d. The Life and Adventures of Robinson Crusoe. BY DANIEL DE FOE. *j.* Be careful to order Groombridge' s Edition, as it is the only one issued in this style. Large Crown 8vo. , cloth gilt and^ilt edges. Illustrated with twelve beautifully Coloured Plates, by A. F. Lydon. Price 3s. 6d, Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. FROM THIS WORLD TO THAT WHICH IS TO COME. m * Be careful to order Groom bridge's Edition, as it is the only one issued in this style. Crown $w., cloth gilt and gilt edges. Illustrated with Coloured Plates and numerous Wood Engravings. Price 3s. 6d. The Swiss Family Robinson; BEING THE ADVENTURES OF A FAMILY SHIPWRECKED ON A DESERT ISLAND. "We never met the child yet whom this story did not fascinate." Spectator. * * Be careful to order Cambridge's Edition, as it is the only one issued in this style. GROOMBRIDGE & SONS, Paternoster Row, London. Small Post &vo., cloth gilt, with Vignette Portraits, Price 5s, A Cyclopaedia of Poetical Quotations. A Useful Book of Reference. Consisting of Choice Passages from the Poets of every Age and Country, Classified under Distinct Heads,and Alphabetically arrangedfor Ready Reference Edited by H. G. ADAMS. Small Post 8vo., cloth, -with Vignette Portraits, Price 5s. A Cyclopaedia of Sacred Poetical Quotations. Classified and arranged under Subject Headings, illustrated by striking Passages of Scripture, and forming altogether a Complete Book of Devotional Poetry. Edited by H. G. ADAMS. Large Crown Svo. cloth gilt and gilt edges; Illustrated with full-page tint engravings, executed by a new and beautiful process. Price 5s. Mansfield Park. By JANE AUSTEN. " Shakespeare has neither equal or second, but among the writers who have approached nearest to the manner of the great master, we have no hesitation in placing Jane Austen, a woman of whom England is justly proud." Macaulay's Essays. %* Be careful to order Groombridge 's Edition, as it is the only one issued in this style. Large Crown Svo., cloth gilt and gilt edges. Illustrated with full-page tint engravings, executed by a new and beautiful process. Price 5s. The Last of the Mohicans, A Narrative of 1757, By JAMES FENIMORE COOPER, * Be careful to order Groombridge's Edition, as it is the only one issued in this style. Large Crown 8vo., cloth gilt and gilt edges. Illustrated with beautifully Coloured Plates, by A. F. Lydon. Price 3s. 6d. Our Pets; Sketches of the Furred and Feathered Favourites of the Young. With numerous Anecdotes illustrating their Sagacity and Affection. GROOMBKIDGE & SONS, Paternoster Row, London. University of California SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388 Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed. ft OCT191! JUL 1C LIBRARY FACILITY A 000 048 005 3