J.E.T/KYUGR.F.L.S. THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES * 3 Uoofe for a CTountrij Stroll. BY J. E. TAYLOR, F.L.S., F.G.S., &c. " THE AQUARIUM," ETC. EIGHTH EDITION. LONDON : W. H. ALLEN & CO., 13 WATERLOO PLACE. 1898. T3U-IL PREFACE TO LATEST EDITION. THE quietness with which former editions of this little book have gone off, has induced the Author at once to prepare another, in which all errors of letter- press, &c. have been corrected. This book includes so many subjects, on each of which volumes have been written, that the Author was necessarily obliged to be both discursive and brief. But if it has been the means of introducing young readers to higher- class works, in which the wonders of Creation are more detailedly set forth, or if it has developed a love for the multitudinous natural objects which surround us., his pleasant labours have not been in vaiii- 8G6480 CONTENTS. CHAPTER 1. BY A TAJDJ SIDK. TAOB Sympathy with natural objects Ease with which various ani- mals accustom themselves to circumstances Sacredness of life Definition of a " taru " How they have been formed Agencies at work to stock them with life Tarns r in boulder clay, chalk, and new red sandstone How formed Origin of former deposit Old lanes Supposed sea-beaches, how formed Antiquity of our hedge-rows How the high banks have been formed Effects of meteorological action Occupation roads Value of our hawthorn fences Their use to the early Saxons Origin of our village names How the hawthorn enters into them Quiet of a pond-side . . 1 12 CHAPTER II. THE FISHES, MOLLTJSOA, AND OTHER OBJECTS IN THE TABN. Inhabitants of the tarn The Pike and its parasite Habits of the former Scales of fishes magnified Pike, Perch, and Tench Agassiz's orders of fishes Scales of Roach and Dace The Rudd, or Rowd, its habits Scales of Bream, Gudgeon, and Minnow When the Carp and Pike were in- troduced Antiquity of the latter fish The Common and Crucian Carp Barbel, Chub, and Grayling Their habits- Physical geological changes since Sticklebacks were intro- ducedScale of Eel Habits of Sticklebacks Their nest- building habits Evidence afforded by our fresh- water ani- iv CONTENTS. PAOl mala of the recent separation of England from Continent Fresh-water snails Paludina, Neritina, Succinea, Anoylus, &c. Their microscopic teeth Valvata, Anodou, Unio, &c. Geological antiquity of many common genera of fresh- water shells Caddis-worms and their tubes Antiquity ot ditto Water-beetles, their breathing organs Water-fleas Various species Cyclops Natural history of fresh-water Hydras Diatoms and Desmids Volvox Rotifers Fresh- water Polyzoa . . . ia Gl CHAPTER IIL THE REPTILES IN THE TAKN AND THE GREEN LANES. Disappointments of an angler Prejudice against newts Superstitions concerning ditto The Amphibia Their phy- siological structure The Great Water Newt Its habits- Smooth Newt Development of eggs of ditto Its Tadpoles Their natural history The Palmate Newt Frogs and Toads Distribution of reptiles Why there are so few rep- tiles in Ireland Evidence afforded by reptiles to geological reasoning Larval stages of a young Frog Voracity of Frog Tadpoles The Edible Frog The common Toad Prejudices concerning ditto The Natterjack How a Toad moults Toad and Frog Spawn Geological antiquity of reptiles Relations between reptiles and birds The Ringed Snake Eggs of ditto Habits of ditto Snake and Viper The Smooth Snake Antiquity of ditto Physiological structure of Viper's teeth Habits of the Viper Antiquity of Snakes How Snakes crawl The Blind-worm Superstitions con- nected with ditto Common and Sand Lizards Their hubits 68 10S CHAPTER IV. THE BIUDB OF THE GBEEN LAKES. MOM- birds lend a charm to our green lanes Birds-nesting Origin ef the migratory habits of birds Probability of this habit occurring during Glacial Period The Kestrel, its hnbits Habits of the Barn and Short-eared Owls Ditto of CONTENTS. V PAOR the Kite and Hobby The Heron Its abundance in the eastern counties The King-fisher Its nest Newly-ac- quired habits of some of our British birds The Moor-hen ft nd Coot The Cuckoo Its relation to its young Common songsters of our lanes The tits, various species of The Ruff and Reeve Their pugnacity - Fieldfare and Lapwing Eggs of latter Artistic character of certain birds' nests How they are built Relation between songsters and help- less young The philosophy of nest-building The Haw- finch and Bullfinch The Siskin Woodpecker and Common Creeper Nuthatch Jay Sedge- warbler, its song Reed- warbler Adaptation of birds to physical conditions Evo- lutions in the earth's history 103 14i CHAPTER V. THE BUTTK3FLIE8 AXD BIOTHS OP 'I HE GREEN LANES. Metamorphoses of butterflies and moths Butterfly's proboscis Female butterflies and moths Structure of ditto Scales on a butterfly's wing Different kinds of ditto Eggs of butterflies and moths Descriptions of ditto Colours of butterflies and moths -Their meanings and uses Mimicry displayed by butterflies and moths Difference between butterflies and moths-White Cabbage Butterfly- Smaller White Green-veined White Brimstone Tortoise-shell- Peacock The Blues Little Copper Habits of the larger Tortoise-shells The Camberwell Beauty Do butterflies know they are pretty? The Red Admiral The Paintea Lady The Orange Tip Meadow Brown Large Heath- Moths: Meadow Tiger Privet Hawk-moth Small Eggar Moths, their habits and nests Goat-moth, its ravages to trees Vapourer Moth Lackey Moth Ghost Swift Brim- stone Moth White Ermine Wuter Ermine Buff Ermine -Yellow-tail Fox Moth -Emperor Moth The Tineidae 143175 CHAPTER VI. THE BEETLES AND OTHER INSECTS OP THE GREEN LANES. Colours of beetles The Tiger Beetle Musk Beetle Sun Beetle Wing cases of beetles, how formed Rose Beetle Vl CONTENTS. PAGE Tortoise lieotle Devil's Coach-horse Bombardier Beetle Oil Beetle Sexton Beetles The Skipjack Beetle and its lurva The Wire-worm aiid its natural enemies The Stg 15eetle I^ady-birds and plant lice Markings on brnmble and other leaves How they are caused Descriptions of the larvae which mine these leaves Gall insects Bedeguars Button Galls Oak Spangles How they are produced Turnip Saw Fly Great Saw Fly Saws of ditto Greeu Grasshopper Ita mimetic colour ... . 176 208 , CHAPTER VII. THE SNAILS AKD SLUGS OF THE GREEN LANES. Mollusra The Slugs Their anatomical structure Eggs of slugs, where deposited Parasites on snails and slugs The Garden Slug Great Slug Yellow Slug Field Slug Tree Slug-^Jaws of Slugs Sowerby's Slug Jet-black Slug The Testacella and its diminutive shell Zoological meaning of latter Tentacles of slugs and snails Spotted Snail Where eaten and usedRoman SnailGarden Snail Wood Snail Orchard Snail Bristly Snail Prickly Snail Scaly Snail White Snail Carthusian Snail Zoned Snail- Kentish Snail Wrinkled Snail Heath Snail Lapidary Snail Rounded Snail Pigmy Snail Buddy Snail Bu- limas and Pupa Clausilia, structure of shell Antiquity of land snails Physical changes testified to by certain species 204223 CHAPTER Vm. THE FLOWERING PLANTS OF THE GREEN LANES. Our British flowering plants Thel)aisy Pile-wort Bulbous Crowfoot Variety of the Ranunculacese Aquatic Crowfoot Goldilocks Upright Crowfoot Creeping Crowfoot Cuckoo Pint Its structure Aborted stamens and pistils The Ground Ivy Red Nettle Stitchwort Germander Speed- well Thyme-leaved Veronica Self-heal Folk-lore of ditto Bugle Red Campion White Campion Ragged Robin Moschatel Dogs' Mercury Treacle Mustard Dead CONTENTS. VII PACK Nettle Early Orchis Cuckoo Flower Marsh Marigold- Origin of names of plants Fox-glove White and Yellow Bedstraws Cleavers Cross-wort Fumitory Granulated Saxifrage Bladder Campion Small Bindweed The Va- lerians Black Knapweed Blue-bell Herb Robert- Shining Crane's-bill Dove's-foot Crane's-bill Stork's-bill Umbelliferous plants Earth Nut Hemlock Fool's Parsley Wild Carrot Rough Chervil St. John's Wort- Yarrow Folk lore of St. John's Wort Viper's Bugloss Rag-wort The Hawkweeds Mouse-ear Chicory Dyer's Rock-weed Ox-eye Daisy The Willow Herbs Purple Loose-strife Yellow Toad Flax Bitter-sweut Old Man's Beard Seeds of plants when magnified Great Mullein Hairs of plants Milk-wort Honeysuckle Primrose Fig- wort Eye-bright Pollen of flowers when magnified Plant- crystals or Ruphides How to obtain them . . . 224251* CHAPTER IX. THE BUSHES, GRASSES, AND FERNS OF THE GREEN LANES. Rushes and sedges Hard Rush The common Rush Toad Rush Early stage of ditto Field Wood rush Remote Carex Fox Carex Great Sedge Yellow Carex Pink- leaved Sedge -Hammer Sedge Cotton Grass Sweet-scented Vernal Grass How the Hay Fever is produced Fox-tail Grass Marsh Fox-tail Meadow Fox-tail Meadow Soft- grass Creeping Soft-grass Brome Grass Barren Brome Common Rye-grass Darnel Bearded Darnel Its evil effects Meadow and Wall Barleys Seaside Barley Millet Couch GrassCrested Dog's Tail Geological antiquity of grasses Ditto of ferns Our British species of ferns The Brake Early stages of fern's growth The Adder's Tongue Maiden-hair Development of Fern spores Oak Fern Common Polypody Hart's Tongue Male and Female Ferns Holly Ferns Royal Fern Maiden-hair Spleenwort Bladder Fern Limestone Polypody Parsley Fern Rue- leaved Fern Scaly Spleenwort Woodsia Bleclmum Dilated Fern 2fiO 2'Jl 6 Viii CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. THE MOSSES, FUNGI, AND LICHENS OF THE GKEKN LAMBS. PAOI Bouuty of our mossy banks Screw Wall Moss Characters of mosses Microscopic structure of ditto How mosses develop from spores Magnified structure of mosses Male and female parts of ditto Description of fructification of ditto- Structure of fruit of mosses Lichens, their structure The common Yellow Lichen - - Parasitic Fungi Star-spored Fungus Bramble-leaf Brand Meadow-sweet Brand Cluster-cups Maple Blight Sphreria Witches' Butter, or Nostoc Polyporus Description of ditto Toadstools and Mushrooms Agarics and Boleti Morol Fairy Rings Champignon Puff Balls Deeraription of the various species yfdilto 2U2-329 HALF-HOUBS IN THE GREEN LANES. CHAPTEE I. BY A TABN SIDE. ?HAT naturalist is there who Iocs not know the treasures to be found in a common pond ? Animal and vagetable, here are to bo met with objects that will find a twelvemonth's work for the microscope. But even without having to employ that useful instrument, the young student may acquaint himself with the structure and habits of many a strange organism. Of course, it is to no purpose our recommending creatures like these unless you have a love for nature. But if you have and we pity the man or woman who has not you are in possession of a faculty of enjoyment that will re- main after fortune, friends, health, and even youth have departed. The power to throw yourself on the bank of some lonely tarn or stream, and give your- self up to communion with the inhabitants of that little world, to let your sympathies go out towards 2 HALF-HOUllS IN THE GREEN LANES. them, as Hawthorne's " Donelli " did, is a gift not TO be despised! And it is surprising, if you are really interested in your fellow inhabitants of nature, how soon they seem to recognise the fact, and to familiarise themselves with your presence, as though they knew you had a kindred feeling for them. As you recline on the flower-covered bank, shortly you see the birds following their usual avocations, quarrelling and making love, as if an individual of the genus homo were not present. The butterflies flit about you, the bees hum busily, the dragon -flies skim the surface, and buzz against your very face. The fishes rise at the flies, or bound above the water in frolicsome sport. The water-beetles spin and dive, and the flies and gnats drum around you , whilst overhead the summer sun is shining out of an intensely blue sky, just flecked with dappled white clouds. You shut your eyes, and allow your ears to drink in the many voices of nature. Bird and insect, wind and tree and rustling grass, all con- tribute to it. There is not a discordant note. How wonderfully all seem to blend and lose themselves in the joint and harmonious chorus ! We are not speaking now of the feelings of the mere hunter or collector of specimens, of him who values them not unless they are rare, so that his cabinet may be enriched by their grotesquely dried forms, and his selfish vanity be fed by the admiring envy of his friends when he exhibits them. If the study of and communion with Nature lends to no BY A TARN SIDE. 3 higher feeling than this, we are afraid that, instead of doing good, it will only intensify the harm which mankind are so fond of appropriating out of the most innocent of objects. But we are referring to the sentiments of a man who feels that all things have a right to live by the mere fact of their being in existence who loves them, not only for the pure joy they give him in sharing their vitality, but because they are, with himself, objects of the same providential care. With such feelings " collecting " is a secondary matter only resorted to that we may know and admire more of the objects themselves. Coleridge has exactly expressed the sentiment of all genuine naturalists " He prayeth most who loveth most All things, both great and small ; For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all." We have never -collected a flowering plant, insect, or egg, without feeling that if there were any other way of getting at the knowledge we seek, we should greatly prefer it. Life, however or wherever re- presented, is a sacred thing to the naturalist. The ' Loves of the Plants ' are felt by him in a different way to that of which Dr. Darwin wrote. He knows that if a human mechanic could fabricate a small machine that should be able to fly, like the little gnat that has just settled on his hand, such a man would be lauded throughout the length and breadth of the laud. Much more if he could place within it an B 2 4 HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. internal apparatus for the develop nent of an infinite number of machines like itself, and the power of pro- viding for an offspring it will never see. Even then, it would be a mere machine, curious, nothing more. Why should we think less of the myriads of life- forms because they are constructed by a Divine instead of a human Architect ? Do their wonderful structure, instincts, and habits or numbers detract from the wisdom that formed them, or the love that so freely evolved them ? Such have been a few of our thoughts as we have reclined, like a lazy poet, drinking in the mere joy of existence, and thanking God for being allowed even physical life ! We have made our selection of a " tarn " in preference to a " pond " although both words are frequently used synonymously because the former is a pond of nature's own making, whereas the latter may be of man's^ In this sense the word is used by our older writers. Holinshed, in his ' Chronicle,' says, " The Air, or Arre, riseth out of the lake, or tame, south of Dombrooke, wherein, as I heare, is none other fish than red Trowt and Perch." A " tarn " may therefore be of immense age compared with a pond, which simply means an excavation cut in the ground in search of clay or mould, and into which, when deserted, the waters have been allowed to drain. It is true, that even in such places, and within a very short time, there will spring up, as by magic, or rather as if the creative force had been specially and locally mani- BY A TARN SIDE. 6 fested, a bountiful supply of life-forms. The fine whirling dust will have peopled the water with infusoria or diatomacese, the green scum of algae will mantle the surface, the larvae of many aquatic insects will sport in the water. But give us a genuine tarn for natural history purposes one whose existence extends perhaps beyond the historic period. There are many ways in which such tarns may have been formed. In mountainous districts they may, perhaps, be the result of glacial agencies which scooped out the rock-basin of the tarn itself. They may occupy the hollows of the land, as in some parts of Cheshire, where the dissolving of the strata of rock-salt beneath, and their removal as brine- springs, has caused the overlying rocks slowly to settle down. Or, still more common, and far more widely distributed, they may have . been formed, as we have frequently discovered they have been, in chalk or limestone countries, where the superficial di-ainage has dissolved away portions of the soluble rock, and thus formed " sand-pipes." In the hollows thus left, whenever water has been capable of being held, you may depend on a genuine tarn. It may be centuries old, surrounded by low bushes, covered with aquatic plants a veritable microcosm, in which the " battle of life " has long ago been settled, and the animals and plants have adjusted themselves to each other's needs. What myriads of agencies have been at work to stock a little pool ! The reptiles and fish may have been originally brought, as ova, 6 HALF-HOURS IN THE GBEEN LANES. adhering to the legs and plumage of aquatic birds from some distant river or lake, in which the birds last revelled. Many of the plants may have been transferred in a similar way, the wind bringing the rest. Even in the formation and stocking of the tarn, therefore, we cannot fail to observe the opera- tion of purely natural laws, but they are none the less indicative of providential care and direction. Nature knows no sabbath her laws are ever at work, but in their very operation declaring them- selves but the visible operations of an active Deity. How true are the words of the poet : "My heart is awed within me when I think Of the great miracle which still goes on In silence round me, the perpetual Work of Thy creation. Finished, yet renewed For ever!" As if a new world had been created, this little tarn turns us to causes as powerful as the result, in this instance, seems to have been small. The geological phenomena which have resulted in the depression of a small area, the physical agencies which have filled it with water and turned it into a miniature lake, the vital operations that have peopled it, as though it were a new world are all worthy the attention of the naturalist. Wherever the thick sheet of boulder-clay occurs over chalk rocks, and some portion of the latter is dis- solved away to form a " sand-pipe," there the clay will be depressed and form a hollow. The water-holding BY A TARN SIDE. 7 power of such a depression is evident, and in this way a tarn springs into creation at once. In the steepish bluffs which form the sides you may see imbedded stones and boulders. Some of them are angular, and indicate they must have been removed from their parent rock direct, and by some agent that could carry them without exposure to much abrasion. Others are water-worn, and show that they had been rolled about before their final removal to this spot. You are not long before you notice that many of these boulders, big and little, are strangers to the rocks of the locality, and have come from a distance, chiefly from rock strata lying towards the north. You are not wrong in your deduction, and a closer examination shows you that many of them are scratched, some to a considerable depth, and that others, of a harder texture, are polished. Here you obtain a glimpse of the nature of the con- veying agencies. It was ice ; and when the bonlders were transported, the tarn occupied an inconsiderable space along the bottom of an extensive ice-sheet, where a moraine profonde, or stratum of mud, stones, &c., had accumulated, to form the boulder- clay of the neighbourhood. What wonderful changes have been wrought since then ! This old moraine has been elevated into dry land, has been scooped out into valleys, and sculptured into hills ! The animals and plants of the old wintry period have departed to their original frosty zones, and more temperate forms have occupied these 8 HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. regions since the climate became milder. It will not take you long to find that a few square feet of the exposed bank of a common tarn will teach you all this, and a great deal more. Perhaps you have made your way to this spot along one of the old lanes which botanists and ento- mologists are thankful still remain, and where the stiff boulder-clay crops out in cuttings or along the bottoms of the high banks. There you may read off the same lesson from the enclosed pebbles and boulders as that to which we have drawn attention in the banks of the tarn. This boulder-clay sheet usually occupies the higher grounds, and forms the "heavy lands " of the farmer. Consequently you have been ascending some gentle acclivity in your way along the old lands. If so, you may have noticed what appeared to you evidences of an old leach, in the sloping fields. Nothing could be more pronounced than the terrace-like structure, and not a few good geologists have fallen into the mistake of believing and describing these terraces as the result of ancient river or beach action ! They are, however, nothing of the sort, but they are none the less interesting. And both the geographical and geological student may learn something of the \vear-and-tear of atmo- spherical action on the solid land, by studying them. Let us examine one of these hedge-rows that runs more or less parallel with the valley. They have a wonderful history, these old hedges, especially those which shut in some of the green lanes. To the latter BY A TARN SIDE. 9 however, we will return by-and-by. The first thing you notice is how much higher the ground is on the upper part of the slope against the hedge, than on the other side. In some cases it may be five or six feet indeed, the latter is any thing but an unusual occurrence. How is this ? It is certain that the original makers of the hedge never so banked up the soil; it would take no small time to do it. The real explanation has to be sought for in meteor- ological agencies. The rains of many generations have washed away the surface soils, especially in cultivated fields, and the slope of the ground has caused the material to be carried down. The hedge has stopped its further conveyance, and thus caused the upper side of the hedge to be so much higher than the lower. Destroy the hedge, as is often done when one field has to be thrown into another, and you will have running parallel with a valley a genuine terrace, which some geologist hereafter, ignorant of the true cause, may put c:own to having been formed when the river stood much higher than it does now ; or, if he be more visionary, may see in it an old sea- beach, formed when the sea last came up this parti- cular valley, and made of it an estuary ! Let us now return to the lanes. Many of them are deep, as if they had been cut, when in reality it is the ground on the other side the hedge which has been raised in the manner just described. How old some of these hawthorn shrubs really are we dare not say. The origin of the lanes is lost in antiquity. Many 10 HALF- HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. of them are old " occupation roads," formed for the convenience of the original cultivators of the soil and without any reference to the wants of future wayfarers, and depend upon it, certainly without giving a thought to future botanists and entomo- logists ! You observe the thick gnarled bases of the hedges, some of which have been pollarded time oat mind. It is just possible that some were planted as hawthorn sprigs by the first Saxon settlers in these parts ! Many of our old roads and lanes are the boundaries of parishes which have retained their present area since the Conquest, therefore many of the hedges must have been in existence since then. Only those who are acquainted with the manners and customs of the first Saxon settlers, are aware of the great value they set on the hawthorn fence as a protection. Even now, when an Englishman travels in France for tho first time, it seems strange to him to find what an absence of hedgerows there is. Perhaps nothing appears in greater contrast in the scenery than this. And should England ever be attacked by a foreign foe, it is more than likely we should, for the first time, realize the defensible value of our hedgerows, and obtain from them that cover and protection which their original planters had in view when they stuck the first twig in the ground. Every field and hedge would be disputed, and an invader would meet with obstacles which exist in no other country in the world. Whether the first Saxon settlers brought the hawthorn with BY A. TAJIK SIDE. 11 them or not, it is certain they attached great impor- tance to it. Their early towns a mere collection of huts were surrounded with a strong hawthorn fence, so that, in the terminal syllable of many of our English village names, we have a reference to this fact. Ton or town as we have modernized it is in allusion to the forked branches of the quickset fence and in the tine of an antler, and in the tine of a fork we have the original word still applied. Ton is merely a syllable from the same root, and is a silent but expressive testimony to the ancient thorny and forked character of the defences adopted by our Saxon forefathers. Other village names end in sett, as " Hethersett," from the Anglo-Saxon ssetan, to plant. In such cases the name is derived from the ancient swine pastures, which were enclosed with thorn fences, nothing else being capable of arresting the migratory impulses of the " porkers." To this day we call a hawthorn hedge, par parenthese, a " quick-serf " fence, showing what vitality many of these old words possess, and how much of genuine history is silently locked up in their almost for- gotten meanings. Indeed, the Anglo-Saxon student, on his first introduction to the language, is sur- prised to find how largely the use of the hawthorn has entered into the composition of our English village names. Thus the old enclosures for the purposes of the chase, made with this hedge, were called " baighs " or " heys." In Lancashire, the fruit or drupe of the hawthorn is still called " haigh," whilst elsewhere it is termed " haw," and 12 HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. thus the prickly plant itself " hawthorn." " Ham " is a very common termination of our village names, especially in eastern and south-eastern England, and was derived from the original settlements of the early Saxons being "hemmed" in chiefly by hedges. So that this shrub has more or less influenced that dearest of all English words, home, which has been undoubtedly derived from ham ! It may appear as if we had wandered from our place " by the tarn side," but if we have it has been merely to glance dreamily and lazily at the quiet history of the lanes and hedges through which we have passed on our way. All these objects are only so many beads, and it is necessary to have a string to connect them together. Now that we have once more arrived at our tarn side, we will proceed to note its inhabitants, animal and vegetable, which have possibly held possession longer than the lords of the manor over which we have been travelling. The quiet of the spot has a subduing charm, and it is in moments like these, when we give ourselves up to the influence of nature, that we feel a true companionship with all living things. Certainly, in this case, the tarn is inexpressibly handy to us. as enabling us, in our rambles in the " green lanes '' not only to rest ourselves after our stroll, but to make acquaintance with objects we cannot find else- where ; and therefore, we feel sure our readers will not be disposed to quarrel with a scheme intended to enlarge the circle of objects which we wish to introduce to their notice. ( 13 ) CHAPTER II. THE FISHES, MOLLUSCA, AND OTHER OBJECTS IN THE TARN. 'OW that we are well settled by some brook or tarn side, with a view to making ourselves acquainted with its living contents, animal and vegetable, we shall find our attention almost bewildered by the variety of material. It is only when you thus devote yourself systematically to its examination, that you wonder at the exuberance with which every spot capable of supporting it is peopled with life-forms. Foremost among the inhabitants of such streams or tarns as it may dwell in is the Pike (Esox Iwius). Well does it deserve its name of the " fresh-water shark." No object in nature has a more cruel, voracious look than this fish. Depend upon it, if there is one present, he is lurking this sunny morning just where the break occurs in the weeds that so thickly cover the surface of the water. There he will lie, as if in a comatose state, for hours, 14 HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. until some over-frolicsome young fry come almosl within his capacious jaws. The pike rarely attacks the stronger fishes, unless he sees they are sickly, or in a difficulty ; and still more rarely the perch, having a lively recollection of the way in which the latter sets up his hack when assaulted ! But let a roach he fastened to the end of a line as a live-bait, and the tyrant will then slowly swim round it, terrifying it into curious gyrations, and amus- ing himself by seeing how hopelessly helpless is the case of his victim ! Little does he know that close against the glittering scales of his in- tended prey lie concealed a couple of hooks, destined to take hold of his own gullet. The pike never scruples to take his own kind nay, you cannot lay a better bait for a large individual than a small one. The young pickerel, or Jack, is even more vora- cious than his fat parent. "Watch the gambols of a shoal of young roach nothing is more amusing, THE FISHES, MOLLUSCA, AND OTHER OBJECTS. 1ft and that time cannot be said to be lost which makes us more intimately acquainted with the lives and habits of God's creatures! All on a sudden the juveniles dart off in every direction, as if they had been fired by some central, radiating impulse. At first you see nothing to cause all this hurry; but, presently, your eye catches sight of a young Jack in the weedier parts of the pond, for well does he know that his dappled back screens him ad- mirably from view, by resembling the sha- dows of the ripples and weeds cast on the floor. Strange tales are told of the rapacity of the pike, which it is not necessary to re- tail here. Also, con- cerning his longevity, there are facts and Parasite of Pike, Argulus -, /v. , , natural size and magnified. evidence sufficient to convert Mr. Thorn and Sir George Cornewall Lewis to a belief in his being a centenarian, under certain circumstances. What a vast pyramid of life must he have destroyed before he can attain this great age ! But the pike has not always an easy time of it. He is not unfrequently tormented by a tick- like parasite (Argulus foliaceus, Fig. 2), which 16 HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. roams at its will over his body, and feeds on his juices, so that pike are often weakly through the extra numbers of this particular torment. The Fig. 3. Scale of Pike. same parasite, we ni f iy mention, is occasionally found on the carp, roach, stickleback, trout, perch, and even on the tadpoles of the frog. Those of our readers who possess microscopes, THE FISHES, MOLLTTSCA, AND OTHER OBJECTS. Fig. 4. Scale of Perch. many, it is very at- tractive. The scales of the perch and tench are more orna- mental, the denticu- lated margin of the former having been selected by Professor Agassiz for his order of Ctenoid fishes. In order to view fish- scales with the po- lariscope, it will be necessary to mount them in balsam. It will be seen that the scale of the tench differs mate- rially from those of many other fresh- water fishes. Whilst dwelling on these, as objects for the will find in the scales of our fresh-water fishes, objects 01 great beauty and delicacy, which require only a low power to develope them. Fig. 8 gives that of ' the pike, and, although it is not so pretty as 18 HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. microscope, it may be as well to introduce magnifier* figures of others to the general reader or student before noticing at greater length the fishes tn em- Bel ves. The Koach and Dace are well-known objects, but their enlarged scales may not be so, and we therefore give them. Let it be understood, howevei, that the scales taken from the backs of all these fishes differ very considerably in their form, from Fig. 6. Scale of Koach, X 10. those obtained from the belly. To thoroughly understand them all, it will be necessary to get them from both parts. Those given above are the prevalent forms. Often associated with the roach is the " Budd," or " Eowd," as it is indifferently called in Norfolk, where it is more abundant, perhaps, than in any other part of Great Britain. Its name is uudoubtedlv derived from its red colour, and it is THE FISHES, MOLLUSCA, AND OTHER OBJECTS. 19 not unfrequently known as the " red roach," although it belongs to quite another genus, of which the common carp, and the introduced " gold-fish " are well known examples. On a hot summer's day you will always get this fish, if it be present, by dropping your baited line close to the dense patches of aquatic Fig. 7. plants which cover the surface of the water, and under which the rudd is shading itself in a lazy fashion. If there be one near, you will not be long in a state of suspense, for the rudd will pounce on your worm, and dart away with it to its retreat at once, ignorant of the hook and line attached. " Bob " goes the float, and, if you are not looking 1 , your line c 2 20 HAiF-HOURS IN THE GREEK LANES. will snap, or a jerk up to your elbow tell you of a capture. Connoisseurs say the rucld is better eating than the generality of fre.sh-water fishes. In the deeper parts of many slow-moving rivers, also, may be found the Bream, which, in Norfolk, often grows Fig. 8. Scale of Rud Limnephilus pellucidus (Fig. 35), whose case is formed of entire leaves, or large pieces usually of willow or poplar. Sometimes, it is composed of pieces cut out from the stems of bulrushes, &c., and flatly laid over each other, so as to form broadish masses. In the interior of these is the slender tube containing the larva. The leaves, &c., form a capital protection, and you have to pull the pieces quite from each other before you can fully decide that they were formed as worm-tubes. We have also caddis-cases of yet other species, with straight or curved tubes, sometimes gradually tapering Case of Limnephilus to one end. Such are the cases of Sericostoma, Setodes, &c. They are formed of sand, or very small stones, neatly cemented together. Some species of Setodes make delicate little tubes > entirely formed of silky secretion, without any admix- ture of extraneous objects. Not uncommon in ditches and tarns, is the caddis-tube of the Molanna anqmtata (Fig. 38). It will be met ' , , with most abundantly in ponds having a sandy bottom. The tube is long, broad, and rather flattened, and is composed of fine sand grains cemented together. The upper surface, at the front encf, projects over the larva, so that it p. 36 Fig. 37. Case of Setodes. THE FISHES, MOLLUSCA, AND OTHER OBJECTS. 45 Fig. 38. Cases of Molanna angustata. forms an ingenious covering whenever the larva is forced to protrude its head in search of food. These larvae generally live on vegetable matters, although they have been said to be not indifferent to the ova of fishes, &c. The mechanism of the tubes of caddis- worms is, geologically speaking, very ancient; for similar cases are found in such abundance in the Miocene strata of Central France, that actual rocks are composed almost wholly of their remains. The larvae of the Ephemera and Water-beetle (Dytiscus) inhabit the same water, as many small fishes find out to their cost, for these creatures are as ferocious, after their kind, as the greater land carnivora. Dytiscus feeds on tadpoles, and keeps down the tendency to swarm of these amphibian progeny. The Dytiscus is especially fierce, and, when kept in an aquarium, will not hesitate to attack the stick that is pointed near it. One grip is generally sufficient to settle a poor tadpole, as the jaws actually meet through its sides. To the mi- croscopist the breathing tubes (iracliede) of this insect are very interesting. The best way to obtain them is to make a careful incision along the centre of the back with a pair of fine scissors. After a prolonged soaking in acetic acid, and repeated washing, the skin may be removed almost entire, 16 HALF-HOURS IK THE GREEN LANES. The tracheal or breathing system of the Ephemera must be served in the same way, to obtain it as a microscopical specimen. It is, however, much more difficult to manipulate, on account of the fragility of the leaflets. Space only allows brief reference to the surface insects, the well-known Whirligig Beetles (Gyrinus Fig. 39. Fig. 40. Larva of Ephemera, b. Natural size. Larva of Dytiscus natator), to be seen going through their fantastic quadrilles on the surface of every stagnant pool. But these humble creatures have a fair geological antiquity; for the Forest bed, cropping up from beneath the glacial deposits of the Norfolk coasts, shows that this same species was in existence long before England became an island for the second time, THE FISHES, MOLLTJSCA, AND OTHEB OBJECTS. 47 and when the existing German ocean was the site of lakes, &c. The prepared legs of this beetle are good objects for the microscope, either for transmitted or polarised light. Whilst searching for things that can thus be turned to use, do not let us forget the common Water Fleas, whose antiquity is greater than that of any object we have Fig. 41. yet mentioned. The shales overlying many of our coal seams are quite fissile, owing to the myriads of fossil cases of these creatures which strew their surfaces, and thus cause them to split up readily. In every fresh- water deposit, of every geo- logical age, you find remains of fossil water-fleas ; and it is surprising how little the general type has altered through the thousands of centuries that must have elapsed since they were called into existence ! The Daphnia pulex (male) ' living forms are quite visible to the naked eye, but it requires optical aid to bring out their individual beauties. You may be certain of finding several species in any decent pond or tarn. The commonest, perhaps, is Daphnia pulex the typical water-flea (Figs. 41, 42). The following illustrations show them 48 HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. as they appear under the microscope, when viewed by a one-inch objective. The eye is a very bean- Fig. 42. Dapknia pulex (female' . ti*ul object, having about twenty lenses, whilst the mouth is seen to possess really a complicated THE FISHES, MOLLUSC A, AND OTHER OBJECTS. 49 apparatus. "Where there is duck-weed growing on the surface of the water, there you may expect to find this species in particular, in the greatest abundance. The females are much commoner than the males, and may be found throughout the year j Fig. 43. Daphnia schafferi (female). whilst the males are generally only to be obtained in the autumn mouths. Dr. Baird enumerates aeven British species of water-fleas, of which D. 9chce/eri is perhaps most common, next to D. pulex. It may be readily known from the latter by its 50 HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. greater size, although its eyes are smaller in com- parison. Another species, common about London, is D. vetula (Fig. 44), or the " spineless " water-flea, so Fig. 44. Daphnia vet/tla (female). called on acconnt of its not having the spine at the end of the body, which is so distinctly seen in the aforementioned species. Two other species, D. reti- rHE FISHES, MOLLTJSCA, A.ND OTHEIl OBJECTS. 51 culata and D. mucronata (Figs. 45, 46), complete our present list. The latter has been also found in the neighbourhood of London, but neither is so common as those first referred to. The Cyclops, although frequently very abundant in old tarns, is a very different object to the water- fleas, though belonging to the same natural history group. You may find it in such spots as that we have been investigating, about June or July. When Fig. 45. Fig. 46. Daphnia reticulata (female). Daphnia mucronata (female). magnified, you see that its name is not badly ob- tained, for it is a miniature, as far as its sight is concerned, of those fabulous one-eyed monsters of Greek mythology, employed by Vulcan to forge the thunderbolts of Jove. Its form is elegant, and is clad in a transparent horny shell, composed of many pieces dovetailed and jointed together like a piece of ancient armour. In the common species, Cyclops quadricornis, this covering consists of ten plates or B 2 52 HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. segments, four of which encase the head and thorax in such a manner that no division is perceptible between these two parts of the body. The re- mainder of the segments are devoted to the pro- tection of the abdomen, &c. This horny shell- covering answers a double purpose. It protects the soft and seemingly gelatinous body from injury, and also serves as an external skeleton for the attach- ment of the various muscles and articulations. It is Fig. 47. Fig. 48. Fig. 49. Antenna of Young of Cyclops quadri- Cyclops. Cyclops quadricornis cornis. (female). in the first and largest of the segments of the armour that the solitary eye is placed, which has earned for the creature the name of Cyclops. The antennae are double, and are placed on either side the eye; hence the specific name of quadricornis. In the female, the largest pair of antennas are longer and more tapering than in the male, and are as THE FISHES, MOLLUSCA, AND OTHER OBJECTS. 53 transparent as if they had been made out of spun glass. Those of the males are thicker and shorter, swelling towards the tips. By means of the antennae, therefore, the student will not find it difficult to distinguish the sexes (Fig. 47). In its progress through the water, the cyclops moves with a rapid jerking motion, which may be best seen in a bottle when it is between the eye and the light. Its principal propelling organs are five pairs of oar-like feet ; each foot consists of a common stem, from which spring two jointed branches, liberally supplied with short, bristly appendages, called seise. The female cyclops may, in July, be further distin- guished from the male by its external ovaries, which hang suspended from either side the end of the body like bunches of grapes (Fig. 49). So abundantly do these creatures multiply, if left undisturbed, that it has been calculated one female, in the course of a year, would become the progenitor of nearly four millions and a quarter of young ! Nothing can be more unlike the parent cyclops than the young, as may be seen by Fig. 48 ; and indeed, for a long time it was classed by naturalists as a distinct genus. It is only by repeated moulting that it eventually attains the parental resemblance. The water-fleas and cyclops are, without doubt, the staple food, not only of fishes, but of other aquatic creatures as well an end for which their marvellous powers of re- production remarkably fit them. In such places as these tarns, it will be next to 64 HALF-HOURS IN THE GREEN LANES. magnified), showing prominences a, and 6 eruptions, whence Spermatozoa are disseminated. THE FISHES, MOLLUSCA, AND OTHER OBJECTS. 55 impossible for you to pull out an aquatic plant without finding one, if not two species of that inte- resting little zoophyte, the Hydra. As an object for the aquarium it is unequalled, for there you may more distinctly see it, and watch its daily life, which is full of interest. Some of our readers may be Fig. 51. Second stage (magnified) iu development of Hydra. acquainted with the experiments of Trembly on this creature, than which none ever more fully proved the tenacity of its life. He found that by turning the polyp inside out, as you would the finger of a glove, no harm was done, but that the hydra seemed quite as able to digest with its new stomach as with its 36 HALF-HOURS IN THE GEEEN LAKES. old one ! Cutting a hydra to pieces not only did it no injury, but actually conferred a benefit, for each fragment budded into a distinct animal ! Lately, Fig. 52. Development of Foot-stalk of Hydra, magnifip