black belt, and a thin line of black running down the centre of the back. The upper parts are covered with long hair, the antennæ nearly white and running to a point-altogether a marvellously beautiful insect. The principal mark of distinction between the Moths and butterflies is in the antenna. The Moths have sharp-pointed horns, those of the butterflies terminating in a knob.

The caterpillar of this Moth feeds, as a general rule, on the leaves of the privet shrub, though it is sometimes found in lilac and other trees. It is of large size, and dressed in the brightest colours-apple green, striped with bands of rose, purple, and white. The colours appear to depend on vitality, for as soon as the caterpillar dies the colours fade. The curious yellow and black caudal horn at the extremity of the body appears to be intended as a weapon of defence. It is covered with small scales, though too minute to be accurately examined by the naked eye.

The genus Sphinx has been so named from the caterpillar assuming, when at rest, an attitude resembling that of the fabled Sphinx of antiquity. Just before the chrysalis state, the bright colours of the caterpillar fade; the grub then descends. to the earth, burrows for a short distance, and constructs an oval chamber, by cementing together particles of earth and covering the walls with a kind of varnish. Here it remains all winter long. A gentle raising of the ground under a privet hedge in spring will probably reveal the hiding-place of several chrysales. When the season is more advanced, the perfect insect emerges from the earth, and sports itself on the wing for a short season. The several changes of the insect may be readily witnessed; the larva is easily discovered, and it will do very well in a box, if kept supplied with an ample allowance of privet leaves; if moistened earth is provided, it will, at the proper season, burrow and construct its chamber, ultimately coming forth attired in the gay costume of its ancestors.

JULY 6TH.

THE PEACOCK BUTTERFLY.-(Vanessa Io.)

RAY distinguished this beautiful fly by the title of Omnium regina, and it well deserves the royal name. The caterpillar is of glossy black, spotted with white points, and armed with long spines; it is a leaf roller, and commonly feeds on the nettle or spear thistle. The perfect insect is painted after a most beautiful design, rivalling in brilliancy the tail of the peacock; the wings are covered with minute feathery scales of an infinite variety of shadings, so disposed as to produce a general design of great elegance-the various colours are blended, shaded, and contrasted in the most surprising

manner.

The Rev. W. Kirby, in his Bridgewater Treatise, observes, "Every one who minutely examines our Butterflies can hardly help exclaiming, 'I trace the hand and pencil of an Almighty artist, and of one whose understanding is infinite, and who is himself the Archtype of symmetry, beauty, and grace.'

During the summer months the Peacock Fly is frequently seen delighting in the sunny slopes of copse or wood, or sipping the nectar of our garden flowers. The prevailing colour is a rich reddish brown, with a tinge of purple; the four wings are marked with large eye-like spots, shaded like those on the tail of the peacock, and hence called the Peacock Butterfly. The spots on the upper wings are at the extreme corner; on the lower wings more in the centre. These markings are composed of a great variety of shades-white, blue, red, brown, and black-all beautifully blended, but almost impossible to describe, as the reflections vary by the play of the light; but description is quite unnecessary, the insect being common, and the four eye-like spots sufficiently distinctive.

Butterflies are the children of the sun, they delight in the mid-day beams of our warmest days; every motion attests their enjoyment of bright sunshine. The flight of the insect is a joyous skipping from side to side, and as it rests on the flowers, sipping the honeyed juices, the

"Wings rich as an evening sky,

Expand and shut with silent ecstasy!"

JULY 7TH.

THE WHITE WATER LILY.-(Nymphea albe.)

Bright Lily of the wave,

Rising in fearless grace with every swell,
Thou seem'st as if a spirit meekly brave
Dwelt in thy cell."

THIS is the Naiad, or Nymph of the Stream.
The plant
derives its name, Nymphæa alba, or White Water Nymph,
from dwelling in the waters, as the poetical and graceful
nymphs of old were supposed to do.

The plant roots at the bottom of the stream, throwing up leaf and flower stalks just of sufficient length to float upon or rise above the surface; the leaves are large, oval, heart-shaped, covered on the upper surface with a water-repelling varnish ; as the white ball of the flower rises above the surface of the wave, it gradually expands, closing at nightfall, again seeking protection under the water, until the bright, pure, sculptured chalice is fully unfolded, when it floats securely upon the surface during the day

66

Crowning the depths as with the light serene
Of a pure heart,"

giving forth a fresh, pleasant, fragrant odour. As night approaches the petals are carefully closed over the more tender parts of the plant, and the flower takes its rest upon the surface, expanding again with the rising sun, "floating in silvery light," the image of purity and beauty.

The propagation of this Water Queen of Flowers is exceedingly easy; if the roots are thrown into slow streams or still waters, they attach themselves immediately to the soft, muddy bottom; the plant delights to hide away in quiet nooks, or under the shadow of drooping trees. It is rare in our western rivers, though found in great profusion in the Thames, and streams about Reading. It is somewhat surprising that this, certainly the most magnificent of our native flowers, is not oftener found adorning the ornamental waters of parks and pleasure grounds.

Moore speaks of the Water Lilies as refreshing themselves with a night bath, that they may rise fresh and pure at sunrise.

"Those virgin Lilies all the night,

Bathing their beauties in the lake,

That they may rise more fresh and bright
When their beloved suns awake."

JULY STH.

THE ACACIA TREE.-(Robinia acacia.)

"Trees and flowers and brooks,

Which do remember me of where I dwelt,
Come as of yore upon me, and can melt

My heart with recognition of their looks."-Byron.

THE Acacia, otherwise Locust Tree or false Acacia, is one of the most beautiful of our large growing trees. The foliage is extremely light and elegant, and the pendent blossoms unrivalled in gracefulness of form and sweetness of odour. In full maturity, upon a well kept lawn, with ample room for its wide-spreading branches, early in July, and on a sunny morning, the tree presents a picture that can scarcely fail to impress the mind as the very image of grace and beauty-"a thing of beauty," to be remembered in all after time.

In 1823 Cobbett wrote the tree-or, as he called it, the "Tree of trees"-into great popularity, not on account of its grace and beauty, but for its supposed usefulness. He asserted, in the most forcible terms, that the timber was absolutely indestructible by the powers of earth, air, and water, and prophesied the most wonderful things as to the future of the tree-that, as it was more useful, so in time it would become more common than the oak. It seems to have answered his purpose remarkably well, for he sold millions of young trees and tons of seed, which he imported from America; hence the tree was known as Cobbett's Locust." It was supposed to be entirely new to this country, but Evelyn accurately described it in his Sylva, in 1664, as then well known. Gentlemen are

stated to have refused the Acacias grown in England, and nurserymen found it necessary to send plants to London, to be there christened by the new name, and vended at advanced rates; so great was the furor for planting this tree, that plants could not be supplied fast enough to meet the demand. The wood is unquestionably of value for many purposes, but the tree rarely attains sufficient size to yield large timber. The young wood is very tough, and superior to any other for several purposes, especially for tree nails in ship building. Planters were, however, greatly disappointed in the tree, as the timber, when it attains any size, is apt to become unsound; so it speedily fell into disrepute as a timber tree. As an ornament to the home garden, nothing can surpass it, the elegant winged oval-shaped leaves always appear fresh and clear, scarcely ever showing dust or disease, and the white, beautifully-shaped blossoms, pendent like the laburnum, add greatly to its beauty. It is late in leafing, and drops its foliage early in autumn.

JULY 9TH.

THE LAND RAIL, OR CORN CRAKE.-(Crex pratensis.)

THE peculiar, harsh, grating sound made by this bird is now heard, near our grassy water meadows, in the mornings and evenings. The "Crake, crake," is continued for hours with wonderful perseverance; if an attempt is made to follow the sound, it appears to recede as you advance, although in all probability the bird is near you all the time. It is a capital ventriloquist, the sound at one moment appearing to be close on the left, and the next at a distance on the right. When the grass crops prove meagre, the bird keeps close to the marshes; but after rain, when the grass grows thick, it comes again into the meadows for the slugs and snails, and to nest. The hen is a very close sitter, sometimes permitting herself to be cut in half by the scythe rather than move from the eggs. Bechstein enumerates the Crake among his cage birds; its habits, however, appear but ill-adapted for confinement. White