forming the lining, and others increasing in substance made up the interior. The eggs were four in number, rather smaller than those of the Great Titmouse (Parus major) and less pointed, white, and sparingly marked with pale red irregular lines or scratches." Nov. 26. 1829. S. T. P. ART. VII. Notice of Stones found in the Stomachs of Pike. By the Rev. W. T. BREE, M.A. Sir, I HAVE NOW in my possession, and herewith forward to you, a stone (fig. 42.) weighing 4 oz., taken out of the stomach of stone, I should observe, is not a concretion formed by accident or disease, such as is sometimes found in the stomachs of cows, &c., but an ordinary pebble, of a somewhat flat rounded shape, and bearing the appearance of having been broken at some remote period on two of its sides. Since its fracture, however, the pebble has been well bouldered, so that it now presents no sharp projecting edges, nor any very considerable irregularity of surface. I recollect having formerly seen, at Packington Hall, the seat of the Earl of Aylesford, another pebble considerably larger (if my memory serves me) than the present one, which had also been found in the stomach of a pike caught near that residence. I have conversed on this subject with an intelligent friend and a great fisherman, who assures me that several instances of the same kind have come under his own knowledge: one stone in particular, which he took himself out of the stomach of a pike, he kept as a curiosity for several years, and he describes it as having been full half as large as his fist or more. The fact, in short, of the existence of peb bles in such situations is unquestionable, and from the above instances appears not to be of very unusual occurrence. There can be as little doubt that these pebbles have entered the stomach of the fish through the mouth. But the question is, how comes the pike to swallow such indigestible matter? It has been suggested to me in answer, that the fish, in seizing its prey, might along with it have accidentally picked up the stone from the bottom, and swallowed both together. But is not the pike too good a marksman to take up so large a substance accidentally with his food? and may not some more probable way of accounting for the fact be devised? The voracity of the pike- the river shark, or tiger of the freshwater, as he may be called is almost proverbial. It is well known that this fish, when in the humour for taking its prey, will strike almost without discrimination at whatever object it sees moving in the water. It is not improbable, therefore, that the stones in question having been thrown into the water by some person passing by, may have been seized by the pike while in the act of sinking to the bottom, and at once gorged for more digestible food. Perhaps, however, you may be able to suggest some better solution of the problem. I am, Sir, &c. Allesley Rectory, Jan. 5. 1830. W. T. BREE. ART. VIII. On Póntia Chariclèa and Mètra, the large and small IT has long since been remarked by collectors of insects, that most of the first specimens of Póntia brássica (Vol. II. p. 226. fig. 55.) and ràpæ (Vol. II. p. 227. fig. 57.) (large and small cabbage or garden white butterflies), that make their appearance in the early spring, are much smaller in size, and have the black marks on their wings much fainter than in the specimens produced later in the season. In the case of P. ràpæ, more especially, the wings on the upper side sometimes present a perfectly immaculate surface. This variety of P. ràpa has, we are told, long been known among collectors by the appellation of " Mr. Howard's White," and in Mr. Haworth's superb collection of Lepidoptera is ticketed "P. ràpæ var. præ cox." That eminent entomologist, Mr. Stephens, was, however, I believe, the first to raise these varieties to the rank of species under the respective names of P. Chariclèa and P. Mètra; and the principal points of difference by which they are to be distinguished from their too nearly allied congeners may be found detailed at large in his interesting Illustrations of Entomology, now in the course of publication. It yet remains to be seen, however, whether, in the judgment of entomologists in general, these Early Whites (as they are termed) will eventually maintain their place as genuine and distinct species; and it is under the hope that some accurate observer may be induced to institute experiments with a view to set the question at rest, that I call your attention to the subject. For myself, I may say that I have not been unobservant of these insects for some years past, but have more particularly attended to them during the spring and summer of the present year; and, as far as my observations go, they lead me to the conclusion that P. Chariclèa and Mètra are mere varieties respectively of P. brássica and ràpæ. P. ràpæ is avowedly a very variable insect, and being too, as well as P. brássica, a most abundant species, there is consequently the more scope- there are so many more chances-for variation to take place in the individuals. It must be admitted, indeed, that when a small and perfectly immaculate specimen of P. Mètra is compared with a full-sized and strongly marked one of P. ràpæ, the prima facie difference is so wide, that any one would at once pronounce them distinct. But then, on the other hand, we find that intermediate specimens occur, which, presenting every possible shade and gradation of difference, appear naturally to connect and identify the two extremes; and it would be next to impossible to decide, in many instances, to which of the two these intermediate links should with most propriety be referred. The same observations apply also to the kindred species P. napi, the earliest spring specimens of which are smaller than those of the summer brood, paler in their markings above, and sometimes almost entirely destitute of them; and this species too, like P. brássicæ and ràpæ, is subject to endless variations. In the spring of the present year I took many specimens of the pale varieties of all three species (one of P. ràpa so early as March 18.), but I could not observe that any of the paler specimens of either kind occurred in the summer brood. In a note at the end of the volume, Mr. Stephens states his opinion, that P. Chariclèa and P. Mètra are neither of them double-brooded, as he once supposed; and hence, perhaps, he would draw an additional argument in proof of their being distinct from P. brássica and This is the only instance I ever knew of any Papilio coming forth from the chrysalis so early in the spring; for although Vanéssa To, Polychloros, urticæ, and C. álbum, and Gonépteryx rhámni are often to be seen on the wing earlier in the month, and some of them occasionally in February or even January, these vernal specimens, it must be remembered, are such as have been produced in the preceding autumn, and have secreted themselves during the winter in the winged state. * ràpæ. But does not this circumstance, on the contrary, tend rather to show that the insects in question are merely varieties of the two last-mentioned species? For it certainly would be strange that two insects, which, to say the least of them, are so closely allied, in habit as well as in markings and appearance, to P. brássica and ràpæ, as to be generally confounded with them, and which, moreover, appear so early as the end of March or the beginning of April, should be only singlebrooded, while their near allies P. brássica and ràpæ, which do not appear till later in the season, are known to produce two or more broods in the course of the summer. No material difference has yet been observed in the caterpillar or chrysalis of the early whites, to distinguish them from P. brássica and ràpæ; and the distinctions in the markings, &c., pointed out by Mr. Stephens in proof of their being genuine species, seem scarcely sufficient to outweigh what may be urged on the other side. It is to be hoped, however, that, ere long, Mr. Stephens will decide the question, as he proposes, by rearing the insects from the egg. It is with some reluctance that I have ventured an opinion in opposition to that of so acute an observer as my friend, the author of Illustrations of Entomology. Should these remarks meet his eye, I trust he will excuse their freedom, my only object being the elucidation of the truth. Let me remind him of the memorable words of a great father in natural history, on an occasion when he found himself under the painful necessity of dissenting from the doctrine of a revered friend, ἀμφοῖν ὄντοιν φίλοιν, ὅσιον προτιμᾶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν. (Aristot. Eth.) † Allesley Rectory, Oct. 30. 1828. W. T. BREE. P.S.-The figure of P. Mètra (Vol. II. p. 227. fig. 57.) is too large, and the spots and markings far too strong. If Mr. Rennie advocates the doctrine that P. Mètra is a distinct species, he (or the artist employed) has not made the most of the case, by giving such a figure as the one referred to, which appears to be nothing more than a faithful representation of the genuine P. ràpæ. He might with truth have represented the insect considerably smaller, and with the black tips and spots scarcely visible. Several of such nearly immaculate specimens I took this season (1830), at the end of March. Of P. ràpe there appears to be a succession of broods throughout the summer and autumn. There would, of course, have been at least two (viz. the spring and summer) broods previously to the 1st of August, on which day, in the present year, I saw a specimen come forth from the chrysalis; and another, which I had in confinement, came out on the 29th of Septem. ber. Probably P. brássica and nàpi are equally productive. + Aristotle is alluding to his friendship for Plato; and observes, that, though both are dear to him, it is best, before all things, to respect the truth. I cannot but regret, that, in Mr. Rennie's useful paper, there is no figure of P. Napæ æ; which ought on no account to have been omitted, if a specimen could have been procured for the purpose. Perhaps he will favour us with one on some future occasion. W. T. B. ART. IX. On the Gooseberry Grub. By E. S. As the season is at hand when the gooseberry leaves begin to shoot, a few remarks on what is commonly called the grub, which commits sad ravages on the foliage of these shoots, may not be unacceptable. Early in March, if the weather is favourable, the first flies issue from their chrysalis, a few inches below the soil, at the foot of the trees; and, by a sharpsighted observer, may be seen about nine or ten o'clock in the morning, should the sun be shining, hovering over the gooseberry trees; and, every now and then, settling on a leaf, vibrating their antennæ in bustling action, searching for a suitable leaf whereupon to deposit their eggs: and every fly destroyed at this period is, therefore, the ultimate destruction of some thousands of voracious successors. If carefully watched, after having made choice of a leaf, it will be observed retiring to the under side; where, in course of time, it deposits, along the stronger fibres or veins of the leaf, a series of eggs, which appear like small pellucid oblong strings of delicate beads, following the lines of the foliatory nerves. The following observations on the times of hatching, &c., may be relied upon as accurate : On the 9th of April the eggs were laid; on the 19th they were hatched; and if the temperature is mild, they increase rapidly to maturity: and from their numbers (for a single fly will fill up the veins of many leaves), the foliage of the devoted tree is soon destroyed. They usually continue in the larva state about ten days; when, dropping to the earth, they penetrate below the surface, and change into a small brown chrysalis ; in which dormant state they remain from fourteen to seventeen days, and then come forth as flies, which, in a day or two, lay their respective quantities of eggs; and, thus, brood after brood is continued indefinitely; and I am not aware that any limits of season act as a check, unless attended with decrease of temperature, which, of course, puts a stop to their progress. One mode of guarding against the evil I have already noticed, but the most keensighted gardener can never effect the destruction of the original stock of these vernal progenitors. He should, therefore, from the first moment of seeing the flies hovering about his trees, keep a sharp look out on the leaves, particularly |