the best of the potatoorple so yellow, is descrie

rvest-fue, lepidopes wery greedown the purple

rare and noble insect, taken in July 1818, is described as being about four inches long, yellow, with purple spots on the back, and purple streaks down the sides. It ate the tops of potatoes very greedily. It is the only insect of the lepidoptera order that has a voice.

The harvest-bug Cacarus ricinus), in this and the following month, proves a very troublesome and disagreeable insect, particularly in some of the southern counties of England. The best cure for the bite is hartshorn. Flies now abound, and torment both men and animals with their perpetual buzzing. Wasps and hornets become, in this and the succeeding month, very annoying to us in our rural walks. Another troublesome insect which abounds in August, is the tabanus pluvialis, sticking on the hands and legs, and, by piercing the skin with its proboscis, causing a painful inflammation. Cattle are severely exposed to its attacks, though the dragon fly (libel. lula), the beautiful insect that frequents the shaded ponds, bears the blame of the other's mischief, under the name of horse-stinger, but is perfectly harmless.

The young naturalist would be much delighted in watching the progress of many water-insects' through their several transformations. The gnat (culex) is a good example. Their eggs will be found floating on the surface of stagnant water,' or in that contained in a large tub; they are black, and in a congeries forming altogether a mass resembling a grain of corn flattened. These, when hatched by the heat of the sun, produce a small insect with a very large head and prominent eyes, a slender semi-transparent body, ter- . minated by a forked tail. Their motion is by rapid twistings of the body. After a short time, these shed their skin, and become a black insect with a head and

Many of these are fit subjects for the microscope; particularly the monoculus apus. See T.T. for 1817, p. 24%, and our last volume, pp. 156, 183.

body bulb-like, and not so long a tail, in which the
rudiments of the future wings can be perceived.
Their motion is that of chiefly rising to the surface
of the water by coiling themselves up like a ball, and,
when disturbed, sinking by a jerking of the tail. In
a few days, these are finally transformed into gnats,
and sport in the sun, and live on the blood of ani-
mals, which they suck through a long proboscis
pierced into the skin.

The GNAT.
When by the green-wood side, at summer eve,
Poetic visions charm my closing eye ;
And fairy-scenes, that Fancy loves to weave,
Shift to wild notes of sweetest Minstrelsy;
"Tis thine to range in busy quest of prey,
Thy feathery antlers quivering with delight,
Brush from my lids the hues of heav'n away,
And all is Solitude, and all is Night!

Ah, now thy barbed shaft, relentless fly,
Unsheaths its terrors in the sultry air!
No guardian sylph, in golden panoply,
Lifts the broad shield, and points the glittering spear.
Now near and nearer rush thy whirring wings,
Thy dragon-scales still wet with human gore.
Hark, thy shrill born its fearful larum flings!
I wake in horror, and 'dare sleep no more !"

ROGERS. The common glow-worm, the little planet of the rural scene,' may be observed in abundance in the month of August, when the earth is almost as thickly spangled with them as the cope of heaven is with stars.

The Glow.WORM.
Bright insect! that on humid leaves and grass
Lights up thy fairy lamp; as if to guide
The steps of labouring swains that homeward pass,
Well pleased to see thee cheer the pathway side, .
Betokening cloudless skies and pleasant days;
While he whom evening's sober charms invite
In shady woodlanes, often stops to gaze,
And moralizing hails thy emerald light!
On the fair tresses of the roseate morn
Translucent dews as precious gems appear,
Not less dost thou the night's dark hour adorn,

• Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear. . .
Though the rude bramble, or the fan-like ferns,
Around thee their o'ershadowing branches spread,
Steady and clear thy phosphor brilliance burns,
And thy soft rays illuminate the shade.

Thus the calm brightness of superior minds
(Makes theni amid misfortune's shadow blest,
And thus the radiant spark of Genius shines,
Though skreened by Envy, or by Pride oppressed.

C. SMITH. The solitary bee (apis manicata), and the white moth (phalana pacta), are observed in this month: the ptinus pectinicornis also makes its appearance, the larvæ of which are very destructive to wooden furniture, boring holes in tables, chairs, bed-posts, &c.

The southern counties of England, particularly Surrey and Kent, now yield their valuable produce of hops in this month. The common hop Thumulus lupulus) is propagated either by nursery plants, or by cuttings. Pilchards are taken in great abundance in August.

The general decay of flowers in this month has often formed the muses' theme; but by none has the subject been more sweetly touched than by our lyric poetess Mrs. Robinson.

From the FADED Bouquet. .
Fair was this blusling rose of May,

And ev'ry spangled leaf looked gay;
Sweet was this primrose of the dale,

When on its native turf it grew;
And decked with charms this lily pale,

And rich this violet's purple hue.
This od'rous woodbine filled the grove

With musky gales of balmy pow'r,
When, with the myrtle interwove,

It hung luxuriant round my bow'r.
Ah, rose! forgive the hand severe,

That spatched thee from thy scented bed;
Where, howed with many a pearly tear,
Thy widowed partner droops its head.

And thou, sweet violet, modest flow'r,

O take my sad relenting sigh!
Nor strain the breast whose glowing pow'r,

With too much fondness, bade thee die.
Sweet lily, had I never gazed

With rapture on your gentle form,
You might have died, unknown, unpraised,

The victim of some ruthless storm.
Inconstant woodbine, wherefore rove

With gadding stem about my bower?
Why, with my darling myrtle wove,

In bold defiance mock my power?
Yet, yet, repine not, tho'stern fate

Hath nipt thy leaves, of varying hue,
Since all that's lovely, soon or late,

"Shall, sick’ning, fade-and die like you! In this, and the succeeding month, much knowledge may be gained of marine plants, shells, &c., by those who visit the sea-coast'. "The elegance and simplicity in the contour or shape of shells, the richness and variety of their colours, and the singularity in many of their forms, have ever excited attention to this confined but interesting department of created nature: and the comparative facility with which they may be collected and arranged, together with the durability of their structure, make them peculiarly adapted for the display of a cabinet. Their uses, however, have not been entirely confined to the gaze of curiosity, or to fanciful embellishment. The inhabitants of many of them give a rich and nutritrious food. The greater part of the lime used in America, for agricultural and architectural purposes, is made of calcined shells: the public streets of Christianstadt and Santa Cruz are paved with the Strombus Gigas; and the town of Conchylion is entirely built of marine shells. The blue and white belts of the Indians of North America, as symbols of peace and amity, in opposition to the war hatchet, and by which the fate of nations is often decided,

* See T. T. for 1817, p. 250; and our last volume, p. 213.

are made of the Venus mercenaria; and the gorget of the chieftain's war-dress is formed of the Mytilus margaritiferus. The military horn of many African tribes is the Murex Tritonis; the rare variety of which, with the volutions reversed, is held sacred, and used only by the high-priests. The highest order of dignity, among the Friendly Islands, is the permission to wear the Cypræa Aurantium, or orange cowry. And Lister relates, that the inhabitants of the province of Nicaragua fasten the Ostrea virginica to a handle of wood, and use it as a spade to dig up the ground. As matter of traffic, they bear a nominal value and appreciation, proportionate to their supposed scarcity or beauty. Rumphius is said to have given nearly a thousand pounds for one of the first discovered specimens of the Venus Dione. The Conus Cedo nulli, so very rarely offered for sale, is valued at three hundred guineas. The Turbo Scalaris, if large and perfect, is worth a hundred guineas: the Cypræa Aurantium, without a hole beaten through it, is worth fifty: and it has been calculated, that a complete collection of the British Conchology is worth its weight in pure silver. In an economical and political view, they are of no inconsiderable import. Pearls, the diseased excrescences of mussels and oysters, form a portion of the revenues of these and some other kingdoms; and constitute, with jewels, the rich and costly ornaments by which the high and wealthy ranks of polished society are distinguished. The Cypræa Moneta, or money cowry, forms the current coin of many nations of India and Africa; and this covering or coat of an inconsiderable worm, stands at this day as the medium of barter for the liberty of man; a certain weight of them being given in exchange for a slave. The scholar needs not the reminiscence, that the suffrages of the antient Athenians were delivered in, marked upon a shell; the record of which is still commemorated