A List of Plants flowering late in the Season in the Vicinity of Plymouth, compared with the Periods assigned for their flowering near London in the last edition of the Hortus Kewensis : from the Observations of Mr. GEORGE BANKS, Lecturer on Botany, &c., Devonport. Plants collected by the Rev. S. Palmer of Chigwell, Essex. The rather uncommon marked with a star (*). Parietària officinalis, Antirrhinum Cymbalària, walls, Highgate. Melampyrum praténse, copses, Highgate. Scutellària galericulàta and *mìnor, Turnham Green, marshes.-S. P. Sept. 1828. SURREY. Plants collected by the Rev. S. Palmer of Chigwell, Essex. The rather uncommon marked with a star (*), the more rare with a cross (†). — +Impatiens Nolitángere§, River Wey, near Guildford, flowers in August. *Verbascum Lychnitis, pulverulentum, nigrum, and * virgatum, roadsides, between Guildford and Shalford, and on Shalford Common. * Galánthus nivalis, Stoke Park, Stoke, near Guildford. † Ornithogalum pyrenaicum, Send, near Ripley, flowers in April and May. + Alisma Damasònium, flooded hollows on Shalford Common. Chrysoplènium oppositifòlium, between Shalford and St. Martha's Chapel, in moist copses. Saxifraga granulata, Clinopòdium vulgàre, St. Catherine's Hill, near Guildford. * Lathræ a squamària, in a field between Chantry Downs and Shalford Turnpike. Antirrhinum spùrium, corn fields near the Telegraph, Guildford. Isatis tinctòria. This rare plant (the woad of the ancient Britons, from which they extracted a dye to stain their skins) grows on the chalk rubbish at the pits between Guildford and Shalford. * Geranium columbinum, at Losely, near Guildford. * Convallària majàlis, copse near Worplesdon. Bùtomus umbellàtus, Thames, between Kew and Richmond. Erigeron àcre, Kingston.-S. P. Sept. 1828. * § Our favourite balsams are of this family. The Literary and Philosophical Institution of Chatham.-This institution was formed, a very short time since, by the spirited and commendable exertions of a few gentlemen, who possessing varied knowledge themselves felt a proportionate zeal for its diffusion. The establishment is yet in its infancy; but if we may judge of its ultimate success by that which has attended its commencement, we may calculate that it will speedily rise into eminence, and excite an interest in the promotion of natural science, which cannot but be attended with the most happy results, as the beautiful county of Kent furnishes the first-rate advantages for the prosecution of this interesting branch of knowledge. The Committee have shown a most laudable zeal in the formation of a good library and in the establishment of a museum, which, under the present liberal management, bid fair to become extremely useful. A considerable collection of birds is already made. The illustration of mineralogy has not been less sedulously attended to; and the very fine Herbarium of Staff-Surgeon Gulliver has been purchased by the Society. This latter collection is entirely indigenous, and is prepared and arranged in a very excellent manner, and I understand is particularly rich in the minuter plants of the order Cryptogàmia, especially the Fúngi and Lichènes : its value is, moreover, materially enhanced by the immense labour which has been bestowed by that gentleman in determining and noting the synonyme of every author who has written on the subject. This is an important feature of the collection, for every one knows, who has studied this branch of botany, how much difficulty and error have arisen in this enchanting science, by the custom of merely quoting synonymes from books, without an attentive examination of their accuracy, and how useful and pleasant it is to have an opportunity of access to the practical labours of those who have spent time and research in the record of their observations. I hope shortly to furnish you with some information on some points touching natural history. I am, Sir, &c. - Zeta. A White Lark was lately shot in this neighbourhood. Rectory, near Canterbury, Nov. 22. 1828. A'mpelis garrula and Upupa E'pops. - Sir, That lovely-plumaged bird, A'mpelis garrula (the Waxen Chatterer), and Upùpa Epops (the Upoe), were frequently seen during the brumal months in various parts of Kent. The former generally appears in small flocks of from five to eight in number, and is an occasional visitant even in the most northern parts of our island; this being probably the first instance on record of its being found so far south as the above-mentioned county. The latter is a timid, shy, and solitary bird, but by no means uncommon in severe winters. Little, however, as a correspondent has before remarked, seems to be known of the natural history of these, or indeed of any of the northern feathered tribes which occasionally visit our coasts; and an ornithologist who has enthusiasm, leisure, and ability for the undertaking, might reap many a rich harvest by a few years' residence on those inhospitable and barren shores, which " seem," says the animated Bewick, whose recent death all men of science must so deeply deplore, as if they were set apart for the nations of the feathered race as their peculiar heritage, a possession which they have held coeval with creation." I am, Sir, &c.-Perceval Hunter. Kingstone Rectory, near Canterbury, April, 18. 1829. SUFFOLK. Insects collected near Ipswich. E'ndromis versicolor, Notodónta l'rctopha, Silpha quadrimaculata. Larva of Pàphia, A'tropos, Zeuzèra æ'sculi, Ægèria crabronifórmis et apifórmis.-K. Ipswich, Feb. 17. 1829. Moss Agate. A very beautiful moss agate has recently been found at Aldborough, on the coast of Suffolk. Since it has been polished, its size is 5 in. long by 3 in., the greatest width, and about 1 in. thick; weight, 14 oz. Many good specimens of agate have been found on this coast, but this, of which the above is a brief description, is said to be by far the most valuable -R. C. T. WORCESTERSHIRE. Flocks of Crossbills near Worcester. — Sir, Observing in the Magazine of Natural History an account, by a Worcester correspondent, of flocks of crossbills visiting Cothoridge, near Worcester, each spring and autumn, I am induced to send you the following account of the case from my own observation. In the autumn of 1821, being at Cothoridge, I was aroused early one morning by the information that a large flock of crossbills was feeding in a grove of firs near the house. After watching them for some time, with a gun I procured fifteen specimens, out of which only two were in full feather, the breasts and backs of the others being nearly bare. After this they used to visit the same spot pretty regularly twice a day. The males varied very much in colour, some being of a deeper red, and others inclining rather more to yellow, particularly on the tail coverts, and being a little mottled with yellow upon the breast and back. The Weymouth pine was their particular favourite; indeed I scarcely ever observed them on any other tree, except the sentinel, who regularly took his station on the top of a spruce fir, which happened to be the highest in the immediate neighbourhood of their haunt. Their note or call very much resembled the chirping of a chicken. They continued their visits (though the flock certainly gradually diminished) during great part of the winter; and one pair remained long after the rest had left, being continually seen in February and the beginning of March, 1822. Crossbills, though occasional visitants there, had not been seen at Cothoridge for several years previous to the autumn of 1821, nor have they ever been seen there since that time. The lesser spotted woodpecker, which has been once or twice referred to in the Magazine of Natural History as very rare, is by no means an uncommon bird at Cothoridge; I have procured two or three specimens there and seen several others. I have also observed it in Whaddon Chase, Bucks, and in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire; from the woods in which neighbour, hood, I last year procured a specimen of the middle-spotted woodpeckerI believe, a much scarcer bird, and also a pair of pied blackbirds (if they may be so called). Of the largest spotted woodpecker I procured two specimens at Cothoridge; I have also seen it in Warwickshire and in Whaddon Chase. A few days ago I preserved a fine specimen of the chatterer, which was killed in a garden near Knighton, Radnorshire. I am, Sir, yours, &c.-J. W. Ludlow, March 15. 1829. WARWICKSHIRE. The The present Season strikes me as remarkably backward; but yet we have with us the redstart, blackcap, whitethroat, swallows, and martens. first (the redstart) appeared April 7., which is rather early. Papílio ràpæ (or mètra, as they now call it), i. e. the pale variety, appeared April 17.; on which day, also, my eyes and ears were gratified by the first sight and song of a swallow. This is to me a highly interesting period of the year: some fresh and pleasing appearance of nature is every day presenting itself. -W. T. B. April 25. 1829. Varieties of Plants found in Warwickshire. To the list of plants varying with white flowers, by the Rev. W.T. Bree (Vol. I. p. 392, 393.) may be added the following, which have been observed by myself: -Verónica agrestis, in a garden at Warwick. Fritillària meleagris, in a meadow by the road-side, opposite to Wroxall Abbey. Lamium purpureum, in a garden at Warwick. Carduus acanthoides, on the top of the hill above the bank-croft, Hampton Lucy. The following are additional stations of varieties included in Mr. Bree's list:-Campánula rotundifòlia, with a white flower, on the road-side between Leek Wootton and Wootton Grange. Viola odorata, with a white flower, in several places near Warwick. Viola odoràta, with a fleshcoloured flower, on an old wall facing Levenhull Lane, Warwick. Scilla nùtans, with white flowers, in a grove, on the road-side between Norton Lindsey and Wolverton. Prunella vulgàris, with white flowers, in a lane leading from the turnpike-road at Guy's Cliff to the Woodloes. Polygala vulgaris, with white flowers, on the side of the road from Hampton on the Hill towards Norton Lindsey, a short distance beyond the cross. Polygala vulgaris, with flesh-coloured flowers, on a high bank 24 miles from Warwick, on the Birmingham road, &c. Achillea Millefòlium, with purplish red flowers, near Warwick. I have also observed a few varieties of plants, depending on other circumstances than colour. Cynosùrus cristatus, with a viviparous spike, by the side of the canal at Leamington Priors. Scabiosa arvensis, with all the leaves undivided, near Warwick. Narcissus Pseudo-Narcissus, with full flowers, in a field near Wedgnock Park, towards Warwick. Saxifraga tridactýlites with a branched stem, and opposite lanceolate stem leaves, on a tiled building, Warwick. Lythrum Salicària, with ternate leaves and hexagonal stem, at Emscote Bridge. Ranúnculus bulbòsus, with full flowers, near Warwick. Cardamine hirsùta, with a zigzag stem, in several places near Warwick. Trifòlium rèpens, with heads of leaves growing out of the flowers, at Warwick. Crèpis tectòrum, with a flat stem, and crowded panicle, with a broad, flat, terminal flower, near Warwick. Cnicus lanceolàtus, with a broad flat stem and a crested flower, 10 in. in circumference at Hampton on the Hill. Scolopendrium vulgàre, with the frond lobed at the apex, and also with a deeply bipartite frond and incurved segments, in a ditch by the side of the footpath from Warwick to Hampton on the Hill, -W.G. Perry. Warwick, Nov. 7. 1828, YORKSHIRE. Flora of Rotherham. - Sir, I have been highly gratified by the notices, in your excellent Magazine, of new habitats of rare and beautiful plants; and, as I have the happiness to reside in a district, than which few are more favourable for the study of indigenous botany, I venture to think that a similar list of our local Flora may not be unacceptable to the lovers of natural history. In this catalogue I shall only insert the rarer plants which have been actually gathered or observed, in a circuit of eight miles, by myself and my friend, the Rev. E. Wilson, jun., of Swanton; otherwise, I might much extend it, by the addition of the numerous and interesting discoveries of our indefatigable and intelligent neighbour, Mr. Cooper, curator of Lord Milton's splendid oollection at Wentworth. Chlora perfoliata. Daphne Lauréola. Scleranthus annuus. Tormentilla réptans. Cactus Helianthemum. Anemone Pulsatilla. I am, Sir, &c. -Larret Langley. Brompton Academy, near Rotherham, NORTHUMBERLAND. Museum of Natural History in Newcastle upon Tyne.-When the Literary and Philosophical Society of Newcastle upon Tyne was established, thirtysix years ago, the first article in the original scheme of its founders had for its object to investigate the two great natural products of this part of the country coal and lead. This may, therefore, be considered as having laid the foundation of the museum of which we purpose giving here a brief description. For while many of the papers read at the monthly meetings of the Society had immediate reference to these important subjects, a collection of geological and mineralogical specimens was very early begun. Books, likewise, connected with natural history, were among the first purchases, when a library was afterwards made an appendage to the Society. The specimens in mineralogy, conchology, &c., with some coins, and a hortus siccus, which had formed the collection in the possession of the Society, had become, in the course of time, greatly injured and dilapidated for want of suitable accommodations. Of these, two zoological specimens, which had found their way to the museum, may here be mentioned: one was the wombat, the other the duck-billed platypus of New South Wales, sent home, in 1800, by Governor Hunter himself. It is worthy of remark, likewise, that this was the first public notice given in Great Britain of these, at that time, nondescript animals. A project for erecting a new building, for the reception of the Society's rapidly increasing library and other property, had long been entertained; and in 1814, the preparatory measures were set on foot. In this project a museum had all along been included. It was not, however, till the year 1822 that the necessary arrangements were completed, and apartments in the new building planned. By a fortunate coincidence, it happened about this very time that the collection which originally belonged to Marmaduke Tunstall, Esq., of Rycliffe, in the county of York, and which had subsequently come into the possession of George Allan, Esq., of Blacknell Grange, in the county of Durham, was advertised for public sale. This cabinet, even as a nucleus for a more extended collection, but still more, for reasons to be presently noticed, it was most desirable to have deposited in Newcastle. But though no time was to be lost in the acquisition, the state of the Society's funds, which had been calculated to meet the expenses of a building only, presented a formidable difficulty. This, however, |
