inner row of spots is ferruginous as also are the bars in cell; of these last the inner one is broken.

Secondaries have the ocelli repeated and an additional one present on costal margin; the seventh is also duplex, and on inner margin is another; all these in narrow yellow rings with black edging, and pupillated with lilac; the whitish spots of disk repeated in purer color, enlarged, and their lines extended across the wing; and bordering these on the inner side is an irregularly scalloped brown line; the spots in the cell repeated, distinct, whitish with brown edges.

Body above covered with yellow-brown hairs; beneath, both thorax and abdomen white, but in some examples gray; legs pale fulvous or buff, white on the inner sides; palpi pure white in front, fulvous at the sides above the eyes; eyes crimson; antennæ fuscous above, annulated with yellowish, pale fulvous below; club black tipped with fulvous.

Female.-Expands from 2 to 2.5 inches.

Upper side still more yellow, and the fuscous area very much restricted; the ocelli on primaries three in number, and as in the male; the outer spots pure white towards costa; on secondaries the ocelli are more or less pupillated. Under side of primaries varied in shades of brown, the basal area reddish, and the outer portions gray-tinted; the ocelli either four or five, in the latter case the fifth being present on the upper subcostal interspace, and incomplete; in some examples both rows of spots are wholly of one shade of buff, in others the outer ones are white; on secondaries the colors are gray-brown in shades, and pale buff, the discal band and the area next beyond the ocelli of the latter color.

The individuals of the summer brood, emerging in June are very large, the females especially, and the yellow hue of upper surface is decided, while the brown is paler. The under side is also paler, and the basal area of primaries often tinted with yellow rather than red.

This species differs from Celtis by its greater size and difference in coloration, by the additional ocelli on primaries, and the frequently pupillated ocelli of secondaries. I have before me 27; on the upper side primaries none have less than three ocelli, some four; on the under side none have less than three, some four, others five. Of 10 g Celtis in my collection none have more than one ocellus on upper side, on the under side 7 have 2, 3 have 3. Of 5 Alicia none have more than

one on upper side, none over two. In the definition of Celtis in Butterflies of N. A., volume II, I included Antonia, thus, "in some cases there is a second ocellus on the upper median interspace, inclosing the lowest of the white spots, and rarely may be seen a third upon the discoidal interspace, also inclosing a white spot," and "in the cases where there is more than one ocellus on the upper side, there is a corresponding number below," but I had not then seen examples constantly showing two and three on upper side and three to five on the lower.

This species is found in Texas and Arizona. ral examples from Messrs. Boll and Belfrage. taken in the States immediately north of Texas.

I have received seveVery likely it will be

Wм. H. EDWARDS.

The Earthworm in Relation to the Fertiliy of the Ground. From observations extending over a number of years, M. Hensen is led to the conclusion that infertile undersoil is rendered valuable by the action of worms in two ways, viz; by the opening of passages for the roots into the deeper parts, and by the lining of these passages with humus. This will be more fully understood from the following facts regarding the life habits of the worm (Lumbricus terrestris) given in Mr. Hensen's paper in the Zeitschrift fur wissenchaftliche Zoologie.

It is known that the adult animals in wet weather come up to the surface by night, and, with their hinder end in their tube, search the ground round about. They then draw whatever vegetable material they can find into their tubes-fallen stems and leaves and small branches. In the morning one then finds little heaps of plant-fragments projecting at various parts of the surface, and each of them penetrating the tube of a worm. On closer examination it is found that the leaves have each been rolled together by the worm, and then drawn into the tube in such a way that the leaf stalk projects. The portion of the leaf in the tube is moist and softened, and only in this state are plants consumed by the worm. There are distinct indications that the worm gnaws them, and after some days the meal is ended. The food is never drawn deeper down into the ground. In

digging the ground at various seasons it was only very rarely that plant remains were found in the subsoil, and probably they got there by accident.

With reference to the structure of the worm tubes, some interesting facts were established in these researches. In humus their character is difficult to make ont, owing to the looseness of the mass. In sand they proceed almost vertically downwards three, four, or even six feet, whereupon they often extend some distance horizontally; more frequently they terminate without bending. At the end of the tube the worm is found with his head upwards, while round about him the tube is lined with small stones. On the sandy wall of the tube one observes more or less numerous black protuberances which make the sand fertile. These are the secretions of the worm, which after being removed out of a tenanted tube, are found next morning replaced by fresh matter. They are observed after a few days, when a worm is put in a vessel with clean sand, and allowed to make a tube for itself. Older abandoned tubes are pretty regularly lined with the earth formed by the worm, and some passages are densely filled with black earth. This black substance appears to diffuse somewhat ino the sand.

In about half of the tubes not quite newly made, M. Hensen found roots of the plants growing at the surface, in the most vigorous development, running to the end of the tube and giving off fine root hairs to the walls, especially beautiful in the case of the leafy vegetables and Indeed such tubes must be very favorable to the growth of the Once a root fibre has reached such a tube it can, following the direction of gravity, grow on in the moist air of the passage, without meeting with the least resistance, and in it finds moist, loose, fertile earth in abundance.

corn. roots.

The question whether all the roots found in the under soil have originally grown in the tubes of worms, cannot be answered with certainty. It is certain that the roots of some plants penetrate themselves in the sand, but not to great depths. M. Hensen is of opinion. that the tap roots, and in general such root forms as grow with a thick point, can force a path for themselves, while the fine and flexible suction roots have difficulty in obtaining a path into the depths other than that previously made for them. Roots of one year's growth

especially can penetrate deep into the sub soil, only where there are earthworms.

A microscopical comparison of the earth deposited by the worm shows that it is like two-year leaf mould prepared by gardeners for filling of flower pots. Most of the plant cells are destroyed; still there are present some cells and shreds of tissue, browned and friable, mixed with many sand grains and brown organic fragments. The chemical composition of the worm earth shows much similarity to that of fertile humus ground. Its fertility, therefore, cannot be doubted, though direct experiments with it are wanting.

With regard to the numerical value of this action of the earthworm, the following observations by M. Hensen afford some information.

Two worms were put into a glass pot 11⁄2 foot in diameter, which was filled with sand to the height of 11⁄2 foot, and the surface covered with a layer of fallen leaves. The worms were quickly at work, and after 12 month many leaves were down 3 inches deep into the tubes; the surface was completely covered with humus 1 cm. in height, and in the sand were numerous worm tubes partly fresh, partly with a humus wall 3 mm. thick, partly quite filled with humus.

Counting when an opportunity offered, the open worm tubes in his garden, M. Hensen found at least nine in the square foot. In 0.15 square metres two of three worms were found in the deeper parts each weighing three grammes: thus in the hectare there would be 133,000 worms with 400 kilos. weight. The weight of the secretions of a worm in twenty-four hours was 0.5 grammes. While these numbers are valid only for the locality referred to, they yet give an idea of the action of this worm in all places where it occurs.

The assertion that the earthworms gnaw roots is not proved by any fact; roots gnawed by worms were never met with, and the contents of the intestine of the worms never included fresh pieces of plants. The experience of gardeners that the earthworm injures pot plants may be based on the uncovering or mechanical tearing of the roots.

It

"Let us take a retrospective glance," concludes the author, "over the action of the worm in relation to the fertility of the ground. is clear that no new manure material can be produced by it, but it utilses that which is present in various ways. 1. It tends to effect a a regular distribution of the natural manure material of fields, inas

much as it removes leaves and loose plants from the force of the wind and fixes them. 2. It accelerates the transformation of this of this material. 3. It distributes it through the ground. 4. It opens up the undersoil for the plant roots. 5. It makes this fertile.-Nature.

The "Wheel-Bug," (Reduvius Novendrius.)

This insect, which, twenty years ago, was rarely noticed in Lancaster County, is now becoming more numerous; but still, in its adult state, it occurs solitary, except during the nuptial season, when they occur in pairs. Its eggs, which occur in clusters of from forty to fifty, glued together and adhering by their bases to the smooth bark of trees. or other objects, their upper or outer ends being crowned by a red, or deep pink fringed disk, something like miniature "sea anemonies" occur in vastly greater numbers than either the young or the adult insects. Two years ago we imprisoned a female in a small paper box, set it away and forgot it, in the following month of April happening to open the box, of course, we found our Reduvius dead, but before she died she had deposited about thirty eggs on the side of the box; and as the room was warm, these had anticipated their normal period, and therefore the young were already excluded from the eggs-little dusky centres from which diverged disproportionately large blackish legs and antennæ knowing that the adults were carnivorous we were in a quandray upon what to feed such delicate little animals, especially as the weather was yet cold, and out door insects had not yet appeared, at least none that they could have appropriated. We therefore fully made up our minds that they would all have to perish. Judge our surprise, when, opening the box a week afterwards, we found about half of them still alive and increased in size. The other half were lying dead on the bottom of the box. From that time forward we observed them almost daily until their number had been reduced to four or five, which we set at liberty, and these had already developed so far as to exhibit the form and outlines of the adult insect. On two occasions, during our observations, we detected one of the larger and stronger individuals grasping one of the weaker ones, plunging his proboscis into its body and sucking out its contents; and, therefore, we con