13. d'argent et le porte-crayon d'or. 12. A-t-elle la robe de satin ? EXERCISE 5 (Vol. I., page 20). 1. Have you some (or any) meat? 2. Yes, Sir, I have a pound of meat. 3. Has your son a piece of bread? 4. Yes, Madam, he has a piece of bread. 5. Has the bookseller a book? 6. He has ink and paper. 7. Has your sister a gold watch? 8. She has a gold watch and a silver thimble. 9. Has the baker wine or beer? 10. The baker has tea and coffee. 11. Has your brother cheese? 12. He has cheese and butter. 13. Has the lady a silver spoon? 14. The lady has a fork and silver spoon. 15. Has the butcher any meat to-day? 16. Yes, Sir, he has a piece of beef. 17. Has the carpenter a table? Yes, Sir, he has a mahogany table. 19. Have you the physician's book? 20. No, Madam, but I have your sister's book. 21. Who has EXERCISE 6 (Vol. I., page 20). 18. 1. Nos écoliers s'ennuyèrent-ils hier d'attendre si longtemps? 2. Ils furent obligés d'attendre si longtemps, qu'à la fin ils per- coffee and sugar? 22. The grocer has coffee and sugar. 23. Has the dirent patience. 3. Ne reçûtes-vous point votre parent amieale-bookseller's sister a glove? 24. No, Sir, but she has a book. 25. Has ment lorsqu'il vint vous voir? 4. Je le reçus de mon mieux. she a steel pen? 26. No, Sir, she has a gold pen, 27. You have the 5. Ne lûtes-vous pas la lettre de votre frère avant-hier? 6. Je physician's pencil-case. la lus et je l'envoyai à mon oncle. 7. Ne courûtes-vous pas au secours de votre frère aussitôt que vous le vîtes en danger? 8. Je me hâtai de le secourir. 9. Ne vous êtes-vous pas dépêchés de venir? 10. Nous nous sommes dépêchés. 11. Aussitôt que vous eûtes aperçu mon frère, ne m'informâtes-vous pas de son arrivée? 12. Je vous en informai. 13. À quelle heure votre sœur est-elle venue aujourd'hui ? 14. Elle est venue à midi. 15. Vos compagnons vinrent-ils hier vous prier de les accompagner? 16. Ils vinrent me voir, mais ils me quittèrent sans me parler de leur voyage. 17. Ne peignîtes-vous pas un tableau l'année dernière ? 18. Je peignis un tableau d'histoire. 19. Le peintre italien a-t-il fini son portrait ? 20. Il le finit hier. 21. Il l'a fini ce matin. 22. Dès que j'eus reçu cette nouvelle, j'envoyai chercher le notaire. 23. Ce jeune homme a-t-il pris congé de son père? 24. Il a pris congé de lui. 25. Il prit congé de lui hier. EXERCISE 98. 1. Avez-vous du thé? 2. Oui, Madame, j'ai une livre de thé. 2. Qui a du pain? 4. Le boulanger a du pain, du beurre, et du fromage. 5. Le tailleur a-t-il du drap? 6. Le tailleur a un morceau de drap. 7. Le médecin a-t-il de l'or? 8. Oui, Monsieur, le médecin a de l'or et de l'argent. 9. La dame a-t-elle une montre d'argent? 10. Oui, Mademoiselle, la dame a une montre d'argent et une plume d'or. 11. Votre sœur a-t-elle de la soie? 12. Oui, Monsieur, elle a de la soie et du coton. 13. Avez-vous un couteau? 14. Oui, Monsieur, j'ai un couteau d'acier et un fourchette d'argent. 15. Avez-vous de la viande aujourd'hui, Monsieur? 16. Oui, Monsieur, j'ai un morceau de bœuf. 17. Votre charpentier a-t-il une table d'acajou? 18. Oui, Monsieur, il a une table d'acajou? 19. Votre sœur a-t-elle un gant? 20. Oui, Monsieur, ma sœur a un gant de soie. 21. Le fils du libraire a-t-il un porte-crayon d'or? 22. Oui, Monsieur, il a un porte-crayon d'or et une plume d'acier. 23. Qui a la montre de votre sœur? 24. Votre frère a la montre d'or et le chapeau de soie. 25. Nous avons de l'or, de l'argent, et de l'acier. 3. EXERCISE 7 (Vol. I., page 20). 1. Has the hatter silk? 2. The hatter has no silk, but he has velvet, no money, but he has cloth, velvet, and silk. 10. Have you anything? 11. No, Sir, I have nothing at all. 12. Has the tailor two silver buttons? 13. No, sir, he has two silk buttons. 14. Who has your dog? 15. The neighbour has my cousin's dog. 16. Has he not your horse also? 17. No, Sir, he has your friend's horse. 18. Have you the history of France? 19. No, Madam, I have neither the history of France nor the history of England. 20. Have you neither the book nor the paper? 21. No, Miss, I have neither the one nor the other. 22. Who has paper? 23. The bookseller has no paper. 24. Has any one a book? 25. No one has a book. 1. Did the notary accompany you yesterday? 2. He accompanied me as far as (jusque chez) your brother's. 3. Did your companion take leave of you yesterday? 4. He took leave of me this morning. 5. Did you read yesterday the book which silk velvet. 5. Have you meat? 6. Yes, Sir, I have meat. 7. The I have lent you? 6. I read it the day before yesterday (avant-physician has no money. 8. Who has money? 9. The merchant has hier). 7. At what time did the painter come this morning? 8. He came at half-past nine. 9. Has he finished your father's portrait? 10. He painted all day yesterday, but the portrait is not yet finished. 11. Did you not run to your father's relief when you saw him in danger? 12. I hastened to succour him. 13. What did you do when you came? 14. As soon as I came I sent for my brother. 15. Did you take your sister to Germany last year? 16. I took her there this year. 17. Did you take your children to school yesterday? 18. I took them to my brother's. 19. Do you paint an historical picture? 20. I painted last year an historical picture. 21. Did your sister beg you to accompany her? 22. She begged me to accompany her. 23. Did you send for the notary as soon as you heard from your father? 24. I sent for him. 25. When did the notary take leave of you? 26. He took leave of me this morning at nine. 27. Has the apothecary finished his letter? 28. He has not yet 29. Were you not astonished yesterday to see that lady? 30. I was not astonished to see her. 31. Did you make haste to read your book last night (hier au soir)? 32. I made haste to read it. 33. Have you finished it? 34. I have not yet finished it. finished it. KEY TO EXERCISES IN LESSONS IN FRENCH. EXERCISE 4 (Vol. I., page 3). 1. Avez-vous le livre du tailleur? 2. Non, Monsieur, j'ai la montre du médecin. 3. Qui a la montre d'or? 4. La dame a la montre d'or et le porte-crayon d'argent. 5. Avez-vous le soulier du tailleur ? 6. J'ai le soulier de drap du tailleur. 7. Avons-nous la table de bois ? 8. Oui, Monsieur, vous avez la table de bois. 9. Ont-ils le couteau d'argent ? 10. Ils ont le couteau d'argent. 11. La dame a le couteau EXERCISE 8 (Vol. I., page 21). 1. Le boulanger a-t-il du velours? 2. Non, Monsieur, le boulanger n'a pas de velours. 3. Qui a du velours de soie? 4. Le chapelier a du velours de soie et un chapeau de soie. 5. Avez-vous deux boutons d'argent? 6. Non, Monsieur, j'ai un habit de drap, un chapeau de soie, et un soulier de velours. 7. Votre voisin a-t-il uno table de bois? 8. Oui, Monsieur, il a une table d'acajou. 9. Votre cousin a-t-il une histoire d'Angleterre? 10. Non, Monsieur, il a une histoire de France. 11. Je n'ai ni le drap, ni le velours. 12. Nous n'avons ni la viande ni le café. 13. Quelqu'un a-t-il un livre? 14. Votre cousin a un livre, un babit de velours, et un chapeau de soie. 15. Avez-vous le livre du médecin ? 16. Oui, Madame, j'ai le livre du médecin, et la plume d'or de la dame. 17. Le marchand a-t-il du drap? 18. Le marchand n'a pas de drap, mais il a de l'argent. 19. Qui a le chien de votre voisin? 20. Personne n'a le chien de mon voisin. 21. Quelqu'un a-t-il mon livre? 22. Personne n'a votre livre. 23. Le frère de votre cousin a-t-il quelque chose? 24. Non, Monsieur, il n'a rien. 25. Qui a le livre de votre ami? 26. Votre frère a le livre de mon cousin. 27. A-t-il l'habit du tailleur? 28. Il n'a pas l'habit du tailleur. 29. Nous n'avons ni le drap ni la soie. EXERCISE 9 (Vol. I., page 43). 1. Who is sleepy? 2. My brother is hungry, but he is not sleepy. 3. Are you right or wrong? 4. I am right, I am not wrong. 5. Have called the square of that number. But the numbers 1, 4, 9, 16, you my brother's good gun? 6. I have not the gun. 7. Are you cold 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, etc., are the squares of the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, to-day? 8. I am not cold; on the contrary, I am warm. 9. Have you 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, etc., because they are found by multiplying the good bread? 10. I have no bread. 11. Are you not hungry? 12. I latter numbers each by itself; and the fractions, am neither hungry nor thirsty. 13. Are you ashamed? 14. I am neither ashamed nor afraid. 15. Have we pepper or salt? 16. You, etc., are called the reciprocals or inverses of the squares; have neither pepper nor salt. 17. What book have you? 18. I have and ratio means the rate at which anything increases or demy cousin's book. 19. Have you the iron hammer or the silver creases; hence, the force of heat, or quantity of heat received hammer? 20. I have neither the iron hammer nor the silver ham- from a common fire, is in the ratio of the inverses of the squares mer, I have the tinman's wooden hammer. 21. Is anything the of the distances; or more shortly, in the inverse ratio of the matter with you? 22. Nothing is the matter with me. 23. Have squares of the distances. you the bookseller's large book? 24. I have neither the bookseller's large book, nor the joiner's small book; I have the captain's to be placed at 2 feet distance from the fire, and B at 3 feet good book. LESSONS IN GEOGRAPHY.-XV. ASTRONOMICAL PRINCIPLES OF GEOGRAPHY. In our last lesson we endeavoured to explain to our geographical students the nature of the motion of the earth round the sun, and of its motion round its own axis. We there stated the principle or law of attraction in the language peculiar to the science of astronomy, somewhat modified and simplified; but as some of our readers may be entire novices, and may never have heard or understood several of the terms we made use of, we shall in this lesson endeavour to make the subject clearer still. First, then, as to the said law of attraction: let us illustrate this, by a very familiar instance taken from the heat of a common fire. Suppose two persons, A and B, sitting at the same distance from the fire, both in front of it--at least, the one as much as the other; it is plain that they would both feel the same degree of heat; for, whatever reason may be assigned to show that A received more heat than B, the same reason might be assigned to show that B received more heat than A; therefore, they must both receive the same heat. URANUS JUPITER VENUS MARS This may be explained in another way still. Suppose A distance; then B will receive less heat than A, not in the ratio of 2 to 3, the numbers which represent their distances, but in the ratio of 2 times 2 to 3 times 3, that is, of 4 to 9: in other words, as 4 is contained 2 times in 9, so A will receive 24 times the quantity of heat that B receives; and this is all that is really meant by the phrase, the inverse ratio of the squares of the distances. NEPTUNE Having thus explained the law of the influence of heat upon two bodies, or any number of bodies at different distances from the source of heat, in the case of a common fire, we again observe that this law is equally true of the influence of light and of the influence of attraction upon bodies at different distances from the source of light and of attraction. Thus we know and feel that the sun is the great source of light and heat to this world of ours; and Astronomy teaches us that it is also the source of attraction, or of that power which has operated upon the earth and the other planets, and which continues still to operate upon them, by causing them to revolve in elliptical orbits or paths round that luminary, as explained in our last lesson. SATURN ASTEROIDS Moon EARTH MERCURY From the earliest ages up to the time of Kepler, the planets (Greek, #λavητηs, pla-ne'-tees, a wanderer), or wandering stars-so called in opposition to the fixed stars, which appear always to preserve the same Now, suppose that B removes to relative distances from each otherdouble the distance that he was at were reckoned to be in number only when alongside of A, and that A sir; and this number being maremains in the same place; it might thematically perfect that is, equal then be supposed that B would reto the sum of all its factors, 1, 2, 3 ceive only half as much heat -it was imagined that no more as he did before; or that A planets could exist, or could be exwas now enjoying double the pected to be found. Kepler, inheat which B was receiving in his deed, inquired most earnestly why new position. Such is not the case, however; for the degree they were only six in number; but Galileo, who first applied of heat does not diminish at the same rate that the distance the telescope to astronomy, opened a new door in the temple of increases, as you might expect at first sight; but it diminishes science, by the discovery of the four satellites of Jupiter, in at a much greater rate, and the question is how much greater? 1610, and led by this discovery to that of the other planets Now, well-conducted and careful experiments in Natural at a later period, which put to flight all reasons why the Philosophy have proved that the heat received at the dis- number of the planets should be limited to any given number. tances of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, etc., feet, is not,,,,,,,He would be a bold man indeed now-a-days who would try to of the heat received at 1 foot; but it is,,,,, limit the number of the planets, seeing that so many have etc., of the heat received at 1 foot. So that B will receive at been discovered within these few years past. double the distance of A, only one-fourth of the heat which A receives; at triple the distance, only one-ninth of the heat; and so on. DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING THE RELATIVE POSITIONS, 1 The law of progression then is as follows:-Let the heat received at the distance of 1 foot be denoted by 1, then the heat received at the distance of 2 feet will be represented by 1 divided by 2 times 2, or; the heat received at the distance of 3 feet will be represented by 1 divided by 3 times 3, or; the heat received at the distance of 4 feet will be represented by 1 divided by 4 times 4, or ; and so on. Now, dividing 1 by any number gives a result which in mathematics is called the reciprocal or inverse of that number; and multiplying any number by itself gives a result which is The six planets known from antiquity are the following:Mercury, Venus, the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn; no satel lite was known from antiquity but the Moon. The first addition to the planets of the Solar System was Uranus, at first called the Georgium Sidus (the Georgian Star), in honour of King George III., by Sir William Herschel, who discovered it, March 13th, 1781. It was afterwards called Herschel, in honour of the discoverer; but it is now called Uranus, because, for sooth, Uranus was in the Greek mythology (the fables of the heathen gods) the father of Saturn! Uranus has eight satellites, of which six were discovered by Sir William Herschel. Of these, five have since been observed by other astronomers. The planet Neptune, the third in point of size of those that 32 33 35 37 38 39 41 are yet known to form part of our Solar System, was discovered by Dr. Galle, of Berlin, September 23, 1846, in con- No. sequence of a letter received from Leverrier, of Paris, stating that he had calculated the position of a planet outside Uranus which would account for certain irregularities in the motion of that planet, hitherto unexplained, and indicating the part of the heavens in which it ought to be found. Neptune has two satellites. The credit of the discovery of the planet Neptune belongs to Leverrier and Galle, but it should be said that Mr. J. Couch Adams, of Cambridge, had also gone through a series of calculations establishing the existence of this planet, and would have had the honour of being its discoverer, had the French astronomer been a little less prompt in giving publicity to the result of his calculations. By means of the calculations of Mr. Adams, Professor Challis, of Cambridge, also detected the planet simultaneously with Dr. Galle. In 1859 a French physician named Lescarbault asserted that he had discovered a planet, to which he gave the name of Vulcan, moving in an orbit within that of Mercury. Leverrier was satisfied at the time that Lescarbault had really lighted on a fresh member of our Solar System, but as no astronomer has yet been successful in detecting it a second time, it is supposed that Lescarbault was mistaken and that Leverrier gave credit to the supposed discovery because it satisfied an hypothesis he had formed, that a planet existed, moving between Mercury and the sun, and which would be at that time in that part of the heavens in which Lescarbault supposed he had found Vulcan. At the close of the last century, and for some time prior to this, it was supposed that a planet, which had either escaped discovery or had disappeared from the Solar System, moved in an orbit between those of Mars and Jupiter, for reasons detailed at the close of this lesson. This suspicion was confirmed by the discovery of Ceres by a Sicilian astronomer named Piazzi, at Palermo, January 1, 1801, moving between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Further research has resulted in the discovery of nearly one hundred of these small planetary bodies having orbits near that of Ceres. These small planets are called planetoids or asteroids. They were at first supposed to be fragments of a shattered planet which once revolved round the sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter; but this supposition has been proved to be untenable. The following is a list of the planetoids that have been discovered since the finding of Ceres, with the names of their discoverers and the dates and places of their discovery:LIST OF PLANETOIDS REVOLVING BETWEEN THE ORBITS OF MARS AND JUPITER. 43 44 52 ཐབམ་ 34 36 40 42 45 46 Sep. 9, 1857. 54 The additions made to the satellites of the planets since the discovery of those of Jupiter and the ring of Saturn by Galileo, are the following:-M. Huygens discovered one of Saturn's satellites in 1665; M. Cassini, four, between 1671 and 1685; Sir W. Herschel, two, between 1787 and 1789; and Messrs. Lassell and Bond, one, September 19th, 1847; making in all eight satellites for Saturn. Mr. Lassell has discovered satellites belonging to Neptune; it was once supposed that this planet possessed a ring like Saturn. The following is a table of the principal planets of the solar system; their approximate mean distances from the sun; their approximate mean diameters; the inclinations of their axes and orbits to the ecliptic, or path in the heavens in which the sun and planets move; their periodic times, or times of a complete revolution round the sun, as far as they are known; and the axial time of rotation occupied by each planet. Further particulars respecting the planets and their satellites we must reserve for our Lessons on Astronomy, otherwise we shall lose sight of those on Geography. We may remind our readers that the actual existence of Vulcan has not been confirmed, that is to say, it has not been noticed by any astronomer since its alleged discovery by Lescarbault. For this reason a note of interrogation has been appended to its name, etc., in the subjoined table, in which we have arranged the planets in the order of their distances from the sun : TABLE OF THE PRINCIPAL PLANETS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. In the preceding table it will be observed that the new planets are found in the space intermediate between Mars and Jupiter. These planets were discovered in this space because they were sought for; and the origin of their search is curious. Kepler had discovered that the distance between Mars and Jupiter was anomalous as compared with the distances between the other planets, that it was greater in proportion to their distances from the sun, and he strove by some analogies of Nature to find out the reason, but failed. Titius, a professor of Wittenberg, in Saxony, endeavoured to discover the law of progression in the distances of the planets, and to a great extent succeeded. This discovery was published by Bode, in 1772, in the Connaissance du Ciel Etoilé; and hence it is usually called Bode's law. It is the following:-Calling the earth's distance from the sun 10, it was found that the distances of the other planets with that of the earth were very near to one another in the proportion of the following numbers : Planets-Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. Numbers 4, 7, 10, 16, 52, 100. On further inquiry it was discovered that these numbers were related as follow: An inspection of the foregoing series will show that between 16 and 52 there should be another number, 4 + 3 × 2 × 2 × 2, or 28, to make its progression regular and complete, and this encouraged the belief, originated by Kepler, that there was a planet revolving in an orbit between those of Mars and Jupiter that had not yet been discovered. That there were good grounds for entertaining this idea was further shown by the discovery of Uranus, when it was found that its distance from the sun represented by 191.93, supposing the earth's distance be 10, agreed closely with the distance at which it should be according to Bode's law, namely, 4+3 x 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2, or 4 + 3 × 64 196. Astronomers in all parts of Europe anxiously searched the field of the heavens for the planet that was supposed to be whirling through illimitable space between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, and the supposition was shown at last to be true by the discovery of Ceres, the first of the long list of minor planets, by the for tunate Italian Piazzi. * "WILL he catch it? Does that thoughtless little imp know what a creature of beauty he is trying to crush? Well done, bright fairy of the spring! that last wave of thy sun-tinted wings has carried thee over that blooming hedge now far away from the baffled, puffing, red-cheeked schoolboy." Such were our reflections as we once watched " my noble English boy" in hot pursuit of a "Swallow-tail" (Papilio Machaon) butterfly. (See illustration, page 48.) "Kill, kill," were the words written on young Hodge's face as with determination, worthy of a Briton, he chased the winged type of beauty. At first it seemed two to one in favour of the boy; nearer and nearer he came, up went his cap full at the "Swallow-tail." It was so well aimed, that the insulted butterfly indignantly swept into a neighbouring field, leaving the young hunter in a rage at the useless expenditure of so much toil. To make his defeat more ignominious, the cap had stuck in a thorn bush, from which the little biped did not recover it without sundry pricks and provoking scratches. We rejoiced in the escape of the insect, knowing well that its hunter did not wish to examine the wonders of that tiny "thing of life," but to gratify his bump of destructiveness. Now we are not going to write the history and adventures of that particular butterfly; we are not certain that we ever saw this particular insect again, but wish to make a few remarks on his relations and friends. In summer they are glancing hither and thither over meads and gardens, and we cannot let such beauties pass unnoticed. It seems almost an insult to call such a brightly-robed creature an insect, but we must not flatter the proudest butterfly, merely because he wears a fine coat. How vast seems the difference between the abhorred cockroach and the splendid peacock butterfly! yet the latter cannot deny his distant relationship to that creeping thing, hated by all housemaids: both are insects. A long Greek name separates the princes of the insect world from the less honoured orders. Lepidoptera (a term meaning scalewinged) is the title of nobility applied by the great Swedish historian of the animal kingdom, Linnæus, to the butterflies and moths. We must pass over the latter for the present, and confine our attention to their less numerous but more admired relations. The term "butterfly" seems to be unsuitable for an insect which has a taste far too refined for butter. The name was, it is thought, given to the insect by our Saxon ancestors, because appeared in the butter-making season. Be it so; many a finer name has had a lower origin. Has the butterfly a memory? If so, does the insect recollect the two previous states through which it has passed? Perhaps not; but we must not forget the former condition of our brilliant white admiral, or swallow-tail. First a caterpillar; then cramped in bands and folds, which we call a chrysalis; and, lastly, a winged fairy of the air. Catch that large "White Cabbage," lady butterfly (Pontia Brassica), and ask her a few questions about "auld lang syne," just to illustrate what are called metamorphoses. Mighty On the 1st of May last year-we like to be particular in dates her grandmother was a bandaged chrysalis, and about the end of the month became a butterfly. Her elegantly-shaped eggs were carefully laid on the under side of nicely-selected cabbage leaves, without permission of the gardener. was his rage when, in a few days, his choicest cabbages were sawn into the most intricate patterns by a thriving family of ravenous caterpillars. To kill them all was out of the question. Napoleon's artillery might have failed to accomplish that. Many did perish; the sparrows especially delighted in such delicious morsels. One, however, escaped, in consequence of her exceeding cleverness in feeding on leaves concealed from the birds' eyes. Having formed a chrysalis, she secured the cradlelike bit of work to a sunny wall by a strong but elegant silken band. From this came a butterfly about August, the mother of the one which is supposed to have been just caught by the reader. From her eggs sprang another succession of caterpillars, which changed Now mark what followed. to chrysalides in September last. *The term Papilio is applied to a large butterfly family; Machaon is the name of a famous physician present at the siege of Troy, and designates this particular species. No butterflies came from these chrysalis forms as usual. They must have died of starvation, as winter yields but little indeed of the delicate food required by them. This second series of chrysalides were therefore commissioned to keep the undeveloped insects safely wrapped within their folds through the cold and storms of the winter. In the May of this year, each little cradle gives up its brilliant child to sport with the perfumed zephyrs. Thus, in the course of a twelvemonth, the large white butterfly goes through a twofold round of most wonderful changes. A question here will naturally arise. How does the cabbage butterfly know that she must deposit her eggs on the cabbage? She does not feed on it, and can have no notion of the food which her brood of caterpillars will require. Here is another of the unanswerable questions which we are accustomed to hush by the reply, "Oh, it is all instinct." Are we one whit the wiser for such an answer? Well, what is to be said? Nothing; or a plain confession, "We don't know why the butterfly always selects the very plant which the caterpillars will need." Each butterfly may be said to have four epochs in its life-the egg state, the caterpillar, the chrysalis, and the fly. We have used the term chrysalis, what does it mean? Of course all readers know that it is the case or cradle in which the caterpillar takes the butterfly form. The word is derived from a Greek term, signifying golden, and was originally applied to the most richly-tinted envelopes of this insect. Sometimes the name aurelia (aurum, gold) is used to denote these bright forms. Chrysalis is properly applied to the butterflies only, the word pupa (a little thing) being the more correct designation for the third state of other insects. Linnæus saw some resemblance between the creature thus tightly packed up in its foldings, and babies bandaged up in close mummy-like wrappers. He therefore employed the term pupa to represent this stage of insect life. Let the reader by all means look for some chrysalides, and carefully examine them. He will sometimes see through the fine covering, the body, legs, and wings of the insect, most marvellously packed up in its case. The antennæ, or feelers, as they are wrongly called, are placed in a line with the legs. The long tongue, too, strange as it may sound, is placed straight between the legs; and the wings make a very small but very distinct package. The various parts of the butterfly may often be seen even in the interior of the caterpillar itself, which is thus but the living covering of the yet undeveloped purple emperor or peacock. Has the reader ever seen a butterfly "coming out" into the world? Let him take the first opportunity, then, of witnessing the operation. How is it effected? The cradle cracks, the wrappers are torn, and the fly extricates itself, standing like a thing most forlorn. No mother is near to "introduce" the stranger; not a single friend to give help-the young butterfly is indeed coldly received by the world. Her very wings are puny things, and her limbs look as if rheumatic. But she has a cheerful heart, soon gets over her first amazement, and one of her earliest operations is to attend to her beauty. Suppose the wings should not open "nicely;" what if there should be a crease in that important part of her wardrobe! her life would be wretched then; the gentlemen would not look at her, and no female of her race would condescend to sip from the same flower. In about an hour, however, all is generally right; the gorgeous wings become fully expanded by the sun's heat, and the beauty sails exulting in the full luxury of life. touch. But what are these so-called feathers? They are really scales, laid upon the wings much in the manner of slates or tiles upon a roof. Get a microscope, and examine those of the "Peacock" or "Red Admiral." No unaided eye can discern the minute wonders. The brilliant, numerous, and diversified tints of the scales are beyond all verbal description and all artistic imitation. Few will talk of human skill in the combination of colours when those fairy-like tintings have once astonished the cye. Then consider the almost countless number of tinted scales on one wing. A mosaic picture has been exhibited, containing 870 distinct pieces in one inch of work. The delicacy of such mechanism might well excite admiration. What shall we say when we find more than 100,000 living pictures and richly-dyed scales on a square inch of a butterfly's wing? Let us now turn to the head of our butterfly. What do we see there? The two "feelers," or antennæ, at once claim a notice. By the form of these the butterflies are readily distinguished from moths. Is the tip of the antennæ knobbed? then the insect is most likely a butterfly; if not, it is a moth. What is the use of these organs? Here we ask a favour from our readers: will they oblige us by putting that question to the most eminent philosopher of their acquaintance? Should he be able to answer decisively, will readers further oblige by communicating the replies with the proofs? We regret to say that these antennæ are the teasers of naturalists. We know not what to make of them. Whether the provoking insect feels, sees, hears, or smells with them, no one knows. A pretty confession is this for men to make, who have weighed the earth, and tested the minerals in the sun. "How like a god is man," says Shakespeare. It may be so; but we cannot forget that all our science is puzzled by the "feelers" of a butterfly. Some think the antennæ contain a sixth sense unknown to human beings; but this is only an attempt to escape from a puzzle by a guess. The experiment which suggested this notion was, perhaps, the following:-A female of one of the day moths, called the "Kentish Glory," which had been bred from the chrysalis in a house, was enclosed in a box, and taken into a wood frequented by her species. The box being laid on the ground, in a short time a number of the male moths settled on it. Yet a person might have frequented that locality for days without seeing one of the insects. This experiment has been often made with success. By what sense did these moths discover the presence of the lady? Not by sight-she was hidden; not by hearing-she uttered no cry. It is no marvel if some ascribe this strange power to a mysterious sense lodged in the antennæ. Does any one ask why the term antenna was applied to these organs? The word denoted among the ancients the yard or mast of a ship, and was subsequently given to these "feelers" from a fancied resemblance to the projecting spars of a vessel. We have not done with the head of the butterfly yet. Look next at the eyes. Of course every one, in the year 1868, knows that the eyes of all insects are compound; in other words, that what seems one eye only consists of many thousands. The reader would be puzzled to count these butterfly eyes, even by the aid of a powerful microscope. But the calculation has been made by men who have devoted years to the study of insect structure. The eye of a butterfly contains, in reality, about 17,000 eyelets, giving to our gaudy insect 34,000 in all. Each little eye is a perfect organ in itself, six-sided, or hexagonal, in shape, so that the whole collection resembles the cells in a honey-comb-17,000 eyes all arranged in that small space! Yes, it is so. Some speculative readers may inquire why this creature has been endowed with eyelets in thousands. We must beg to be excused from answer Have our friends ever seen a butterfly in the winter? The very question may seem absurd. How can the symbol of flowery summer live amid the snows of December? The surprise is natural; but some butterflies do live through the season of frosting so profound a question. Of course no one will suppose that and tempest; in other words, they hybernate; sleep comes on them in some sheltered nook as winter approaches, and lasts, with a few breaks, till the return of spring. Sometimes a mild day, even in January, will rouse the sleepers, and they come out for a short airing, to the astonishment of the schoolboy or the young lady out for a walk. One of these hybernators is the brimstone butterfly, common in parts of Devonshire, Suffolk, and Essex. The small tortoiseshell butterfly is another species, sometimes seen on warm days in winter sailing merrily along under the shelter of some friendly hedge. Now let us pause a minute to examine the wings of our butterfly. Touch them not; the friction of the softest finger will act like a rough file on the richly-tinted mosaic work of those wings. We all know how "the feathers" are rubbed off by the slightest when a butterfly looks on a female of his species he sees 34,000 fluttering beauties before him. As the two human eyes do not double objects, so the numerous lenses of the "Purple Emperor" may combine to form but one image. But some of these insects have also two simple eyes on the top of the head, so that we must confess ourselves to be altogether inferior in the matter of eyes to the "Swallow-tail" or the "Peacock." We must now take a look, with his permission, at the butterfly's mouth. The insect luxuriates in such refined food that teeth are needless, and strong jaws not wanted. What does the observer see in the mouth? He finds a long tube, like a trunk, and also notes that the organ can be folded up, like a watchspring, out of harm's way, when the animal is not making its breakfast on the delicious nectar of a summer flower. A closer |
