Country rambles in England : $b or, Journal of a naturalistKnapp, J. L. (John Leonard)
History
Country rambles in England : $b or, Journal of a naturalist
Knapp, J. L. (John Leonard)
Natural history -- England; Natural history -- Outdoor books
Multitudes of words are retained in our language derived from very
ancient dialects, and possibly the name “clock,” as given to this
beetle, conveying no meaning to our present comprehensions, is a
corruption of some syllable in former use. Its subterranean residence
might have been signified by the old word “cloax,” a vault, a creature
from below. Or, burrowing in filth and ordure, as it does, the epithet
“clocca,” the offspring of a common shore, or jakes, would not have
been insignificant of its origin and habits. Fancy, too, playing with
trifles, amuses itself in bandying about even its more general
appellative, dorr. In old times a “dorr” was a stupid, blundering
fellow; and “to dorr,” was to din, or trouble with noise, both
meanings applicable to the heedless flight, and loud noise, made in
all the transits of this dung beetle.
Footnote 63:
See note DD, appendix.
Footnote 64:
See note EE, appendix.
Footnote 65:
The hornet is a very pugnacious animal. They will fight desperately
with each other at times, when they meet in pursuit of prey, biting
each other’s body, and trying to get their mandibles under the head of
their opponents, to snip it off. I one day confined under a glass two
of these creatures, which had been fighting. One had evidently the
mastery; but both had been so injured in the contest that they soon
died; and it is most probable that they fall victims to each other’s
voracity, in the cold, damp season that usually terminates the autumn
of our year.
Footnote 66:
That bees are attracted by the hiving-pan is generally considered as
fallacious, and the practice useless.
Footnote 67:
See note FF, appendix.
Footnote 68:
This creature was first observed, I am told, about the year 1819, in
the nursery garden of Messrs. Miller and Sweet near Bristol,
introduced, as is supposed, on some imported plant. It increases
readily in our climate. The white moss rose (rosa muscosa, var. alba):
this beautiful variety was first produced about the year 1808, in the
garden of Gabriel Goldney, Esq., at Clifton, near Bristol; a branch of
the common red moss rose, becoming diseased, produced its flowers
white. A neighboring nurseryman, being employed by that gentleman’s
gardener to lay down the branch, from cuttings propagated the variety,
and shortly after dispersed many plants.
Footnote 69:
See note GG, appendix.
Footnote 70:
See note HH, appendix.
Footnote 71:
See note II, appendix.
Footnote 72:
This agaric is, I believe, unnoticed. I have called it Agaricus
surrectus.
Pileus—convex, expanding, covered with a pile of short, white hair;
centre depressed; faintly tinted with yellow; from one to three inches
in diameter.
Laminæ—loose, irregular, generally four in a set, rather numerous
broad, white, changing to buff, and then pink.
Footnote 73:
See note JJ, appendix.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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