And Shakspeare, in his Winter's Tale, speaks of
-----------Daffodils
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty.
The intelligent observer of nature, from whose writings we have been permitted to make some extracts, has been greatly struck with coincidences of this kind; and he mentions, with interest, an idea suggested in the same work, of forming "a calendar, by which the flowering of a plant should acquaint us with the appearance of a bird, and the appearance of an insect tell us the flowering of a plant."
Following up this idea, he annexes a plan of such a calendar, in which each month, except "dark December," contains notices of these occurrences in nature. The grounds for his remarks are extremely curious, and worthy of our observation. In associating the wasp with the hawthorn-leaf in April, the author says, "Wasps seem to delight in frequenting hawthorn-hedges in the spring, as soon as the early foliage comes out. What is it that attracts them to these haunts? Perhaps they come in search of the larvæ of other insects which feed on the hawthorn. That wasps, whose ordinary food seems to be fruit, yet occasionally devour insects, there can be no doubt, as, even in summer, they may often be seen to attack and devour the flies in the windows. When they make their first appearance in spring, there is no fruit for them; therefore they may, at that season resort to hawthorn-hedges, which abound with the larvæ of various insects. The song of the cuckoo is found to occur at the time of the appearance of the Papilio cardamines, (or orange-tipped butterfly.) It is a common remark, that the cuckoo is seldom heard in July, and this papilio is rarely met with so late. In the end of November, the little winter-moth (Phalæna brumaria,) is classed with the late-flowering asters." We add an account of this insect in the author's own words. "This modestly-attired little moth is found abundantly throughout the greater part of the months of November and December. Its delicate texture, and weakly form, would seam to mark it as an insect ill calculated to endure the inclement season appointed as its proper period of existence. But nature knows her own business best; and, accordingly, these slender creatures brave the tempestuous weather they are doomed to encounter, totally regardless of the cold, the wet, the winds, and the fogs of November and December;
These little bodies, mighty souls inform!
Let it blow, or rain, or shine, there they are sporting and dancing away, under the sheltered sides of banks and hedges, with a resolute hardihood and perseverance that are truly admirable, apparently enjoying themselves as much as the butterfly in the sultry sun-beams of July."
[From a paper by the Rev. W. T. Bree, in the Magazine of Natural History.]