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THE BRITISH DISTRIBUTION OF PHYGADEUON
immaculate black scape, centrally clear-red abdomen and centrally testaceous hind tibiae ; its transverse thoracic areola and thin antennse are characteristic. I find Phygadeuon fumator, Grav., to differ from all its allies by combining :—Head buccate but not cubical, with (as in all this group) that of J less cubical than $ ; antennse black, or in $ basal joints at most apically red ; pronotum strongly punctate ; abdomen centrally red, excepting in above melanic form ; postpetiole basally deplanate, broader than high, not apically rimose ; terebra shorter than first s e g m e n t ; legs with all femora and tibise red, latter not inflated (I consider, though not constant, both sexes with hind tibias black at both extremities to be invariably this species); the entirely-red-legged form differs from P. brevitarsis in buccate head, hexagonal areola and black hind coxae ; nervellus emitted below centre. 6 Jan., 1946.
NEWS FOR NATURALISTS. W e a l t h — M a m m o n ' s glittering image—is our god,
not knowledge or wisdom. Rider Haggard. Düring the last few years (a M e m b e r writes to us) I have been staying a good deal in High Suffolk and was much impressed by the local folks' utter lack of all appreciation of the countryside's Beauty : the men hated Trees, the children saw nothing to admire in Flowers, and the women detested Birds because they ate currants ! I greatly fear my native County, as elsewhere in this Our England, and my old favourite haunts are rapidly becoming hardly recognisable now. T h e farmers seem to be growing more and more greedy and money-minded. In quite a short time I have witnessed the destruction of innumerable Woods, Hedges, Trees and beautiful old farm-buildings. Where thatch was wont to be used is now vile corrugated iron ; ugly wires and martian pylons everywhere traverse the landscape. What it will become ere long, I shudder to anticipate—when cinematographs and fried-chip shops appear in picturesque villages. It seems so sad to me that the Squires, who really did, with all their faults, preserve and tree-plant the countryside, should be now taxed out of existence and reduced to a par with any vulgär self-made creature of the machine class f r o m industrial towns. T h o u g h Suffolk used to be remote f r o m the big centres of industry, their influence for ill is much more evident and always increasing ; one must be thankful that their everlasting din is confined in rural districts to the devastating farm-tractor. All who are capable of preserving