Urban Influences
London, which is so congenial to birds, is strangely hostile to most butterflies and to a good many plants. The cocoons of the butterflies are apt to be all eaten out by an urban parasite, and this is the more surprising as a few of the bigger moths have a particular fondness for the parks, especially Kensington Gardens. It may be regarded as a virtue in the atmosphere of London that it absolutely prohibits the growth of any form of lichen ; but it is a vice that it prevents the park-keepers from attempting the cultivation of so bright and simple a flower as the forget-me-not. Many bulbs and bulbous-rooted plants delight in London, not least (in my small experience) the lily of the valley ; but those that are dug up soon after flowering do best. It is a little strange, and perhaps suggestively urban, that the flowers are visited (when- ever I have attended to this point) by a large number of the half-parasitic insects that mimic the appearance of the hive- bee, while the true bee is a rare visitor. Kew Gardens is, I fancy, one of the few places which is exceptional in these regards. A rare butterfly may sometimes be found there, though probably none breed there.
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