Preface 



leading insect forms of Great Britain and the Continent, have been 

 produced in great numbers in recent years in England, France, 

 and Germany. The result is that the youthful collector enters the 

 field in those countries in the possession of a vast advantage over 

 his less fortunate American fellow. It is to meet this want on 

 this side of the Atlantic that this volume has been written. Its 

 aim is to guide the amateur collector in right paths and to pre- 

 pare him by the intelligent accomplishment of his labors for the 

 enjoyment of still wider and more difficult researches in this and 

 allied fields of human knowledge. The work is confined to the 

 fauna of the continent of North America north of the Rio Grande 

 of Texas. It is essentially popular in its character. Those who 

 seek a more technical treatment must resort to the writings of 

 others. 



If I shall succeed in this book in creating a more wide-spread 

 interest in the world of insect life and thereby diverting attention 

 in a measure from the persecuted birds, which I love, but which 

 are in many species threatened with extinction by the too eager 

 attentions which they are receiving from young naturalists, who 

 are going forth in increased numbers with shot-gun in hand, I 

 think I shall render a good service to the country. 



I flatter myself that I have possessed peculiar facilities for the 

 successful accomplishment of the undertaking I have proposed to 

 myself, because of the possession of what is admitted to be un- 

 doubtedly the largest and most perfect collection of the butterflies 

 of North America in existence, containing the types of W. H. Ed- 

 wards, and many of those of other authors. I have also enjoyed 

 access to all the other great collections of this country and Europe, 

 and have had at my elbow the entire literature relating to the 

 subject. 



The successful development in recent months of the process of 



reproducing in colors photographic representations of objects has 



been to a certain degree the argument for the publication of this 



book at the present time. A few years ago the preparation of 



such a work as this at the low price at which it is sold would 



have been an ut'^r impossibility. "The Butterflies of North 



America," by W. H. Edwards, published in three volumes, is 



sold at one hundred and fifty dollars, and, as I know, is sold even 



at this price below the cost of manufacture. "The Butterflies of 



New England," by Dr. S. H. Scudder, in three volumes, is sold 



at seventy-five dollars, and likewise represents at this price only 



vi 



