Collections and Collectors 
United States government at Washington are large and rich in 
interesting material. The collections possessed by Harvard Col¬ 
lege and the Boston Society of Natural History are extensive; so 
are also the collections of the American Museum of Natural His¬ 
tory, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and those 
of the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh. The collection in the 
latter institution is altogether the largest and most perfect collec- 
tion of the butterflies of North America in existence, and covers 
also very largely the butterflies of the world, there being about 
twelve thousand species of butterflies represented, including rep¬ 
resentatives of all known genera. 
The formation of great collections has always had a charm 
for those who have possessed the knowledge, the time, and the 
means to form them; and the ranks of those who are engaged in 
the study of butterflies include many of the most famous natural¬ 
ists, among them not a few of noble rank. One of the most en¬ 
thusiastic collectors in Europe at the present time is the Grand 
Duke Nicholas of Russia. The Nestor among German collectors 
is Dr. Staudinger of Dresden. In France M. Charles OberthOr of 
Rennes is the possessor of the largest and most perfect collection 
on French soil. In England there are a number of magnificent 
collections, aside from the great collection contained in the British 
Natural History Museum. These are in the possession of Lord 
Walsingham, the Hon. Walter Rothschild, Mr. F. D. Godman, 
Mr. Herbert Druce, Mr. H. J. Elwes, and others, all of whom 
hold high rank in the domain of scientific research. 
There are many men who make the collecting of natural-his¬ 
tory specimens a business. They are among the most intrepid 
and indefatigable explorers of the present time. The late Henry 
W. Bates and Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace were in early life leaders 
in this work, and we are indebted to their researches for a know¬ 
ledge of thousands of species. Two of the most successful col¬ 
lectors who have followed in their footsteps are Mr. Herbert H. 
Smith and Mr. William Doherty, both of them Americans; Mr. 
Smith one of the most enthusiastic and successful explorers in 
South and Central America, Mr. Doherty the most diligent ex¬ 
plorer of the Indo-Malayan Region. The story of the travels and 
adventures of these two men is a tale full of romantic interest, 
which, alas! has been by neither of them fully told. 
338 
