The First NiijliVs Siif/ariiu/ in Knijland. 33 



sleep. The only fine and presentable specimens of the great 

 XoctucB tribes then shown in cabinets were obtained by 

 breeding the insects from the caterpillars or pnpre, or by 

 searching for the perfect moths on palings or trunks of trees. 

 But the bulk of the Noctiue in collections were miserable 

 objects, and even the best cabinets exhibited frequent blanks. 

 The discovery of the method of sugaring changed all that. 



During the period already alluded to, the summer of 1843, 

 Noctum were very abundant : much more so, I think, than 

 they have been during late years. One fine evening I was 

 walking about my garden, net in hand, when I noticed a 

 number of Noctucc flying over and settling upon a plum tree. 

 I was soon busy at work, and at the close of the evening 

 thought I had made up a good box ; but of course the 

 majority of the moths were in the usual plight, with thorax 

 rubbed and wings abraded. I asked myself what was the 

 cause of such numbers of NoctUiB congregating at that par- 

 ticular tree ; no other tree in the garden was so patronised. 

 On examining the plum tree the next morning, I was soon 

 satisfied that the moths were attracted by the " honey-dew" 

 with which the leaves were covered. The idea quickly 

 occurred to me that sugar dissolved in water might be 

 brushed on the leaves, so as to make a kind of artificial 

 *' honey-dew," which possibly would prove a good bait for 

 our furry friends. As the evening approached I became eager 

 to carry out my experiment. I brushed nearly all the leaves 

 of the plum tree with sugar and water, and awaited the 

 result. A more anxious time I never experienced in my 

 entomological career. As the shades of evening crept on, 

 Xuctua after Noctua came in constantly increasing numbers, 

 till the air around the plum tree seemed alive with moths, all 

 soon settling on the leaves, and, to my great surprise, many 

 cared not to fly away or even move. 



I now brought my lamp, and, turning the light upon the 

 tree, I beheld a scene such as I had never before witnessed 

 except at sallow blossoms in spring, and the analogy held 

 only in numbers, not in the variety of species which then 

 gladdened my eyes. There were, of course, the usual garden 



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