ilNTOMOLOGICAL .tAPANi 225 



Entomological Japan {irith ji/iotof/rap/i). 



By The Hox. N. C. ROTHSCHILD, B.A., F.L.S. 



Great Britain's alliance with Japan has cei'tainly occupied no small 

 share of public attention, so possibly no apology need be made for the 

 above title. Many of us from time to time have eyed with wonder the 

 outside of the neat little Japanese magazine, The Insect IVorld, 

 published by Mr. Y. Nawa, in Gifu, Japan, and have speculated as to 

 the nature of its contents. The jourual in question, it will be re- 

 membered, is printed in Japanese, and Ijears on the cover a portrait 

 of LueJulovfla japonica, the Gifu Cho-' of the country to which it 

 belongs. 



Japan recognises but one chief authority, the Mikado, and similarly 

 that country claims but one entomologist, Mr. Yiomachi Nawa, of 

 Gifu. True there are others who collect, but should the stranger wish 

 to see the recognised authority, a visit to the Nawa Entomological 

 Laboratory is essential. The present writer being in Kioto, Japan, on 

 April 7th last, determined to seethe institution in question; his experi- 

 ences there being some of the most charming he has yet experienced, 

 he has ventured to publish them on the chance of their being of 

 interest to others. 



The town of Gifu itself is well worth a visit ; situated amongst 

 mountains covered with dense pine forests and blossoming cherry 

 trees, it presents in early spring a scene of extraordinary beauty. 

 Close by is the river Nagara, where, in the summer, the curious 

 spectacle of fishing with tame cormorants may be witnessed. Those, 

 also, who desire excitement have the same provided, for earthquakes 

 occasionally completely destroy most of the houses in the main street. 



Half a mile from the hotel is the Nawa Laboratory. Mr. Nawa 

 and some six assistants and pupils were there to give the writer a more 

 than cordial welcome. First of all a fine collection of Japanese 

 lepidoptera was exhibited. All the specimens were nicely labelled 

 with dates and localities, and, in some cases, the photograph of the 

 captor is preserved with a great rarity. All localities were at the 

 stranger's disposal, and the ardent collectors were anxious to show the 

 writer the exact haunts of Luelidurjia jajionira and other local 

 specialities. Another room was filled with breeding-cages containing 

 larva' and pupse ; a roving larva of Papilio sarpeclon, in fact, had been 

 allowed to pupate on the door, not finding the scanty space originally 

 allowed to its taste. Outside the house we visited many acres of 

 growing cereals and other plants. These Mr, Nawa experiments 

 upon for economic purposes. The writer was presented with a very 

 beautiful set of photographs illustrating the life-histories of most of 

 the Japanese insects injurious to agriculture. Each photograph is 

 a small work of art in itself, and the whole collection, bound in a neat 

 octavo volume, must, coupled with Mr. Nawa's excellent notes, be of 

 immense value to the farmer and horticulturist. In the town of 

 Gifu there is a large building resembling a wooden warehouse, built 

 with the characteristic Japanese taste. " This," said Mr. Nawa, " is 

 the insect exhibition." It is a large buildmg completely filled with 



* Cho = Butterfly, in Japanese. 

 September 15th, 1902. 



