254 THE entomologist's record. 



downwards to Flumet. From I'luuiet to Megeve cultivation held 

 sway, for here is one of the most fertile uplands of this part of France. 

 At Megeve, without knowing anything of the country, I had anticipated 

 staying for a week, and 1 hoped to explore the slopes of the great Mont 

 Joly, the nearest neighbour on this side to Mont Blanc. I did so in 

 part, but the weather was very unsettled. Storms and hot sunshine 

 alternated at first, and, later, cold wet days continued, and one could 

 only guess by what one caught what one might have caught under 

 better conditions. However, one more word as to the district. Insects 

 or no insects, no one should miss the walk to Combloux, to Sallanches 

 and to St. Gervais, for there are some of the most beautifully 

 picturesque pieces to be found in the Alps along these roads. 

 Sallanches is too low for a continued stay, Combloux is exceedingly well 

 situated, but the native holiday-makers who flock to Megeve, whence Mont 

 Blanc is not visible except by a fair ascent, seem not to gather at Combloux. 

 True, Megeve boasts tw^o excellently managed hotels, the new Hotel 

 du Panorama and the Hotel Soleil d'Or, both quite full during the 

 time that I was here, but with the proprietor of the former, ready to find 

 comfortable outside accommodation until rooms at the hotel were 

 available, and the hotel can be recommended most strongly. The inns 

 at Combloux also look comfortable ; still the facts remain — fashion 

 favours Megeve, nature favours Combloux, and fashion at present has 

 it, but one supposes not for long. There are numberless walks in the 

 neighbourhood, three hours or a little more sufiices for the ascent of 

 Mont Joly, from whence an incomparable view of the Mont Blanc 

 range is to be obtained on this side, and the peak has been well called 

 the " Grammont " of the western slope. Combloux and Megeve, 

 however, are not in a position to rival any of the nearer villages, 

 Chamonix, Argentiere, or even Les Contaniines, in the estimation of 

 the foreigner, who comes not only to see, but to take his morning- 

 constitutional upon the slopes of, Mont Blanc, and hence one can only 

 hope to attract the " voyageur " rather than the " tripper " to these 

 really beautiful valleys. Megeve itself has an elevation of some 8700ft. 

 above the sea, a little village of the typical French-Swiss type, with a 

 remarkable lot of chapels known as the " Calvaire," collected on a 

 knoll on the slopes of Mont Joly, and a row of little chapels, above one 

 mile long, running along the road towards Combloux. To me the 

 most interesting feature was Ihe "mule" fair, August Hth-Uth, when 

 young mule and horse foals were brought into the market by the farmers 

 who breed them, not in great numbers, but each one or two. The prices 

 for young mule foals appeared to vary from 60 to 90 francs, we heard 

 70 asked for quite a baby foal. The lepidoptera caught were not 

 numerous. Megeve boasted among others the following species. 

 i'apiliii iintcliiion, a single freshly-emerged specimen; Aporia crataef/i, 

 a few only, evidently nearly over; I'icris bra>isicae, P. raimc, common 

 as in all cultivated districts ; I', luijii, very large and fairly abundant ; 

 Goncptcri/.v r/icaiiiii, occasionally, all males, probably not yet fully out ; 

 Colia-s editsa males certainly not yet fully out and not a single C. hijaU. 

 Mo doubt Parnai^miis apollo and ( 'alias jiliicdiiidiu'Sive on the mountains, 

 but my visits were in dull and unsatisfactory weather and 1 did not 

 see either. Lciicii/iluixia sinaiiis, second brood, not at all uncommon, the 

 $ s often resting on a tiefoil, although not noticed egg-laying there. 

 Of the Chrysophanids, L'hnjxdjilianus riiyjaiircae was fairly common, but 



