THE BASSES-ALPES AND HAUTES-ALPES IN JULY. 91 



In travellino; to and fro between Grenoble and Veynes, I suppose 

 most of us look longinp^ly at the country passed, the magnificent 

 prospect, one of the finest and most extensive, 1 suppose, in Europe, 

 of the Dauphinealps, with scores of peaks in the east, the extraordinary 

 shaped ^lont Aiguille in the west ; the wealth of insect life one sees from 

 the train, and the promising collecting-ground all around, at all levels, 

 makes one's mouth water. These prospective advantages, with that of 

 the town of Grenoble, within easy reach for medical assistance, induced 

 us to essay our luck there, and, on consulting Baedeker, we found he 

 recommended a small hotel at " Clelles-mens," some thirty miles from 

 Grenoble, and situated on a breezy mountain side, some BOOOft. in 

 altitude. Here we stayed very comfortably for a week. The Hotel 

 Ferrat. though very primitive, we found clean and comfortable, Madame 

 most obliging, the food provided more to our liking than was our 

 experience elsewhere in the French Alps, with an entire absence of 

 garlic, which was pleasing, to say the least of it ; whilst the /x'usion 

 reminded one of a certain Hcotch friend, w^ho once informed me that a 

 visitor to his native land could live on nothing, if he knew his way 

 about. I have not found this to be ray lot, by any means, when 

 sojourning in the land of oat-cakes and whisky, hut suppose I have 

 failed through not knowing my w^ay about ; but I should certainly 

 recommend this little hotel at Clelles to anyone who wishes to study 

 economy. 



Most of our collecting was done at the level of the Hotel, Satyrids 

 were to the fore, the most abundant species of which was undoubtedly 

 the lively and handsome Hi/ijiarrliia briseif^, which was in dozens 

 on every piece of rough ground, in splendid condition, and with it 

 plenty of Satj/rus alojonc, Hipparchia seiiicle, and //. aretJntaa. The 

 Erebias consisted of F.rebia neoridas, just coming out, with only occa- 

 sional females ; and E. hlandina, abundant ; swarms of Poli/nmviatux 

 flauion, and /'. rorydon were everywhere ; Papilio niachaon, not infre- 

 quent, but swift- winged and hard to capture ; Paniassiiis apollo, inclndmg 

 one or two of the red-spotted form met with at Abries, evidently this is 

 widely distributed ; Pontia tiaplulice, just emerging and fine ; Colias 

 In/ale, large and numerous, wath an abundance of females ; C. edu.ia, 

 scarce; C. /i/iinniumc, one specimen, probably abundant two or three 

 thousand feet higher up in the mountains: Chri/sap/ianns virijaureae, 

 getting worn; Liiiiou'tis coidUIo, not common and possi' : Pavauexxa 

 antiopa, one example only ; Militaca jdmchc, infrequent ; M. didi/ma, 

 abundant, females, the plains form ; A. jiartlicnic, frequent; An/i/nnis 

 niohe var. <';/.s, A. mlipfie, A. aiflaio, and Drifas pophia, a number of 

 examples of each ; Milanar<jia (jalatea, common and typical ; the 

 K})ine)dicli' jiiitina were of the hispulla form, but not as pronoimced as 

 those from Digne. From Clelles we journeyed direct for England. 



The general impression one gets of collecting in the south of 

 France is, that, apart from certain groups, such as the Satyrids, it is 

 not quite so prolific in species, or examples, as Switzerland, in July ; 

 no doubt the much drier climate is accountable for this, the low levels 

 being dried up, and many of the mountains stony and bare. The 

 great drawback is the hotels, these are in most cases very poor, so far 

 as the character of the food provided is concerned, though there are of 

 ■course exceptions, and one gets a certain amount of garlic with each 

 meal, which is not exactlv to English tastes. 



