SUGARING PROHIBITED IN THE NEW FOREST. 261 



and east, and no doubt more active collectors would find plenty of 

 sport which I could not reach. 



It seemed to me a remarkable fact that although I found the flowers 

 of Ci'iitrant/iKs ruber, the so-called valerian of gardens, most attractive 

 at Mucking, yet I never saw a single moth thereat during my stay in 

 North Wales, although I watched carefully nearly every night. Pliisia 

 iuta I found once, resting upon a garden- wall, and P. chrysitis I netted 

 along a garden hedge, but not a specimen of either species seemed to 

 visit the tlowers. Of commoner insects, (Joenonynipha paiiiphilus ap- 

 peared to be somewhat larger than my Essex specimens. Hipijarchia 

 se.Diele, smaller than those from the Kentish hills ; Enodia hyperanthus 

 (I only saw one) showed very distinct markings on the underside. 

 ypsipetes I'lutata, taken amongst the bilberry, was small, and mottled 

 with green ; Boarmia rcpandata, dark, but well marked, while B. 

 rhoinboidaria, a single specimen, is the smallest I have seen. The 

 females of Hepialus hnnntli vary much in size, the smaller being paler 

 in colour, suggesting insufficient food. I took a considerable number 

 of Crambids, Eudorias, and some Phycitids, which I have not yet 

 managed to name, and also some Eupithecias which are, so far, in 

 like case. 



On the whole I returned home full of regrets. I wished I had been 

 able to stay longer in this charming place, so unlike my home, although 

 the climate seemed to be too bracmg for me. However, I came away 

 with a great wish to try again, if I should have another opportunity, 

 when possibly I could do better, now that the preliminary exploration 

 is finished, and I should know where to look for the insects I desire. 



Sugaring Prohibited in tlie New Forest. 



By S. J. BELL. 



It will probably be news to many of your readers — as indeed it was 

 to me when I reached Brockenhurst last July — to hear that " sugaring" 

 in the New Forest was strictly prohibited, such prohibition applying 

 alike to enclosures and open ground. 



On receiving this information from a Brockenhurst tradesman, in 

 response to an order for the necessary saccharine fluid, I was of course 

 incredulous, but decided that it would be advisable not to seek further 

 information on the point until the close of my holiday. I sugared 

 persistently for a fortnight without interruption in sundry spots which 

 had better remain unspecified out of consideration for the ranger in 

 whose district they lay, and who should have ousted me therefrom ; 

 the " sugar" proved unattractive, however, not only to " velveteens,'' 

 but also to the wily moth — but that is another story. 



On the day of my departure I sought out the former and 

 interrogated him, learning to my astonishment that it was an actual 

 fact that orders had been issued to stop " sugaring." Pursuing the 

 enquiry further, I found that, in the event of any lepidopterists proving 

 contumacious, the ranger would produce — not the customary notebook 

 for the purpose of recording the ofiender's habitcit, as might be expected, 

 but a pail filled with a mixture of clay and water, with which con- 

 coction he would plaster over the delectable patches in accordance 

 with instructions received. 



According to local report the origin of the "pother" was a com- 



