NOTES ON COLLECTING, ETC. 83 



amongst them, and broken by glades with heather and sallow. This 

 section has a good many ponds and open marshy spaces. In this 

 division, I will also include Jack's Hill, on the right of the road from 

 Loughton to the Wake Arms, the character of the wood being similar. 

 Monkswood proper stands at about 300 ft., and the Wake at 370 ft. 

 On entering the next section, which I will call the Wake Arms section, 

 we pass through an extent of open heather studded with clumps of 

 birches. This continues until we reach Epping Thicks, which resemble 

 somewhat the Chingford Wood, but have more beeches, and which 

 extend to E[)ping Town, two miles beyond the Wake Arms, Ambers- 

 bury Banks, near the Epping Road, stand at 381 ft., and the end of 

 the Thicks at 369 ft. Epping Lower Forest lies to the north of the 

 town, and much resembles the first section (Chingford). It will be 

 seen, from the figures quoted, that there is a general rise of the 

 country between Chingford and Epping. 



As to the geology of the Forest, there is not much to be said. 

 The formation is tertiary, consisting of London clay, capped in places 

 with gravel, sand, and brick-earth. 



With regard to localities sugared. We sugared in i8go in only one 

 spot, last year in two. Both of these belong to the Chingford section, 

 and large trees just outside the woods were sugared. 



Now as to collecting generally. The first moth to appear is H. 

 rupicapraria, at light, and flying at dusk. In February and March, 

 searching the tree trunks seems to be the best mode of working. 

 Hyheritia leucophoearia and Phigalia pilosaria (pedaria) are both 

 common in the Chingford section. On the 7th March, 1891, a 

 single specimen of Nyssia hispidaria was taken on an oak trunk in 

 the same section. It sat in a crevice of the bark, nine or ten feet 

 from the ground, and one Amphidasys prodromaria {sirataria) was 

 found on the 29th of the same month in the Wake Arms section, 

 also on an oak trunk. In March, Hybernia margiiiaria and Ajii- 

 sopteryx cescularia appear at light commonly. Last year the former 

 continued on the wing from the end of February until the first week 

 in May, Sallowing opens usually about the beginning of April. In 

 Monkswood, Tcuniocampa stnbilis, gothica, cruda {pulvefulenta), instabilis 

 {incerid), and hybernated Scopelosoma saieliitia, Orrhodia vaccinii are 

 common, while T. nmnda and gracilis and Pachnobia rubricosa are 

 occasionally met with; rubricosa, however, was plentiful in 1890 on 

 sallow bushes, near Chingford. A pair of O. vaccinii, in copula, fell 

 into the sheet one night in April last. Our best sallowing night last 

 year was the 15th April. After a very fine day the sky clouded over 

 slightly. The wind was N.VV., light, and the moon about half full. 

 The moths continued coming on till about one o'clock, and then 

 seemed to stop suddenly. About the middle of the month Larentia 

 inultisirigaria is common at dusk, flying over the heather in Monks- 

 wood and Selenia illunaria {Inliinaria) throughout the Forest. After 

 the sallows are over, the sloe bushes begin to blossom. Flying to 

 this attraction in the Chingford Wood, Eupithecia puviilata, Cidaria 

 siiffinnata, and Anticlea badiata are plentiful, and about a dozen and 

 a half A. nigrojasciaria were netted in 1890, but none in 1891. In 

 the glades Ciiix glaucata {spinnld) and Hemerophila abriiptaria are to 

 be found. Tree trunks during the month are not usually productive 



