"leap ns NOT INTO TE^frTATION." 37 



of wliieli contain 450 or even 500 specimens. Ah ! .among tlie mass of 

 muddle the Psychid^ have been re-arranged ; most of the known 

 British species are represented, and there are twelve s}>ecimens of 

 Scardia arciiatella, a sight for sore eyes now-a-days. Then the glorious 

 muddle begins again. Hundreds of moths ! Thousands of moths I 

 Ay, very many thousands too, huddled together, not only without data 

 as to whence they came or by whom they were taken, but even without 

 names, are mixed in utter confusion. Two or three men, though, are 

 eagerly scanning these heterogeneous masses ! There is a young 

 fellow who carefully jots down notes as he goes along. He has a happy 

 look on his face, and one feels certain tliat he has discovered some hidden 

 rarity that he sincerely hopes will not be detected by anyone else. There 

 is another earnest watcher ! A much older man, who seems very keen, 

 though witli only one eye I He is very alert, watches evex\y change on 

 the young fellow's face, makes a mental note of tlie drawers and l)oxes over 

 which tlie most complacent smiles of self-satisfaction are made, and then, 

 later on, dives into the mysterious depths of those same drawers and boxes, 

 looks radiant as he detects the cause of happiness in his predecessor's 

 face and makes a note, which augurs ill for the facility with which 

 either of them will buy cheap, despite the muddle. I go on. Lovely 

 Coleopliorae, rare Gelechudae one comes across at every glance. Ah ! 

 there is a Lyonetia padifoliella mixed up in the same lot with 900 other 

 specimens. Then we come to the Plumes, mostly in very bad con- 

 dition. What a muddle I Four species mixed up in the series of 

 Pterophorus pilof^elhie, and yes I there is the historical P. brachydadylm. 

 Knocked down with a liroomstick, jumped on Avitli hob-nailed boots, 

 set out with a jioker, and you have a fair notion of this historical 

 hr achy dactyl m. It may be a distinct species, but if it were in good 

 condition it might probably be easily referred, as a variety, to one of 

 our commoner species. Well, this appears to lie the end of the 

 collection. No, not quite the end, for now we come across the " un- 

 arranged and duplicate specimens." '' Unarranged " must be meant 

 " sarcastic," as if any of these small things ever had been arranged, 

 but these remainder specimens must be those which the reverend 

 gentleman bought diiring the last few j-ears and did not add to the 

 previous confusion. Here is a box of Macros and they look interesting. 

 There are four Chrysopha/miH dispar and some Lycaena acis, whilst we 

 meet four Vanessa anfiopa and the catalogue- maker has put against one 

 '' proI)ah1y from Tunl^ridge Wells." Then there are sixteen remnants 

 of Atjrofis sifhrosea and some mure Cerasfis erythrocephala with a var. 

 i/lahra. The latter has a little label on it " ]Mr. Tutt," and — j^es I there 

 are two specimens of Acidcdia lierhariata with a similar label. 



But let us go on — Plusia ilhistris ! What does the catalogue say ? 

 " f'rohahly one of the original specimens said to have been taken on 

 Salislmry Plain by j\Ir. S])ratt in 1810, ride Westwood's Brit. Moths 

 and E.lil.M.. xxv.j p. 228 et p. 24r,." What a nice Httle liistory to 

 build u]) on the word " J'robably '" I What is tlic muney value of that 

 one little word? Then comes an American specimen of Atjrotis 

 svhgotliica .' What does the catalogue say al)out this ? " Probably the 

 type specimen from Mr. Paddon, said to have lieen taken near 

 ]iarnsta|)le, ride Stephen's III. Brit. Ent., II., p. 126, and E.M.M., xxv., 

 ]). 224 et ]». 246." Another nice little liistory based on the word 

 " Probably." Surely " Probably " is not science, and if the owner of 



