.'•18 THK entomolooist's ueoord. 



the specimen is not sure where it came from such histories as these are 

 disgusting. Here is Acontia solaria var. liicida, and here Heliothis 

 scutoaa I There is Goneptenjx chojjatra ; and now we come to a remark- 

 able little history as told concerning Mr. Kogers of the Isle of Wight. 

 Now, ye workers! mark! In the year 1892 Mr. Rogers sent to Mr. 

 Burney — " Four SterrJia sacraria, two Leucania vitelUna, two Catephia 

 idchyinista, two Noctna Jiammatra, four Lajjhygma exigtia, with one 

 specimen ' doubtful ' sent therewith, one Micra ostrina and one M. jjarva." 

 Where was that Mr. Hodges in 1892 ? What is the use of getting 

 Agrotis lunigera year after year, when Laphygma exigua, and Caiepliin 

 aJchi/misia are obtainable ? After this Mecyna polygonalis, Anesychia 

 hipnnctcUa and Sesia andreni/orniis are likely to pall, and even another 

 Cranihm rorcUus fails to evoke much interest. But I have got to the 

 end of this most wonderful collection at last, a real collection, a 

 collection in Avhich the insects have been brought from the four winds 

 of heaven and by the age of their settlement here have become 

 naturalised British specimens, some people may consider sans penr et 

 sans reproche. 



There is still a short time before the sale begins, and so I turn over 

 the Catalogue. Nothing except some poor specimens of Vanessa 

 antiopa and Lycaena argiades appear among the Rev. Mr. St. John's 

 butterflies ! Ah ! There are some of the Deilephila euphorhiae, the larva? 

 of which have been stated to have come from New Quay, Cornwall. The 

 remainder of this collection appears to be much like what most jijcople 

 get together by exchange during a few years' work. Ah ! Two speci- 

 mens of Nonagria sparganii, vouched for by Mr. Hanbury and with the 

 highly specialised information '* taken with others in a south-east 

 county." Poor old Hythe canal ! How mysterious you have grown in 

 common with the Deal marshes ; and here is a Pachefra hucophaea 

 " taken with others by Mr. F. J. Hanbury, Southdown, 1892.' 

 " Southdown " means " South Downs " I suppose, but are not the 

 Ashford and Wye clialkhills part of the North Downs ? Xylina conformis, 

 one of the dark Welsh, the other of the ordinary German type, next 

 attracts attention together with a strange Abraxas grossnlariata, in which 

 a malformed or reduplicated nervure has produced the development of 

 the central portion of a wing on the costa. 



But here are some odds and ends, the seller's name not marked in the 

 Catalogue. Deilephila galii six, " Eton Marshes, 1898," Lasiocatnpa 

 ilicif alia two, " Ascot, 1891-2 taken by A. Edmonds " are remarkable 

 " odds," whilst a vast niimber of bred Pieris dapUdice, C. erythrocephala, 

 ifec, l)red in Britain and set in British style, figure among the " ends." A 

 wonderful lot of insects certainly are in the room to-day. Very 

 wonderful ! Almost remarkable ! 



And now the auctioneer mounts the rostrum and the sale begins. — 

 Cramhus alpinellus, 9s. for six, is not much of a start, and then some one 

 o-ives 7s. for a dataless C. verellus. " They don't think much of it " 

 whispers a voice at my elbow, or " it would have fetched a good deal 

 more than that if they believed it to be Bi-itish." C. myellus also must 

 be under a cloud, for two specimens go, with a number of other insects, 

 for 14s. and another, with a large lot, for Gs. Well ! what will the 

 bidders do with C. rorellus ? only 10s. for nine, and another with 

 thirtv-six other specimens goes for 4s. The public isn't keen on these 

 yet ; it appears to be suspicious. But then comes 10s. for a badly set 



