THE SAIjF, of l\rA(!ltO-l,KI'll)OrTKUA. 135 



show that Bi'itish Lepidoptera with relia])le data are wortli more at 

 the present than at any previous time. 



The careful way in which the collection had been advertised, and 

 the advantages of a good catalogue were not lost. It is really re- 

 markable how little trouble is often taken in these matters, with the 

 result that insects are often disposed of at sums far below their actual 

 sale-room value. A fairly large buying company was attracted, and 

 prices ruled high. At times the l)idding was keen and spirited, but 

 towards the end the excitement flagged, and there is no doubt that the 

 last hundretl lots would hav(> fetched a better ])rice had their sale been 

 postponed tintil a latei- day. One noticed Messrs. W. II. U. Fletcher 

 and E. Bankes in their accustomed seats, whilst Sir Archibald 

 Hepburn found a corner on one of the tables where he could rest 

 comfortably and enjoy a "weed." Messrs. Fai'n, Sydney Webb and 

 C. Briggs were in evidence, whilst Mr. Sam Stevens, with his weight 

 of years evidently still resting somewhat lightly on his shoulders, 

 occupied his favourite corner. Mr. Janson, with commissions from 

 that prince of lepidopterists, Mons. Oberthiir, Mr. Massey, and others, 

 was continualh^ to the fore, whilst the Kothschild commissions were 

 evidently in the hands of the auctioneer. In the floating population 

 around the rostrum were to be seen the Presidents of the City of 

 London and South London Entomological Societies, Dr. Sequeii'a, 

 Messrs. Bird, Rippon, Keays, Goldthwaite, and others too numerous 

 to mention. 



Among the butterflies four specimens of Pieris dapUdice taken in 

 the neighbourhood of Ashford between 1856 and 1879 went for I8s., 

 16s., 18s. and 18s. resi^ectively, whilst a lot containing two varieties 

 of Euchloii cardamines was sold for 27s. A grand variety ( J ) of 

 Argi/nm'i^ jmphia with confluent spots on both upper and lower wings 

 realized £1 12s. 6d., whilst another with confluent spots on the 

 undei'side produced £2 2s. A variety of Pi/rameis cardni was 

 knocked down for £3 10s. and an aberration ( <? ) of Apaturn iris 

 in which there was a failure of pigment in the hind wings, for £3 5s. 

 The Chri/sophanvs dispar realized respectively 40s., 88s., 60s. for the 

 males, 70s., lOos. for the females, and 65s. for an underside, Sir 

 Archibald Hepburn annexing the finer female and one of the males. 

 Then a lot with a flue variety of C. pldoeas produced 70s. ; another 

 lot with varieties of Li/caena con/don, 35s. ; a pair of L. acts, 46s., 

 whilst three others produced 50s. ; a lot with a series of nine L. avion 

 from Barnwell Wold produced 50s., and other prices ruled equally 

 high. The Sphingidae realized good prices ; a dark variety of 

 Sjihinx lignstri brought one lot up to 20s., whilst a Deilephila enphorbiae 

 from Boyd's collection fetched 28s. ; four D. gah'i at 32s. 6d. and 45s. 

 realized, one would tliink, more than their full worth, whilst 30s. for a 

 S. pinasiri with a " personal " history and no locality was (piite 

 enough ; 60s. for a lot of nine Scsid ini/opiforinis, four S. formiciformis, 

 eleven S. ichnenmoniformis, and five S. iiiusciformis is totally inexplic- 

 able, but all the Sesias reached high figures; 35s., 42s., 20s., 45s., 

 32s. 6d. were given for small lots of about a dozen specimens wliicli 

 followed each other. But the Hepialids and Zygaenids fetched equally 

 high prices ; a var. of Z. trifoUi with orange spots and orange hind 

 wings and some other vars., 70s. ; a var. of Z. filipendnlae, 50s. ; whilst 

 Nola alhulalis and N. centonalis fetched about 3s. to os. each, the 



