TOE SALE OF MACBO-LEPIDOPTERA. 137 



liking than to that of some of tlie enthusiastic youngsters ; but now 

 that two or throe British Nonayn'a cannae can be bouglit for the price 

 of one L. obnoleta the Latter should be wortli working for. Crymodes 

 exults, at 80s., 258., and 22s. per specimen, were very much bought, 

 whilst Agrotis aijuthina and A. cinerea both fetched higher prices than 

 A. aahioovthii, eight specimens of which, with thirty other Agi'otids, 

 produced only iils. Ai/rofis snbrosea still goes up — 80s., lOos., 85s. 

 being given for pairs, and 90s., a record price, for a single female. 

 Six Af/rdtis lii/perborea went for a guinea ; whilst the Taeniocamps, 

 wliich had not been arranged according to variation, i)i'odueed a mere 

 nothing ; Ddsi/rampa riihiijinca brought 22s. for five, whilst six Polla 

 xantlioiiiista sold for 45s. ; a few named varieties of Epauda Intidenfa 

 produced -1:2s., whilst collectors have at last begun to learn how rare 

 HadeiKi (itripUcis is, 30s. being given for eight with some common 

 Hadenas ; 25s. and 428. for two lots, of four specimens each, of XijUna 

 conformis could not be considered dear ; whilst Mr. J. A. Clark gave 

 £8 10s. for nine specimens of C>icaW<i (j.inphalii, all bred " from larvae 

 taken at Sevenoaks." Three of the specimens went up to £8 7s. 6d, 

 before they were knocked down, but Mr. Clark would not be denied. 

 Some of our collectors appear to think Heliothis peUigera a rare species, 

 but it never fetches moi-e than a few pence in the sale-room, whilst 

 Anarla inehinopa, A. cordlgern, See, are almost given away. Fhisia 

 hractea still appears to be worth 5s., whilst a specimen of Catocala 

 fraxini, previously purchased at Stevens', brought in £1. Then the 

 Geometr.T': came on, but with the exception of a few rare species and 

 special varieties, the prices bore no comparison with those given for 

 the XocTU.T-:. The series of Anip/iklasi/s hetidaria, including a buff var., 

 l^roduced 30s. i*airs of (Ucorn vidnaria, 35s., 65s., and 55s. respec- 

 tively ; Pliorodexiiui f^maragduria worked out at something under os. 

 each ; whilst a double-banded var. of Ephyra linearia raised the i^rice 

 of a lot to 24s. *' Eight Acidalia perochraria " was rather startling, but 

 it was an error for A. ochrnta. A. stvaminata var. circeUata was sold in 

 two sets of four, producing 27s. 6d. each set ; whilst three finer 

 specimens went for 35s. A specimen of Sterrha sacraria was sold for 

 14s. ; the lots containing Emmclesia tacniatn, Eupitheciti eonsiynata, E. 

 idtimariu, E. jasioneafa, E. constrictata, E. fraxinata, all produced high 

 prices ; whilst E. extensaria sold at about 6d. apiece. Thirteen 

 Coremia qnadrifasdavia, witli a narrow-banded var. of C. unidentaria, 

 produced 30s. ; whilst Mr. Bankes })aid five guineas for fifteen fine 

 CampUxjraiiima _//«r/«<a from Exeter ; and £5 was paid for nine 

 Fhibalapteryx polygrammafa which came from Mr. Bond, and were 

 taken in Burwell Fen. When the auctioneer put these up for sale a 

 red-faced individual bawled out across the room, " Ten shillings apiece, 

 and take the lot," but he did not get them at his price. P. hipidata at 

 Is. 6d. shows how its price has gone down of recent years. This con- 

 cludes the interesting details connected with the sale. 



That there is a good market still left for bona fide British specimens 

 is well proved by this sale, and to the crowd of collectors who amass 

 collections which they hope will bring l)ack their mone}'^ someday, I 

 would, as a looker-on who thinks he sees the way the cat is jumping, 

 offer a word of advice, and tliat is : (1) Get data with all your speci- 

 mens, and (2) arrange your varieties in something like systematic order, 

 and, as far as possible, name them. 



