34 



I left the large cage undisturbed as long as possible, collecting in various directions 

 and in several orders, but at no great distance from the summit, but about noon began to 

 dismantle the cage with the following result : 



Eggs laid on green blades of sedge . 2 



«« " " dead " " " 21 



" " " stiff brown moss 45 



Total 68 



Those laid on the brown moss were particularly conspicuous. 



At 2 p.m. I started down the mountain by train carrying the small cige with me and 

 watched the behaviour of the imprisoned butterflies but could not see that they evinced 

 any distress as we descended to the valley. A certain amount of restlessness was ol)served 

 amon^ some of the individuals, but nothing more than would be likely to be caused by 

 the jarring of the mountain railway. 



On arriving at the Mount Pleasant House four individuals were liberated and flew 

 readily a distance of forty or fifty feet before alighting, which is quite as far as they often 

 fly on the mountain. 



That evening the weather turned wet and stormy, and an interesting question arises 

 in this connection. Why were so many eggs laid that morning when so few had been 

 laid during the two previous days 1 Can we suppose that the butterflies discerned the 

 approach of bad weather and hastened to accomplish their oviposition before the weather 

 changed 1 



Next day, the 24th, I went to the Profile House carrying the cage with the rest of 

 the butterflies with me, and the following morning, the 25th, ascended Mount Lafayette 

 takinc six of them with me, as I was anxious to try the experiment of establishing the 

 species on that mountain, the highest of the Franconia Range and rising above the Alpine 

 limit, but I made an unfortunate mistake in putting them into too small a box, which 

 resulted in their becoming so much enfeebled that when released they were quite unable 

 to fly. I placed them upon a good sized patch of the same sedge that the larvte feed upon 

 on Mount Washington and left them to their fate ; but as a tremendous hail storm occurred 

 in the early afternoon there could hardly be any doubt of what their fate would be. 



Later in the afternoon I went to Littleton, still carrying the cage, and the next 

 morning, Sunday, the 26th, let them go. One flew about thirty feet, one flew a few feet 

 and one fluttered to the ground. In the afternoon three more were taken out but were 

 too feeble to fly. 



Next morning, the 27th, the cage was dismantled and the following eggs, many of 

 which had unquestionably been laid after my descent from the mount lin, were secured : 



Laid loose or came ofi* gauze 6 



" on left hind leg 1 



•' " wire supports 18 



" " gauze 6 



" " brown moss and attached to it .3 



« " " «' but loose 20 



" " dead blades of sedge 7 



" " the tin can 1 



Total 62 



I have also a memo, of three collapsed eggs, but whether or not these were in addi- 

 tion to the above number I cannot now say. 



I had thus from these two cages a rich harvest of no less than 130 eggs, of which 

 only two were laid upon green blades of sedge, while the large majority were laid upon 

 the brown moss or the wire which was about the same color as the moss. Most of the 



