278 '^'*^' 



already produced a large number of -well marked races, the crossing of which will 

 facilitate the experiments, while its domestic habits, and the ease with which its 

 feeding and reproduction are controlled, rank it above all other insects for this pur- 

 pose. Moreover, it shows a convenient tendency to vary under new conditions ; for 

 I have never conducted an education without noticing individual variation from the 

 typical characteristics, whether as to colour of larva, cocoon or imago, or whether aa 

 to number of annual generations. The tendency from monogoneutism to bigoneutism, 

 or (to borrow the French terms) from annuels to bivoltins, is, in fact, quite annoying 

 in the States south of 38''. Yet, in the past sixteen years, I have, by selection, been 

 able to sufficiently fix the characters of a Maclura-fed strain (originally a cross 

 between a French yellow and a Japanese white) that it is quite at home on its new 

 food-plant, and shows little tendency to vary in the character of the cocoon. — 

 C. V. Riley, Topeka, Kans, U. S. A. : March 2\st, 1887- 



John Sang was born at Darlington, on the 3rd March, 1828. As a boy at school 

 he bore an excellent character, and as a reward for a feat of memory in reciting a 

 small English History, he was taught French, and afterwards Latin, free. His 

 knowledge of these languages, thus early acquired, proved afterwards of the greatest 

 use to him in his pursuit of his favourite study. Entomology, and later in life he 

 learnt Q-erman in order to extend his knowledge. In his boyhood he was very fond 

 of drawing and painting bii'ds and insects, some of his earliest paintings showing great 

 skill. In 1843 he was apprenticed to a draper at Wakefield, where the seeds of his 

 love of music and entomology were sown. He used frequently to speak of the great 

 delight he experienced in seeing the collection and grounds of the late Charles 

 Waterton. It was during the six years he spent at Wakefield that he commenced 

 collecting butterflies, and here in 184-8 he had the gi-atification of capturing a speci- 

 men of Chaerocampa celerio. In 1849 he removed to Manchester, and there began 

 the more thorough and scientific pursuit of Entomology, and formed the nucleus 

 of what was destined to become a very extensive collection. After leaving Man- 

 chester he returned to Darlington, succeeding to his father's business in High Row. 

 His earliest communication to any of the Magazines seems to have been that sent to 

 the Zoologist, June 23rd, 1853 (Zool., 1853, p. 4001), on the occurrence of Psecadia 

 ■funerella at Richmond, Yorkshire, and Hypercallia Christiernana at Castle Eden. 

 His next notice appeared four years later in the Entomologists' Weekly Intelli- 

 gencer (II, 75), on the occurrence of Lithocolletis vacciniella at Harrogate, and 

 thenceforward his published notices were numerous. He was one of the first 

 captors, in this country, of Miana expolita, Doubleday (now referred to captiuncula 

 of Treitschke). In 1860 he took a new Oelechia, intaminatella, which, in 1866, 

 he bred from Lotus corniculatus. From the same plant he also bred, in 1866, 

 Oelechia Sangiella, a new species which had been named after him, he having first 

 captured it in 1862 on the railway bank near Darlington. Another new Oelechia 

 captured by him in salt marshes near Redcar was described in October, 1885, 

 under the name tetragonella. He had retired from business, and was employed 

 pretty constantly with Entomology in one way or other, having commenced to depict 

 with care and accuracy the various species in his collection — not being deterred 



