NOTKS OK COM>KCTIN'>. 77 



one of the most extreme and Fjeautiful of any nfriafa form of " blue " 

 seen by the writer. A fine series of 49 f^iraales, brown and blue, 

 fetches! £2. 



The PolijoiiimatiiM HeiiiianjiiH (acis) in two lots of six each, brought 

 45s. and 70s. each lot. Lycaena arion in lots of about 20 fetched from 

 158. tfj 80s. Lot 182, containing one almost spotless underside, and 

 an underside with few spots only, brought £8. 



Lot 188, an ab. of (yi/do/ndeK pala/'iiiou with black forewings and 

 conHuent spots in hindwings brought £5. 



A pale smoky AiKjiadeH HijlvanuH realised i'2. The cabinet of 3G 

 drawers cost the buyer .'58 guineas. 



The result of the sale (without the cabinet) I V;elieve was about 

 4'150, which together with the total realised in the first sale (£'850j 

 brought the total sum realised for the Rhopalocera to approximatelj- 

 £1,800 a highly satisfactory result. The total for the corresponding 

 portion of the Webb Halo was, I think, in the neighbourhood of £1,400 

 — but the figures are only approximate. [B'ourteen C. (linjiar were 

 reserved for the concluding Farn sale. — H.J.T.] 



Judging from an article in the current issue of the Weekly JJix/jatch 

 by a " leading expert on Collections," some of the insects were remark- 

 ably cheap. The article contains such statements as the following : — 



" The adoniif butterfly is now so rare in this country that an 

 example sold for £20. A man whom the author knew, bought a 

 cabinet of butterflies at Stevens', one drawer of which was stuck — and 

 in consequence the caljinet fetched merely a nominal price. On forcing 

 the drawer open the new owner found two fine swallow-tails {jiodalirins) 

 and one Arran brown (liyea), which he sold for considerably more than 

 he had given for the whole lot." 



" At a country sale, a whole mass of butterflies in a glass case was 

 bought and the purchaser found half a dozen long-tailed blues — 

 hoeticns and one culonin blue, which he sold for quite a substantial sum. 

 The author once saw a little group of these butterflies together in the 

 South of England, and a Mr. MacArthur caught one or two of them." 



" The author also caught a large copper {dinjiar) in the South of 

 England, but damaged, as it was probably blown over, and in 1890 

 saw two beauties caught at St. Davids." 



" The purple edged copper {('hryiseis) was caught in the author's 

 early days in Epping t'orest and the Weaver's Fritillary (dia) and 

 'i/jollo. He is also sure that a/iollo can still be found in the Lake 

 district, and has seen two on the wing within the last two years." 



Personally I do not recognise the name of this "expert on Collec- 

 tions," but in all my wadingsthiough back numbersof the Entomological 

 journals I have never read of any one equalling his exploits. — 

 S.G.C.-K. 



i^t) T £ S ON COLLECTING, Etc. 



Zygakna fausta var. niceae. — It was very pleasing to read Mr. 

 Ashby's diary (pp. 43-48) on that little corner of France, that Geneva 

 people consider to be far more Swiss than French. Of course both Gex 

 and the Saleve belong politically to France, but from their position 

 their fauna and flora have always been claimed by the Genevese. Mr. 

 Ashby seems to have missed a good deal of the booty generally gathered 



