generally recognised as the best private collection of Noctuae in 

 this country. 



In taking up the study of the Continental forms of British 

 insects and the forms closely allied to them, he showed himself 

 to be ahead of his generation ; for whereas this branch of study 

 is now general among our foremost lepidopterists, there was in 

 Britain, thirty years ago, an ' insular prejudice against insects of 

 Continental origin.' The following extract from a short article 

 contributed by him to ' The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine ' in 

 1877 formed a strong appeal to British collectors to enlarge their 

 range of study, and to do away with the ' want of interest in all 

 things continental,' that was then 'justly a reproach to them.' 



' Amongst the general body of collectors, how lamentable is 

 the ignorance on any point not purely of insular interest ; and 

 yet, by a slight study of the European Fauna, how much those 

 who have some little deeper aim than merely the desire of acquir- 

 ing a number of insects, would find their means enlarged of taking 

 an extended and comprehensive view of their favourite subject ! 

 There is much to interest in the comparison of foreign with English 

 specimens of the same species, and also in finding the gradual 

 passage from one genus to another much more completely illus- 

 trated than can be seen by the limited British list. Amongst the 

 NoctuidcB, for instance, how little the beauty of some species is 

 known to the ordinary British collector. Few are aware that our 

 sober coloured CucuUics pass by steady gradations to the brilliant 

 light green and silver of the common South German Cuciillia 

 argentea ; that the genus Heliothis includes the rich magenta- 

 tinted, but equally common German delphinii, or the rarer delicate 

 rose-pink of Treilschkii ; that our handsome Plusice are rivalled by 

 several common French and German species, or that the large 

 subdivision of the yellow-underwinged Catocalce will bear contrast 

 with our own richly coloured species. All this and much more 

 they might learn if they would enlarge their present limited range 

 of study.' 



The collection formed by Mr. Dobree consists of a magnifi- 

 cent series of specimens obtained from almost every district of the 

 entire Palaearctic Region from Iceland to Vladivostock. Many 

 of these were collected by Herr Louis Graeser, of the Hamburg 

 Museum, during a five years' tour in Amurland and Russian 

 Turkistan, and duplicates of some are not to be found in any other 

 British collection. They are supplemented by a small but in- 

 teresting series of specimens collected by the late Mr. George 

 Norman in Canada West,* and by other specimens from Labrador. 



The Dobree Collection is thus very rich in interest to the 

 student of geographical variation, for it contains no fewer than 



* i.e., the Province of Ontario. 



