A MONTH IN SWITZERLAND AND ELSEWHERE. 3 



dead-gold colour. Two other species were in fair numbers, viz., 

 Melitaea ilicti/nna, much smaller, and the $ with much more of the 

 ground colour showing, than those of Hinterzarten, and Pleheiiis art/us 

 (rt<'//o«),rathersmal],thec? sof adusky grey ontheunderside,andshowing 

 much greenish-blue suffusion extending almost half across the hind- 

 wing. Samples of several other species turned up in the very short 

 time at my disposal, viz., Melitaea athalia, rather small, M. anrinia, of 

 course much dilapidated at this date, Brenthis amathtisia, Fieris 

 hrassicae, Ajioria crataef/i, FoUionituatua icanis, Lycaena arioii, Paravfie 

 iiuiera, Ain/iades si/lra}tiis and a Hesperia which I failed to catch, and 

 therefore am unable (in such a difficult group) to identify. I also 

 caught a magnificent specimen of Plunia chrtjann, which unluckily (for 

 me) escaped by an unsuspected hole in the net. One wanted many 

 hours, but I was obliged to return to Goldau, from whence we continued 

 our journey the same afternoon to Weesen, to start about 3 o'clock 

 the next day for Bergiin on the Albula Pass. 



(ix.) FiLZBACH AND THE Thalalp. — Accoi'ding to my original plans 

 we should have gone from Goldau to Bergiin in the day, getting three 

 hours or so in the Murgthal between trains ; but after sleeping at 

 Weesen I found the most available arrangement was to start in the 

 afternoon from Weesen after walking in the morning across the marsh 

 and up through Filzbach to the Thalalp, though I knew it would be 

 impossible to reach the summit of the Pass in the time at my disposal. 

 I had a special object in this expedition. I had some years ago taken 

 Araschnia levana in the Murgthal only a little earlier than this, and 

 Mr. Fison had taken it in the previous year above Filzbach at a 

 considerably higher elevation. As my Samoussy prorm were still 

 coming out I was hoping for the chance of crossing the two broods, 

 which seemed to me likely to prove an interesting, and possibly 

 important, experiment from more than one point of view. Unfortun- 

 ately I did not see a single specimen of the species, but I still think it 

 might be done in any year when the season was early in northern 

 France and late in the Alps (a not unusual combination of circum- 

 stances), either by one person going as I did from one place to the 

 other, or by someone who had been in Aisne sending pupae to some 

 other person at Weesen or Filzbach. 



I saw nothing on this deny (July 7th) while crossing the marsh, and 

 the zig-zags up to Filzbach being mercifully in complete shade in the 

 morning, I had no occasion to put up my net until I reached the 

 village. Here I made a mistake and took a cart-track to the right too 

 soon, but quickly discovering my error, I thought to mend it by 

 strikmg into a foot path bearing to my left. This I followed, some- 

 times almost losing it, but always getting into it again, until I thought 

 I must be as high as the top of the Pass, but at last, finding some 

 men mowing, I was instructed that a good path, nearly level, would 

 take me in a few hundred yards into the valley I had originally 

 intended to mount, though I should be some twenty minutes or more 

 below the summit. I spoke of this as " a mistake," but it is really far 

 the best way to go, reserving the direct (and very precipitous) cart- 

 track for the descent. In the meadows on the way up I came across 

 several species, mostly at the higher levels. Those lowest down were 

 L'l/anirift seii>ia)ytts and Erehia ligea, both of which were still to be 

 found, though they were not numerous, almost as high as I went. In 



