Collections and Collectors 



United States government at Washington are large and rich in 

 interesting material. The collections possessed by Harvard Col- 

 lege and the Boston Society of Natural History are extensive; so 

 are also the collections of the American Museum of Natural His- 

 tory, the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, and those 

 of the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh. The collection in the 

 latter institution is altogether the largest and most perfect collec- 

 tion of the butterflies of North America in existence, and covers 

 also very largely the butterflies of the world, there being about 

 twelve thousand species of butterflies represented, including rep- 

 resentatives of all known genera. 



The formation of great collections has always had a charm 

 for those who have possessed the knowledge, the time, and the 

 means to form them ; and the ranks of those who are engaged in 

 the study of butterflies include many of the most famous natural- 

 ists, among them not a few of noble rank. One of the most en- 

 thusiastic collectors in Europe at the present time is the Grand 

 Duke Nicholas of Russia. The Nestor among German collectors 

 is Dr. Staudinger of Dresden. In France M. Charles Oberthur of 

 Rennes is the possessor of the largest and most perfect collection 

 on French soil. In England there are a number of magnificent 

 collections, aside from the great collection contained in the British 

 Natural History Museum. These are in the possession of Lord 

 Walsingham, the Hon. Walter Rothschild, Mr. F. D. Godman, 

 Mr. Herbert Druce, Mr. H. J. Elwes, and others, all of whom 

 hold high rank in the dc-main of scientific research. 



There are many men who make the collecting of natural-his- 

 tory specimens a business. They are among the most intrepid 

 and indefatigable explorers of the present time. The late Henry 

 W. Bates and Mr. Alfred Russel Wallace were in early life leaders 

 in this work, and we are indebted to their researches for a know- 

 ledge of thousands of species. Two of the most successful col- 

 lectors who have followed in their footsteps are Mr. Herbert H. 

 Smith and Mr. William Doherty, both of them Americans; Mr. 

 Smith one of the most enthusiastic and successful explorers in 

 South and Central America, Mr. Doherty the most diligent ex- 

 plorer of the Indo-Malayan Region. The story of the travels and 

 adventures of these two men is a tale full of romantic interest, 

 which, alas! has been by neither of them fully told. 



338 



