PERONKA CRIST ANA. 11 



originated in the Essex localities, but from the fact that Henry 

 Doubleday lived all his life within a few miles of Hainanlt Forest, 

 and actually within the borders of Epping Forest, and from the 

 general run of the forms in his collection, and the abundance 

 especially of certain aberrations that are now common Epping 

 Forest forms, such as abs. profayiana and suhunicolorana, it seems 

 probable that the majority of the specimens in the series are of 

 Essex origin. 



The series of 223 specimens consists of, so far as I have been 

 able to make out — cristana, type, 17; ahs^chaiitana, 2 ; fuscana, 3; 

 subchantana, 2 ; albipunctana, 1; ochreapunctaiia, 1; alboflammana, 

 6 ; alboriftana, 4 ; nic/ropunctaiia, 2 ; ruficostana, 4 ; xanthovit- 

 tana, 2 ; striana, 17 ; substriana , 2 ; cristalana, 13 ; subcristalana , 

 4 ; fulvovittana, 3 ; subfulvovittana, 1 ; sequana, 4 ; guntjnnana, 4; 

 subcapucina, 2 ; desfontainiana, 21 ; modifications of the last- 

 named form, 2 ; consimiliana, 1 ; semiustana , 17 ; bentleyana, 3 ; 

 brunneana, 8 ; unicolorana, 19 ; subunicolorana, 28 ; pmfanana, 

 and spadiceana, 14. 



Turning now to the forms to be found in Epping Forest at 

 the present time ; from specimens taken by myself in 1915, 

 1916 and 1917 I am able to give the following list. I should 

 say that as the great majority of these examples were taken in 

 1917, I have not kept a list of those .taken in each year separate. 



My specimens, which number 105, are — cristana, type, 3 ; 

 abs. aiibniffrana. Image, 57 ; profanana, 7 ; subunicolorana, 13 ; 

 merlana, 3 ; atrana, 1 ; nigrocostana, 1 ; alboruficostana, 1 ; nigro- 

 jjunctana, 2 ; scpiana, 1 ; striana, 2 : substriana, 2 ; sericana, 1 ; 

 jyroxaiithorittana, 1 ; and a unicolorous form which in the lighter 

 examples runs into ab. profanana, so that one cannot say to 

 which form these belong, and in those which are the darkest 

 the colour is a dull black — of this form there are 10 specimens. 



It will be seen that the most abundant form, ab. subnigrana, 

 accounts for over 54 per cent, of the total : nnd, taking all the 

 forms that show a melanic tendency together, they represent 

 68^ per cent, of the whole. 



I take it that half a century ago, before the advent of 

 melanism at Epping, ab. profanana was much more abundant 

 than is the case now. I cannot perceive any difference in the 

 melanic forms, abs. merlana, atrana and nigrocostana, between 

 those that come from the New Forest and those that originate in 

 Epping Forest. 



In addition to the list of forms taken by myself, I am 

 indebted to the kindness of Prof. Image and Mr. 0. E. Jansen, 

 who unquestionably are better acquainted with the Epping 

 forms than any one else at the present time, for the following 

 list of additional aberrations met with by them — abs. albi- 

 jnmctana, unicolorana, irrostriana, ulotana, spadiceana, cliantana, 

 rufinigrana, semiustana, nigrocristana, subcristalana, and desfon- 

 tainiana. 



