Transactions. 59 



crops the previous Autumn. To make up the deficiency 

 large quantities of Continental seed were imported prin- 

 cipally from the countries bordering on the Rhine. This 

 foreign seed was very inferior and badly cleaned, just such as 

 the eggs of Edusa might have been conveyed in. Following 

 up the chain of evidence, it seems very remarkable that the 

 three places where I saw Edusa most abundantly Avere clover 

 fields that had been sown out in the same Spring. I do not 

 think I saw a single specimen in a field of older clover. Of 

 course, iu accepting this theory, we have an interval of 22 

 months to account for, during which C. Edusa, if brought 

 among clover seed in the egg state, must have been going 

 through its further transformations. It is possible a few 

 images may have emerged in Autumn, 1876, but the Butter- 

 fly is so conspicuous that some one must have seen it. Fail- 

 ing that, it might be suggested that the eggs hatched in May 

 or June, 1876, then, owing to the change to a colder climate 

 affecting the development of the larva?, they fed slowly all 

 the summer, turning to pupte in Autumn, and continuing in 

 that state till last June. In this suggestion I do not see 

 anything improbable, but really the question hinges on 

 whether the eggs are tough enough to withstand knocking 

 about in the clover seed without impairing their vitality. If 

 that is so, then we may safely conclude that Edusa is always 

 imported when there is a dearth of home-grown clover seed. 



