148 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 
expect them, and then only in very small numbers. The greater 
part of May and early June had been very wet and cold, and at 
Vizzavona I was told there had been more rain and snow during 
the early part of the summer than had been known for at least 
ten years. Anold French gentleman who lives at Ajaccio told 
me that the backwardness of plant life generally (he was some- 
thing of a botanist) was phenomenal, and that the excessive cold 
and wet which they had been having had done considerable 
damage to fruit trees and crops; and so of course in the same 
way insects suffered. Hxcept with one or two exceptions butter- 
flies were never plentiful; and even when we went down from 
Vizzavona to Corte, two thousand feet lower, we still found 
the same condition of things prevailing and heard the same 
story: that never had there been such a wet, cold summer. 
Consequently, when we arrived in the island towards the end of 
June many of our first days resulted in seeing very little, and 
we had literally to wait for the butterflies to come out, which 
they chose to do very slowly indeed; and when we had to leave 
on July 17th our “‘ bag” was by no means a large one, though 
I am bound to say we were able to see and obtain good series of 
the majority of the interesting Corsican specialities. Before 
going to Corsica I had spent a few days collecting in the forests 
near Laon, in Northern France. Here on June 19th Dryas 
paphia was emerging and becoming common; in Corsica, 
hundreds of miles further south, I did not see D. paphia until 
July 5th, when at Corte, in the Restonica Gorge, which is very 
warm and sheltered, this species was then only just commencing, 
and was not out at Vizzavona a week later, where most collectors 
have generally found it abundant in the second week of July. 
However, if butterflies were not plentiful, Corsica itself is so 
beautiful and full of interest that one must indeed be without 
resources if one cannot fill up the time in other ways. We found 
the natives charming and always pleasant to talk to; while with 
its splendid mountain scenery every corner is a perfect picture 
for an artist; and of course the flora of Corsica is well known 
for its variety and interest. I had as companion my friend 
Mr. Robert Trapper-Lomax, who, although at starting some- 
what of a novice in matters entomological, soon became an adept 
with the net, and quickly began to talk with the greatest glib- 
ness of “elisa” and ‘‘ hospiton,’ though his great wish to 
secure a specimen of the latter butterfly was never realized. 
Leaving Marseilles at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, we slowly 
steamed out to sea under a cloudless sky, the statue on the 
church of ‘‘ Notre Dame de la Garde” standing up above the 
tower like a figure of living gold, illuminated by the rays 
of the hot afternoon sun. Next morning, however, when we 
arrived at Ajaccio at 5 a.m. a drizzling rain was falling, and the 
hills surrounding one of the most beautiful bays in Kurope were 
