WICKEN FEN: ITS CONSERVATION FOR ENTOMOLOGY. 187 
of the double-brooded var. rutilus live in the marshlands 
of Bordeaux. 
In a paper published by me in the ‘ Entomologist’ (vol. xliv. 
pp. 385-389) I gave a very short account of this species in the 
Gironde. The fen round Bordeaux is as restricted as at Wicken, 
and much more accessible ; but so long as fen it remains, so long 
will var. rutilus remain there, judging by the quantity of this 
lovely Chrysophanid I saw on the wing the first week of August, 
1911. What struck me at once was the favourable nature of the 
terrain for the food-plant. The vegetation of the ditches where 
I found belated larve was not too rank to strangle it; the banks 
of the little river where the butterfly was commonest were 
comparatively clear of over-growths, and the hydrolapathum 
flourished amazingly. If, then, we are to resuscitate the Large 
Copper in Wicken, whether from French, Hungarian, or German 
stock, it will be necessary to *‘ garden ”’ the ditches and their banks 
to this extent, and, further, | suggest that this treatment would 
encourage rather than quench the fertility of the Wicken 
specialities affecting other pabulum than reeds. Acclimatisation 
and the colonisation of species does not figure in the propaganda 
of the National Trust and the Society for Nature Reserves, but 
permission to use their property for such experiments would 
no doubt be readily conceded. Papilio machaon apparently 
requires no artificial stimulus. But here once more I would 
suggest that, if dealers are warned off altogether, amateurs also 
should be cautioned and asked to give the captured wasted 
females their liberty. Notices to that effect might be posted with 
other rules and regulations in conspicuous places at the entrance, 
and in the village of Wicken itself where collectors usually stay 
during the season. Especially are such precautions advisable so 
long as the whole of the collecting fen is not under the control of 
the Trust. Finally, I venture to appeal to the several fen 
proprietors whose lands are not for sale to give our keeper 
Jurisdiction over them in their absence. Of these plots there are 
not many. One at least is well-defined and segregated from the 
rest of the fen by broad and well-kept waterways ; for the others, 
I would urge upon their owners the benefit to be derived by 
allowing the Trust, through its servants, to supervise and prevent 
trespassers ransacking their natural treasures. A small annual 
contribution to the Wicken Fund would secure this, and at the 
same time the arrangement would materially assist the none too 
easy task of the Trust as entomological conservators of one of 
the most valuable, if not the most extensive, Nature Reserves 
in England. 
Harrow Weald: June, 1914. 
& 
bo 
