46 



Since then, he had had the opportunity of examining many foreign 

 and tropical blues, and in each case, even when the female assimilated 

 closely in colour to the male, only on the male, and invariably on the 

 upper surface and in rows beneath the ordinary scales, had he found 

 battledores. As might be expected, these battledores differed in size 

 and shape— the blade was longer or broader in some than others 

 relatively, the top was more or less rounded or squared, while the 

 length of the handle or pedicle varied in length, so that, when two 

 species of blues resembled each other very closely in their markings, 

 the shape and size of the battledore might be used as a ready means 

 of settling species. There were species among the Lycasnidje in which 

 neither males nor females were "blue" or "bluish" in colour, and, 

 curiously, among these no single example of male with " battledores " 

 had been found. Mr. Watson, who was working on "plumules "at 

 the same time he wa5 carrying out his investigations, had had 

 opportunities of examining some hundreds of species of " blues " and 

 " brown " among the Lycaenidae, and had never met with " battledores " 

 on any but the " blue " proper. 



He would turn next to another characteristic scale, the " tasseled," 

 described in the " Micrographic Dictionary" under the head of Pontia, 

 p. 571, thus — " The form and structure of certain scales existing upon 

 the under side of the male is curious." Here, too, as he should show, 

 the writer had made a slight mistake, instead of under they should 

 read upper, for it was there, and there only, they would find scales 

 similar to those figured in the " Micrographic Dictionar)'." As might 

 be supposed, having got an inkling from the " blues," respecting the 

 situation of " battledores," he was not long before he searched the 

 whites. The first to come under examination were the " large " and 

 " small " cabbage white Pontia, or rather now Pieris brassicce, and 

 P. rcipa, both of which gave on the upper side the characteristic 

 scales called " tasseled," or, as some preferred, " plumules." These 

 scales differed essentially from the " battledores " in shape, ornamenta- 

 tion, markings, and pedicle ; some were long and very slender through- 

 out, and gradually tapering to a point, others seemed cut short, while 

 others comparatively broad at the basal end, suddenly narrowed and 

 terminated either as though cut short or fined off to a slender point ; 

 all, whatever were their comparative breadth and length had a cup-like 

 or ball-and-socket termination to the pedicle. At the apex of each 

 scale was a tasseled fringe of great beauty, from which circumstance 



