14 THE BOOK OF BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



a camel-hair brush. As the larvae increase in size they 

 must be separated to prevent overcrowding. When the 

 time for pupating is near, the old twigs must be searched 

 to see that there are no chrysalides upon them, for most 

 butterflies, except the genus Pieris, pupate on the stems 

 or on the backs of the leaves of the food-plant, or, in 

 the case of a few butterflies, at their roots. The cages 

 I have just described should be the minimum as 

 regards size, for the more room larvae have, the better 

 they thrive. Larger arid more elaborate ones, in 

 which a greater number of larvae may live together, 

 can be prepared on the same principle ; or very 

 neat and useful cages may be bought very cheaply 

 at the natural history dealers'. 



Note-making. 



When breeding or collecting, let me recommend every- 

 one to keep a note-book, and enter therein with the date 

 everything that seems in the slightest degree worth re- 

 cording. It may not appear of much consequence at the 

 moment, but may perhaps be exactly the link needed to 

 connect two chains of facts at a future date. This at 

 once raises the pursuit of entomology far above a mere 

 hobby; and since insects are to be found practically 

 everywhere, and, though at times useful, more often cause 

 us great inconvenience, if nothing worse, a simple dis- 

 covery in connection with them might perhaps prove of 

 inestimable benefit to the human race. Even if nothing 

 else should result, it is always interesting to be able to refer 

 at odd moments to some records of the past, and, like a 

 soldier, on winter evenings to fight one's battles over again. 



The following scheme, which may be amplified to meet 

 individual requirements, will perhaps be of use to those 

 collectors who keep a note-book, as suggested above : 



