ARBUTUS AND ERICA. 71 



few mistakes when Nature is concerned, had valid 

 reasons for recommending the shade of the Strawberry 

 tree for a midday siesta. 



It seems to me that certain plants, of which the 

 Arbutus is one, have a perception of the picturesque. 

 Mark well the spot where this tree loves to grow, and 

 you will find it has a special charm. Name the most 

 lovely scenery in the British Isles : is it not where 

 the evergreen foliage and the waxen bells of the 

 Arbutus are reflected in the crystal waters of 

 Killarney ? And when you find among the Olive hills 

 some charming nook, and you exclaim, " Angulus ille 

 riclet ! " be sure that the nymph of the Arbutus haunts 

 that unfrequented spot. She is too wild and too high- 

 spirited to be tamely imprisoned by the railings of 

 every suburban villa like a Lilac or a Laburnum or a 

 Hawthorn. It is difficult to transplant an Arbutus : 

 gardeners rarely attempt it on the Eiviera. 



The butterfly, which lives upon the Arbutus, is 

 worthy of the tree. Charaxes Jasius (Fig. 1 12) is one of 

 the largest and handsomest of the European Khopalo- 

 cera. The English name is " Bashi Bazouk " ; the 

 French " Pacha a quatre Queues " is somewhat more 

 appropriate, for it has four tails, two to each of the 

 hind wings, and there is in the gorgeous colouring of 

 the insect something Eastern which might explain the 

 word " Pacha." The underside is even more striking 

 than the upper. This splendid butterfly is much 

 prized by lepidopterists : it is really a north African 

 species, but is taken both on the Riviera and in 

 Andalusia. It is so rare in Nice that you cannot 

 count on catching even a single specimen in the course 

 of the season. Nevertheless, there are years in which 



