BRITISH BUTTERFLIES 



In most woods that are more or less open to the public 

 it will be noticed that the trees on each side of the 

 rides, and on the edges of the wood, have blackish 

 vertical patches on their trunks. These marks do not 

 indicate that such trees are to fall under the woodman's 

 axe. They are the signs manual of the collecting craft, 

 and result from frequent applications of the saccharine 

 composition which the collector uses to attract those 

 moths that have a partiality for sweets. Although the 

 basis of the mixture is either brown sugar or treacle, 

 or both, reduced to a workable consistency by boiling 

 in beer, there are various recipes for the preparation 

 of the bait. Very often the compound is finished off 

 by the addition of a modicum of rum, and some col- 

 lectors put in a drop or two of the essence of jargonelle 

 pear or ribston pippin. Not infrequently it happens 

 that the moths are not to be tempted by anything in 

 the way of sweets that the collector may prepare. 

 What the meteorological or other conditions should 

 be exactly is not clearly understood, but certain it 

 is that on some evenings, ordinary treacle spread 

 on the tree trunks will allure moths by hundreds, 

 while on another night equably favourable so far as 

 one can judge, not a single moth will put in an 

 appearance, even although the most cunningly con- 

 cocted mixture has been put on. When, however, 

 the moths do attend the feast provided for them, the 



