118 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [May 



eurynome and arge. There are a few examples of nevadensis 

 and meadii, but the species are not separated. Bulletin ^No. 

 44 of the National Museum, by Prof. Smith, gives the names of 

 the Catocalce in the collection, and few if any additions have 

 been made since its publication. 



Experience taught me that it was useless to try to remember 

 or even to take notes on all that one sees in a great collection ; 

 hence throughout my trip special attention was paid to Argyn- 

 nids and Catocalce. 



It is but a few hours' ride from Washington to Philadelphia, 

 where I soon stood in the presence of the collection of the 

 Philadelphia Academy of Sciences. With less than a week for 

 the purpose it would be useless to attempt to see or speak of 

 the collection as a whole, and besides a glance at a few of the 

 beautiful exotics, and the method of mounting them with 

 glass above and below, so that both surfaces may be seen 

 without removing the specimens, the time was devoted to the 

 two genera mentioned above. Here, as at the I^ational Mu- 

 seum, I soon realized that to see what I most wished to see 

 I must seek private collections. Of especial note were Arg. 

 bischoffi (the vars. saga and arctica), inornata, clio, astarte, bois- 

 duvalli (var. char idea) and alberta. 



Admission to the Academy collection was gained through 

 the courtesy of Dr. Henry Skinner, who then took me to view 

 his private collection of American diurnals. Many types are 

 in this collection, more among the Hesperidfe than elsewhere, 

 I believe ; and it is unnecessary to expand upon the beauties 

 of a collection which is known to contain many rarities in 

 excellent condition. So particular is the doctor that he even 

 objects to a Western collector's raising the hair-lock of a Pam- 

 phila ; he says he even likes to know what color the hair of a 

 new species may be, but we who have seen them alive proba- 

 bly know better than the doctor how '' greasy " a live Pam- 

 phila is and how easily its scalp is removed. 



Among the excellent features of the collection is the long 

 series which one finds of many species and the ease with 

 which similar species may be compared. One may find proof 

 of many of Dr. Skinner's theories by examining the collection 

 with its owner. Good series of the types of Arg. platina and 

 snyderi are here and co-types of others, among them Arg. atossa, 

 which no one could mistake for another species. 



