404 MR. A. G. BUTLER ON [May 4, 



and parallel to the bank : in these were a few living plants more or 

 less green. In these nullahs 1 found no. 26 Butterfly, also nos. 8 

 and 23, where the food-plants of the larvae were common. Not a 

 single shower of rain fell from the beginning of April till the 20th 

 December. The lucerne is grown in the young plantations of fruit- 

 trees, and is watered from small canals which traverse the whole 

 cultivated portion of the country." In a letter (dated J 5th January) 

 he adds : — " It is not curious that I have got so few specimens, the 

 reason being that my hunting-grounds were extremely limited. 

 There is every reason to believe we shall go towards Ghuznee this 

 summer, and probably start about the end of February or beginning 

 of March ; and I expect that will be a far better part of the country 

 than this, there being no forest or even scrub jungle of any kind 

 here, the only trees being fruit-trees, with a very few exceptions. 

 The war appears only just to be commencing ; so I cannot form an 

 idea when I shall get out of the country : the worst of it is, it is not 

 safe to go even a few yards from quarters without being well armed, 

 and to go any distance at ail, even a few miles, is very unsafe without 

 an escort ; so that there is not much pleasure in being in a country 

 like this." " I collected very few eggs here- — only those of the common 

 and Red-backed Shrike, a small Dove which built its nest on the 

 rocks, a crested Lark (extremely abundant), a ' chikor' (a red-legged 

 Hill-partridge), and one or two others ; I am afraid I shall have even 

 a worse opportunity this year of finding any. I can do nothing 

 where I am at present : I gave up collecting Butterflies last year 

 earlier than I should have wished to, owing to cholera breaking out 

 here rather severely, as the sick were put in the places I was in the 

 habit of frequenting. I visited the hills close by ; but after 1st of July 

 they were so dried up that only a few common butterflies were to be 

 found ; moths I caught very few of, owing to being unable to go out- 

 side the walls after dusk, and there being no flowers of any kind 

 near to attract them." 



" I don't think I ever mentioned to you that there was a silkworm 

 common at Jutogh on mulberry. It was very like the common silk- 

 worm so well known in England (-S. mori) ; but (I am sorry to say I 

 made no description of it at the time) it was light brown, and had a 

 good many long fleshy projections over the body (some perhaps a 

 quarter of an inch long). The silk was very like that of the common 

 one, a beautiful golden colour, and quite as good, if not better. There 

 was no difficulty whatever in winding off the silk ; and it was extremely 

 strong. In 1876 it was common and double-brooded ; but in 1878 I 

 only observed one brood. In 1877 I was in Cashmir, where, in a 

 mulberry orchard, I found one crawling up my tent." 



In a subsequent letter Major Roberts forwarded careful sketches 

 of the larvse of some of the species obtained by him, of which he had 

 already forwarded descriptions, together with notes on habits, date 

 of capture, and, so far as he could ascertain, the distribution of the 

 iixsects obtained by him, all which information I have incorporated 

 in the present paper. 



