I02 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



THE BRIGGS COLLECTION. 



IT is seldom that such a fine collection of Natural- 

 history objects is dispersed by an auctioneer as 

 that to be sold by Mr. Stevens, at Covent 

 Garden, this autumn, and formed by Mr. Chas. A. 

 Briggs. It consists entirely of British lepidoptera, 

 as its present owner retains his further collections 

 for continued scientific study in other directions. 



The sale will occupy four days and part of a 

 fifth. The dates are October 27th and 28th, 

 November 24th and 25th, and upwards of one 

 hundred lots, consisting of Eurodea, Crambidse, 

 plume moths and duplicates, will be sold on the 

 loth of November. Of course, it is always difficult 

 to estimate in advance the probable amount which 

 such a collection will realize, but we may imagine, 

 when judged by recent sales, it will reach the total 

 of a thousand pounds. The lotting has been most 

 carefully arranged by Mr. Janson, jun., under 

 the supervision of Mr. Briggs himself, and the 

 catalogue will contain a full account of the more 

 important. The first day's sale, October 27th, 

 will commence with lots i to 323, and they will 

 probably attract most attention, for they are 

 of butterflies, with eight lots of the large- 

 copper butterfly {Lycana dispar). There will be 

 another eight lots of this species on each day. 

 The further lots are 348 to 535, containing the 

 Sphinges and Bombyces ; 536 to 557, Pseudo- 

 bombyces ; 558 to 715, Noctuse ; 716 to 901, 

 Geometrce ; 902 to 923, larger Pyrales, with the 

 others mentioned for November loth. 



It will be readily understood that it would not be 

 possible to give anything like a detailed description 

 of such a large collection in these pages, but 

 the following are some of the more remarkable 

 specimens. The blue and copper butterflies, which 

 will be in the first day's sale, will probably attract 

 most visitors on account of the large number and 

 range of the varieties. Among the species are 

 thirty-two large coppers, and twenty-one of the 

 scarce blue Polyommatus semiargus (acis), and twenty 

 lots of Lyccenaphlceas, with many beautiful varieties, 

 and an almost unique collection of varieties of 

 undersides of the blue butterflies. Other butter- 

 flies of exceptional beauty or rarity are fourteen 

 Argynnis Litona, A. niohe, var. evis, captured by 

 Gerrard in the New Forest, and referred to in the 

 "Entomologist" of June, this year. Mr. Briggs 

 obtained this specimen from the Rev. Windsor 

 Hamborough. Very fine varieties of the smaller 

 fritillaries Melitiia aurina {aytemis) and M. athaliu ; 

 also of Argynnis selene and A. euphvosyne, also of 

 A. aglia. There are forty-four specimens of the 

 meadow-brown butterfly (Epinepheh ianira), with 

 the colourless splashes on the wings, so well-known 

 to entomologists. There are also many varieties 

 of Vanessa io, V. atalanta, V. urtica, V. c-albiim, 

 Limenitis sibylla, Melanargia galatea, Epinephele 

 tithomts, E. hyperanthes, Ccenonympha typhon and 

 C. pamphihts, also of Syrickthus malva {alveolus), and 

 many others. 



The hermaphrodite and gynandromorphus speci- 

 mens include the species Gonopteryx rliamni, Euchloe 

 cardamines, Polyommatus bellargus {adonis), P. agon, 

 P. astvavche (agestis), P. icayus {alexis), P. argiolus, 

 and P. corydon. Specimens of the following blue 

 butterflies show exchange of colours on the sexes : 

 P. bellargus and P. cotydon, females, more or less 

 showing male colour ; a female P. bellargus as 

 bright blue as a male, and a male specimen looking 

 dark as a female. Less remarkable, but exception- 

 ally fine specimens of varieties occur in the series 



of Papilio machaon, Pieris brassica, P. rapes, P. napi, 

 Colias edusa, and indeed in nearly every other 

 species. 



There are also many extraordinary forms among 

 the moths, such as a black privit-hawk moth, and 

 some splendid tiger moths. One of these latter is 

 the companion variety of Arctia caia (figured in 

 the "Entomologist," vol. xxi., p. 73), rather 

 better than that which was sold at the late Mr. 

 Vaughan's sale for /15 15s. These were bred by 

 Mr. C. H. Longley. Fine varieties also occur in 

 the series of Spilosoma lubricipeda, S. menthastri, 

 S. uvtlca, and Odonestis potatoria. The burnet 

 moths are simply splendid, and make thirty-four 

 lots. 



Of rare moths, the list would be too long to 

 insert. We may mention, however, a series of 

 fourteen Deiopeta pulchella, six Lasiocampa ilicifoUa 

 from the Standish collection, and a couple of 

 Killarney Notodonta bicolor. 



The collection will be on view at Mr. Stevens' 

 Great Rooms, King Street, Covent Garden, on the 

 days previous to, and on the mornings of, the days 

 of sale. J. T. C. 



THE NEW " FRENA " CAMERA. 



MESSRS. R. & J. BECK, Limited, the manu- 

 facturers of the " Frena " Camera, have 

 been devoting much time to designing a form 

 of this hand-camera which, while not carrying too 

 small a film, should be produced at a cheap price. 

 The present " Memorandum " size " Frena " is the 

 outcome of this work. The same adjustable form 

 of shutter, diaphragms to the lens, the swingback 

 and level, the finders, automatic indicator and all 

 the advantages of the more expensive "Frena" 

 camera have been retained, and the finish and 

 workmanship is equal in every way. 



The " Memorandum " size "Frena" takes pic- 

 tures on films 3^ inches by 2% inches. Forty films 

 are carried in a pack as in the other "Frena" 

 cameras. Although the operation of changing the 

 film is effected as before, by turning the handle 

 round half a revolution and back, the mechanism 

 of the film-changing has been considerably altered. 

 It is a noteworthy fact that forty exposed films 

 may be taken out of the "Frena" and forty new 

 films put in, including wrapping up the exposed 

 and undoing the new packets of films, in less than 

 three minutes. The shutter has different speeds, 

 i, j^, ^, ^ and gVi second, and also time exposures. 

 For instantaneous exposures the set-off knob is 

 pushed in, and for time-exposures the same set-off 

 knob is pulled out, opening the lens, and then 

 pushed in to close the lens. The swingback is 

 obtained by simply tilting uhe holder in which the 

 films are held, untl the bubble of the level in the 

 handle is central, whatever the angle of the camera 

 may be. This corrects the distortion that may be 

 caused by pointing the camera up or down. The 

 lens is then stopped down to correct any loss of 

 definition that may be caused by the top and 

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 cator counts the number of exposures. The 

 " Memorandum " size " Frena " weighs only 2f lbs. 

 loaded with forty films. It measures gj inches by 

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 render it specially suitable for naturalists, cyclists, 

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 and elaborate instructions for working the instru- 

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 camera to our readers. 



