NOTES AND OBSBBVATIONS. 287 



when lie sees it, and it will be to him the more lovely when he has 

 obtained it by his own exertions. Is it not then somewhat ungracious 

 to discourage those whose only object is to obtain a more intimate 

 knowledge of the external appearance of the wonders of creation, 

 though they may not apply that knowledge to the deducing of general 

 laws ? As though one should say that a man ought not to form a 

 collection of pictures, unless he can work out from them the true 

 principles of painting ; or to pick up shells on the shore, unless he 

 can so clear up some problem in conchology. But even a " mere 

 collector" may have his use, for may not his collection, properly 

 labelled, form part of the basis on which the scientific superstructure 

 may be raised by others? I make these few remarks in the hope that 

 someone more competent than myself, perhaps the Editor in person, 

 may say a word on behalf of the ordinary collector, which with some 

 shamefacedness I must avow myself to be, and tell us whether he is 

 indeed to be put down with scorn and derision, or may, as I hope, still 

 have a brotherly hand extended to him by those of greater attainments, 

 but perhaps of no greater love for entomology. — Kev. W. Claxton ; 

 Woolston, Southampton, August 4th, 1896. [As an entomologist is 

 one who studies the habits, &c., of insects, and as a collector of insects, 

 in order to obtain species, studies their habits and life-histories, it 

 follows that a collector can justly claim to be an entomologist. Ento- 

 mologists may be roughly divided into two classes — (a) the practical, 

 (6) the scientific. Speaking in a general way, class a, which, by-the- 

 bye, is far the largest, is to a very great extent quite independent of 

 class b; whilst students in the latter class are often indebted for 

 material to those who labour in the former. There is, however, no 

 hard and fast boundary-line between the two classes ; very many 

 expert practical entomologists in this country are distinctly scientific 

 in their work, and several eminent scientific entomologists are adepts 

 at field work. As this subject has been brought forward, it is to be 

 hoped that our readers will favour us with their views thereon. — Ed.] 



Note on Polia xanthomista var. nigrocincta. — Is it- usual for a 

 portion of the ova of P. nigrocincta to hatch out in the autumn, and 

 the rest remain over until the following spring ? I have now been 

 collecting many nigrocincta larvae each season for more than twenty 

 years. At the beginning of June, 1895, 1 took a fair quantity, full-fed, 

 but was obliged to go away at the latter end of August for ten days. 

 On my return, I found many of the moths had emerged, and spoiled 

 themselves of course. Not thinking anything about ova until the end 

 of November when I came to clear out the large flower-pot they had 

 been in, I found to my astonishment, on the cloth covering the top of 

 the pot, a quantity of eggs, a great portion of which had hatched, and 

 the larvas had disappeared. The rest I took great care of, and in the 

 spring following the larvae hatched out. — John Thorpe ; Cheapside, 

 Middleton, near Manchester, July 16th, 1896. 



