﻿came 
  so 
  straightly 
  and 
  directly 
  at 
  the 
  truth, 
  and 
  how 
  Hofmann's 
  

   keenness 
  accurately 
  detected 
  phylogenetic 
  affinities, 
  as 
  it 
  were, 
  by 
  

   instinct. 
  

  

  For 
  ourselves, 
  there 
  is 
  little 
  to 
  be 
  said. 
  Such 
  value 
  as 
  this 
  volume 
  

   presents 
  is 
  particularly 
  due 
  to 
  those 
  two 
  earnest 
  collaborators, 
  who, 
  for 
  

   the 
  past 
  nine 
  or 
  ten 
  years, 
  have 
  patiently 
  worked 
  away 
  at 
  the 
  life- 
  

   histories 
  of 
  such 
  species 
  as 
  have 
  incidentally 
  come 
  to 
  hand. 
  More 
  

   recently, 
  Mr. 
  A. 
  Sich 
  has 
  done 
  good 
  service 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  direction, 
  

   whilst 
  it 
  is 
  also 
  to 
  his 
  further 
  kindness, 
  and 
  that 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Stanley 
  

   Edwards, 
  that 
  the 
  work 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  published 
  by 
  foreign 
  lepidop- 
  

   terists 
  has 
  been 
  made 
  much 
  more 
  directly 
  and 
  easily 
  accessible. 
  Mr. 
  

   E. 
  Bankes 
  and 
  Mr. 
  J. 
  Ovenden 
  have 
  done 
  splendid 
  service 
  in 
  collecting 
  

   material 
  in 
  the 
  field, 
  and 
  the 
  former 
  has, 
  in 
  addition, 
  most 
  carefully 
  and 
  

   conscientiously 
  read 
  proofs, 
  and 
  attempted 
  to 
  keep 
  us 
  in 
  the 
  right 
  path, 
  

   where 
  stumbling 
  was 
  easy, 
  during 
  the 
  course 
  of 
  the 
  work 
  through 
  

   press, 
  indicating 
  and 
  clearing 
  up 
  many 
  doubtful 
  points 
  where 
  our 
  

   own 
  information 
  was 
  at 
  fault. 
  To 
  Mr. 
  Gillmer 
  we 
  owe 
  our 
  "distribu- 
  

   tion 
  lists" 
  for 
  Germany 
  and 
  Austria, 
  and 
  which, 
  pace 
  our 
  critics, 
  we 
  

   still 
  believe 
  have 
  an 
  important 
  duty 
  to 
  perform. 
  Our 
  ignorance 
  of 
  the 
  

   distribution 
  of 
  almost 
  all 
  the 
  species 
  dealt 
  with, 
  even 
  in 
  Britain, 
  is 
  

   amazing, 
  and 
  one 
  can 
  only 
  say 
  that, 
  on 
  the 
  continent, 
  it 
  is 
  still, 
  as 
  a 
  

   rule, 
  much 
  worse. 
  In 
  France, 
  Spain, 
  Italy, 
  Russia, 
  and 
  the 
  south- 
  

   eastern 
  corner 
  of 
  Europe, 
  one 
  can 
  safely 
  assert 
  that 
  nothing 
  really 
  is 
  

   known 
  of 
  the 
  distribution 
  of 
  the 
  Alucitids. 
  It 
  is 
  true 
  that 
  here 
  

   and 
  there 
  limited 
  lists 
  of 
  species 
  are 
  recorded 
  as 
  occurring 
  in 
  certain 
  

   restricted 
  districts 
  of 
  France 
  and 
  Italy, 
  and 
  that 
  Nolcken 
  has 
  noted 
  

   those 
  of 
  the 
  Baltic 
  provinces, 
  but 
  no 
  approximately 
  complete 
  details 
  

   are 
  available 
  for 
  any 
  of 
  these 
  countries. 
  Chapman 
  has 
  discovered 
  

   Capperia 
  heterodactyla 
  and 
  many 
  other 
  hitherto 
  unrecorded 
  species 
  

   in 
  Spain, 
  we 
  have 
  ourselves 
  found 
  many 
  species, 
  including 
  C. 
  distans, 
  

   etc., 
  in 
  southern 
  France, 
  and 
  Zeller 
  found 
  an 
  excellent 
  "plume" 
  fauna 
  

   in 
  limited 
  parts 
  of 
  Italy, 
  but 
  we 
  want 
  someone 
  now 
  to 
  do 
  for 
  France, 
  

   Spain, 
  Italy, 
  Austria, 
  Russia, 
  and 
  the 
  various 
  countries 
  of 
  the 
  Balkan 
  

   peninsula, 
  what 
  Frey 
  long 
  since 
  did 
  for 
  Switzerland, 
  Wallengren 
  for 
  

   Scandinavia, 
  Crombrugghe 
  de 
  Picquendaele 
  for 
  Belgium, 
  Snellen 
  for 
  

   the 
  Netherlands, 
  etc., 
  though 
  the 
  lists 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  and 
  last 
  of 
  these 
  

   might 
  now 
  well 
  be 
  brought 
  up 
  to 
  date. 
  On 
  the 
  whole, 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  

   said 
  that 
  we 
  have 
  a 
  fair 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  " 
  plumes 
  " 
  of 
  central 
  

   and 
  north-western 
  Europe, 
  but 
  the 
  south-western, 
  southern, 
  and 
  

   eastern 
  districts 
  of 
  the 
  continent 
  still 
  remain 
  largely 
  an 
  "unknown 
  " 
  

   land, 
  that 
  cannot 
  be 
  well, 
  or 
  at 
  all 
  completely, 
  worked 
  by 
  those 
  

   English 
  and 
  German 
  "trippers" 
  who, 
  like 
  ourselves, 
  spend 
  a 
  day 
  

   or 
  two 
  here 
  and 
  there, 
  in 
  the 
  short 
  summer 
  holidays, 
  enjoying 
  the 
  

   beauties 
  and 
  picking 
  up 
  the 
  treasures, 
  that 
  only 
  a 
  native 
  lepidopterist 
  

   can 
  collect 
  satisfactorily, 
  successfully, 
  and 
  really 
  well. 
  But 
  even 
  the 
  

   "trippers" 
  do 
  not 
  help 
  all 
  they 
  might, 
  for 
  many, 
  even 
  now, 
  do 
  not 
  add 
  

   "plumes" 
  to 
  the 
  "larger 
  fry" 
  they 
  so 
  diligently 
  bring 
  together 
  in 
  

   their 
  summer 
  " 
  bag." 
  

  

  This 
  volumo 
  contains 
  only 
  the 
  Platyptiliid 
  branch 
  of 
  the 
  "plumes/' 
  

   so 
  that 
  our 
  account 
  of 
  the 
  Alucitid 
  branch 
  of 
  the 
  " 
  plume 
  " 
  phylum 
  

   still 
  remains 
  unpublished. 
  We 
  have 
  a, 
  large 
  amount 
  of 
  material 
  that, 
  

   with 
  our 
  limited 
  leisure, 
  will 
  take 
  some 
  considerable 
  time 
  to 
  arrange, 
  

   work 
  up, 
  and 
  see 
  through 
  the 
  press. 
  In 
  the 
  meantime, 
  we 
  should 
  be 
  

  

  