cover them renders the specimen worthless. I cannot impress this point too 

 strongly. Mercilessly reject every worn, battered, or imperfect specimen from 

 your catch. Even the specimens which you send for identification should be 

 perfect. When I, or any one else, name your specimens the only payment we 

 ask is that we retain them. Of course, if you have but one imperfect specimen 

 of a given species, send it along and it will be named if possible. If you have 

 rare species, and only one of a kind, they will be returned upon request. As 

 a rule, however, you number each specimen sent and retain a duplicate specimen 

 which bears the same number. Do not send male and female under one 

 number, but assign to each insect a different number. 



MARKETING SPECIMENS. 



Many correspondents ask me as their very first question, for a list of those 

 who will purchase their lepidoptera. It may be the writer never caught a 

 single specimen properly, never owned a net or cyanide bottle, never saw the 

 egg of a moth or butterfly, nor an entomological pin, and does not know the 

 most elementary principle of entomology, but wants the name of some one to 

 whom he can sell his butterflies and wants to know what will be paid. These 

 questions cannot be answered by myself or anyone else, until it is known 

 what insects fly in your locality, and what you can offer in presentable shape. 

 The first reply of a dealer to whom you write is: "Send me your lists." You 

 must first learn to take or breed perfect specimens and when some one has 

 named them, prepare lists of what you can offer. Some dealers want one thing 

 and some another. Sometimes one can sell at a flat rate the lepidoptera of a 

 particular locality, but the purchaser must know something of the collector's 

 ability and honesty, and must know much of the species found in that locality, 

 before closing such a contract. 



THE SELLING PRICE OF LEPIDOPTERA. 



The average person who learns for the first time that butterflies and moths 

 can be sold, very naturally concludes that they all have the same price. Very 

 frequently I have received a box full of worn and worthless material, perhaps 

 thrown in together without any attempt at papering or pinning, and the accom- 

 panying letter asks me to send the money for the flies. You can imagine the 

 predicament in which I am placed. 



Ward's Natural Science Establishment, 84-102 College Ave., Rochester, 

 N. Y., issue a price list of Lepidoptera, for which they charge 25 cents, de- 

 ducting this, however, from the first order which you send them for supplies. 

 It gives the price which they ask for almost every species of butterfly and moth 

 in North, Central and South America. It is very valuable to the beeinner 

 for it at least shows the price which is charged for each specimen. Those 

 who wish to sell Lepidoptera can usually receive offers from this company 

 providing they know the names of the specimens which they can offer for sale 

 in perfect condition. 



As a matter of fact, each collector places a price upon the material he 

 has to offer to purchasers, and these prices differ greatly, and so affect the 

 market. This renders it difficult to fix a definite value upon a given specimen. 



LISTS OF LIPIDOPTERA. 



I have on hand the entire output of my farm; and all that I have collected 

 this year, amounting to about 20,000 perfect specimens. During the long 

 Truckee winter this material will be sorted, named, listed and offered to 

 dealers. Those who purchase in large quantities the butterflies which are in 



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