26 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



January, 1908 



tion of oxalic acid. Taking the insect between his thumb 

 and forefinger, as shown in one of the photographs, Mr. 

 Newman sticks the point of the pen, which has been pre- 

 viously dipped in the solution, between the two front legs 

 of the insect, as near the head as possible, killing it instantly. 



carrots, while for the butterflies themselves large bunches 

 of flowers, well sprinkled with honey, have to be pro- 

 vided. Should this not be the case, , they would not ob- 

 tain sufficient nourishment. Then again, willow herb and 

 evening primrose is the food of the larvae of the elephant 



A Part of the Farm Showing Shrubs Covered with Gauze to 

 Prevent the Escape of the Insects 



Setting and Mounting 

 Specimens 



It is probable that the average person who tried to do this 

 would pierce the insect several times before killing it. 



It is the live stock, however, which makes Mr. Newman 

 one of the busiest farmers in Great Britain, and often causes 

 him to have to work eighteen hours a day. Each different 

 breed of butterfly requires the special food which it would 

 naturally search for if out of captivity, and it is the provid- 

 ing of this food which causes Mr. Newman so much labor. 

 Neither does the fact that the average butterfly eats twenty- 

 five times its own weight in twenty-four hours make the task 

 any easier. 



The larvae of the swallow tail butterfly, for instance, the 

 biggest British butterfly, thrive only on wild and garden 



hawk, a beautiful pink-colored moth, which Mr. Newman 

 also is obliged to feed sometimes in the manner shown in 

 one of the accompanying illustrations. There he is depicted 

 with a small camel's hair brush, which has been dipped in 

 the saucer — on the edge of which the butterflies are resting 

 — containing honey and water, just about to touch the tongue 

 of one of the insects. 



The death's head moth, so called because it is decorated 

 on its upper side with curious markings, somewhat resembling 

 a skull and crossbones, feeds on the potato. This is the 

 largest of British moths — the specimen shown in the photo- 

 graph measures four and one-half inches across the wings — 

 and has the peculiar power of emitting a strange squeaking 



The Caterpillar and the Moth in 

 Their Native Land 



Larvae Inside a 

 Cage 



A Rare " Black- veined ' 

 Moth 



