January, 1908 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



27 



sound, a faculty unique 

 among moths and butter- 

 flies. 



Mr. Newman confessed 

 that he did not object to 

 feeding the aforemen- 

 tioned breeds so much as 

 obtaining food for the 

 painted lady or c a r d a i 

 species, which is rather 

 particular about having 

 nothing but thistles. As 

 Mr. Newman possesses 

 many thousands of this 

 species, one of his assist- 

 ants has to devote several 

 hours each day to provid- 

 ing fresh food for the lit- 

 tle family. 



Another troublesome 

 breed to feed is the comma 

 butterfly — so called be- 

 cause there is a small white 

 comma on the reverse side 



of each wing — which has a great partiality for nettles. 

 In order to supply his other breeds with food, Mr. New- 

 man has planted his garden and land with a great variety 

 of trees, shrubs and bushes on which the butterflies, when 

 in the caterpillar stage, are placed in order that they may 



The " Comma," Showing the Caterpillar, the Chrysalis, and 

 the Perfect Butterfly 



ting, through which birds 

 find it impossible to break. 

 In addition to the thou- 

 sands of caterpillars to be 

 seen on the trees and 

 bushes, there are thousands 

 of others in the green- 

 house and cages which dot 

 the grounds. It is in these 

 cages that the early stages 

 of breeding take place. 

 Briefly, and without going 

 into too many technical de- 

 tails, it may be stated that 

 the eggs are first hatched 

 and the young larva? 

 reared in small glass- 

 topped boxes, after which 

 the different species are 

 placed in their respective 

 cages, where they remain 

 until sold, or until it be- 

 comes necessary to trans- 

 fer them to a suitable 

 tree for their further development. 



All Mr. Newman's butterflies are British, the most costly 

 among them being the purple emperor, or king of the forest, 

 so named because it is usually to be found flying over the 

 tops of oak trees, and consequently is most difficult to catch. 



Inspecting the Stock in One of the Butterfly Houses 



Mounted Moths and Butterflies Ready for Delivery 



feed as they please. The voracity of the insects is well 

 illustrated by the picture of the lime tree here reproduced, 

 which was stripped in twenty-four hours by lime hawks. Mr. 

 Newman's assistant is also shown picking off the insects one 

 by one in order that they may be transferred to another tree 

 — a tedious task, which must be done if the insects are not 

 to starve. 



When the caterpillars have been placed on a bush or tree, 

 the whole is enveloped in a large gauze bag, not only to 

 prevent escape, but also to guard against the depredations of 

 birds, their mortal foes. Even the gauze, however, is not suf- 

 ficient to prevent attacks, and consequently the whole of the 

 breeding ground has been covered in with wire net- 



A male specimen of this insect is worth about $1.00, and a 

 female $1.25, in England. 



The prices of the ova, larvaa and pupas, which Mr. New- 

 man sells, vary, of course, according to the species. For 

 instance, a dozen of the ova of the drinker, a very common 

 butterfly, can be purchased for about 6 cents, while the same 

 quantity of the comma would cost six times that amount. 

 Then again, a dozen of the larva; of the small tortoise shell 

 cost but 8 cents, while a dozen black grass could not be 

 purchased for much less than $2.00. The pupa? are sold at 

 so much each, the prices ranging from 3 cents for a painted 

 lady, satin moth or scalloped hook tip, to 40 cents for scarce 

 burnished brass. 



