THE YOUNG NATUEALIST. 75 



that a supposed new species was only a poor specimen of iV. augur. 

 Twice the writer has been present when an insect Mr. Sang had never seen 

 before was submitted to him to name. The first was a few years ago, when 

 Mr. Eobson showed him an example of Harpetta bracteella. " Where did you 

 get it? was his first remark. "Never saw it before," was his second. " You 

 have the Annual for 1859 ? " " Yes/' The Annual was produced, and the 

 species was found figured on the plate. " Only three others known, two taken 

 at Shotley Bridge, and one in Wales," was the further information, given 

 unhesitatingly. The second case was still more marked, for it was an insect 

 of which he had not seen a British specimen. I had bred a pretty little 

 moth from some fungus gathered to breed beetles from, and as I was passing 

 through Darlington, I took it with me alive, to let him see. The moment 

 he saw it his eager enquiry was — " Where have you got that ? 99 " Bred 

 it." " What from ? " " Fungus, don't you know it ? " " Never saw it 

 in my life before, but there is only one thing it can possibly be, Tinea 

 picarella." And Tinea picarella it was, and pleased indeed was he to 

 receive two or three more specimens I was fortunate enough to breed. 

 With knowledge so full as to name at sight, species he had never seen 

 before, it can readily be understood how valued a companion he was on an 

 excursion, or how useful as a correspondent. Yet with all his knowledge he 

 was so modest and unassuming, that he needed to be asked before he drew 

 upon his exhaustless stores. Nor did he hesitate to impart unpublished 

 facts, even to those who were likely enough to pass them off as their own, 

 Mr. Gregson informs me that Mr. Sang was one who won the grand prize 

 offered many years ago by Mr. Stainton, viz. : a complete set of the 

 " Natural History of the Tineina/' given to those who first discovered and 

 communicated the transformations of twenty species with which he (Mr. 

 Stainton) was unacquainted. Though this was so great a feat to accomplish, 

 and though I have been on terms of great intimacy with Mr. Sang for several 

 years, I never once heard him refer to it, and was indeed unacquainted 

 with the fact till I learnt it from Mr. Gregson since Sang's death. 



Richmond, in Yorkshire, was perhaps his favourite hunting- gound, nor did 

 he hesitate about walking home to Darlington, a distance of 12 miles, after 

 a hard day's collecting. But he collected assiduously wherever he went, 

 and knew the exact place where to look for every species he had ever taken. 

 Castle Eden and Hezledon Denes, and Black Hall Eocks near here, were as 

 familiar to him as to those of us who have better opportunities of exploring 

 them. At home he worked hard, and 1 have heard him say a year had never 

 passed without his adding at least one new species to the Fauna of 

 Darlington. 



