314 



THE "YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



others think it has been an exceedingly 

 good one. The same difference of 

 opinion prevailed earlier in the year as 

 to what the season was going to be. 

 These are but opinions, and if we gave 

 our own it would be worth no more. 

 "What is wanted is the grounds on which 

 these opinions are formed. There is no 

 subject to which we have reverted so 

 persistently as the importance of work- 

 ing naturalists recording in a paper like 

 this the various matters that come under 

 their notice during their collecting 

 expeditions. Eecords of captures have 

 degenerated in most of cases into records 

 of rarities ; and though these are 

 important enough in their way, we are 

 decidedly of opinion that much more 

 could be learnt from a persistent record 

 of the captures of common things. 

 Among the very few general observations 

 we can find in our own pages, or those 

 of other Entomological publications, is 

 one respecting the abundance of the 

 common yellow under wing (Triphana 

 pronubaj. Now no one wants specimens 

 of this abundant insect, but it would be 

 interesting to know why it has been so 

 unusually plentiful during the present 

 year. There must have been a reason, 

 meteorological or otherwise, for its 

 appearance in such unusual numbers. 

 One of our correspondents who delights 

 to find fault, had a complaint the other 

 day that we inserted a long paragraph 

 on the capture of a quantity of white 

 butterflies. He thinks such a record is 

 not worth printing, and complains that 

 more valuable matter was necessarily 

 excluded. But what is more valuable 



matter ? It may be more interesting to 

 one whose collection does not boast of 

 a specimen of some particularly rare 

 insect, to learn that several have been 

 taken, and that there is a chance for 

 him obtaining one at last. But which 

 fact is most important. Why is it that 

 white butterflies have been unusually 

 abundant this year ? Can anyone an- 

 swer the question ? Last year, where 

 the writer resides, they were very seldom 

 seen. Day after day he never met with 

 one in his walk from home to business, 

 while this year he could count them by 

 hundreds in passing over the same 

 ground. A year or two ago it was 

 Cardui and Plusia gamma that attracted 

 attention. A little earlier everyone was 

 taking Colias edusa. We may be mis- 

 taken, but we are of opinion that until 

 we return to the habit of making larger 

 records of our captures, we will never 

 be able to arrive at generalizations on 

 these subjects, or to give reason for 

 tbeir occurrence. The writer found 

 Xylophasia rurea unusually abundant 

 this season, and judging by the number 

 of specimens that have been offered in 

 our paper and elsewhere for exchange, 

 he is of opinion that it has been un- 

 usually abundant in many places, per- 

 haps all over. Why ? 



Perhaps we are repeating ourselves 

 on this subject until our readers are 

 weary of it, but we think it an impor- 

 tant one. We are addressing Young 

 Naturalists more particularly. We want 

 to induce them to make notes as they 

 go along, and to have them printed 

 whenever possible. Some of the pro- 



