Chap. XI. 
RARE BEETLE. 
177 
would be paid for their exertions. I had several 
sketches of the rare Damaster blaptoides , which 
had been given me by Mr. Stevens of Bloomsbury 
Street, London. These I distributed amongst 
them, and offered a liberal reward for each speci- 
men of that remarkable insect. In this way we 
soon had hundreds of people of all ages enlisted in 
our service. The country round Yokuhama was 
divided into districts ; each district was visited at 
stated times, and, as we were seen approaching 
in the distance, the fact was telegraphed from 
village to village, and from hill to hill, by the 
clear, ringing voices of the children. The diffi- 
culty, if it ever existed, had been got over, and 
the Japanese proved to be as willing assistants in 
my researches as the Chinese had been. 
While writing upon the subject of Japanese 
insects I take the liberty of quoting a letter pub- 
lished in the ‘Zoologist’ for June, 1860, from my 
friend Dr. Adams, of Her Majesty’s surveying ship 
Actseon on the capture of Damaster blaptoides in 
Japan. 
“ As I am in a good humour, having just fished 
up a new genus of mollusca from a pretty good 
depth, I will tell you at the risk of being tiresome 
all about it, as I am sure Adam White, at least, 
will be interested in the narrative. 
I was walking solitarily — for all hands had gone 
on board to dinner — along the shell-strewn strand 
of Taleu-Sima , a jolly little island, not far from 
the shores of Niphon- walking along in a brown 
