THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
101 
denote the different authorities. Perhaps 
a scheme of this kind would answer, only 
I am afraid the printing of columns is 
expensive. 
Do you think this could he carried 
out? or would a simple statement of 
who are answerable for each province be 
sufficient? 
Turning to your leading article (and I 
suppose it will not be the last after the 
grand “ Revival’’ which you have created 
in the geographical line), a plan of com- 
bining provinces is suggested, and a very 
good one too, when you wish to condense 
results, but would it not be a pity to lose 
the separate particulars if you can get 
them ? 
I hope you have got the fourth volume 
of Mr. Watson’s ‘ Cybele,’ published this 
year; there is so much information and 
so skilfully arranged. He has adopted a 
longitudinal and latitudinal subdivision 
of the provinces, and I hope you will 
give entomologists an opportunity of 
adopting them too. Might not some- 
thing too be done in ascertaining the 
altitude to which the several species 
attain ? 
Do you think the term “ Area ” is 
properly understood as equal the sum of 
the province, and therefore tantamount 
to “ R,ange”? When so few entomolo- 
gists perhaps have seen the book the 
term cannot be too clearly explained; 
and is it not too soon to try the Geo- 
metry yet? Is there not great risk of 
mistakes and incompleteness, unless you 
try and prevent the pace being such as 
to “ run away with the coach.” 
The more I have thought of it the 
more do I feel convinced that the food- 
plant has but very slight effect upon the 
distribution of insects ; I am sure most 
of the Lepidoptera are far less particular 
in their food than is generally supposed ; 
and though the absence of the proper 
food may, in certain cases, act negatively 
as a check, I do not think there is any 
reason to expect to find the insect as 
widely dispersed as its food-plant (as was 
lately asserted in the ‘ Intelligencer’ by 
one of the contributors). It is climate, 
I believe, on which most stress should be 
laid, and an application of Mr. Watson’s 
plan of the seventh chapter in ‘ Cybele,’ 
vol. iv., would I think bring this out 
clearly, and the very abundance of in- 
sects in the south-east corner of England 
depends, I believe, partly upon the hotter 
and drier summer. 
I am truly glad to see you have given 
such an impulse to this kind of enquiry. 
As you may suppose, my time has been 
almost entirely given to Botany ; I have 
been working hard at a Supplement to 
the ‘Flora Vectensis.’ 
Yours obediently, 
A. G. Moke. 
Bembridge ; Dec, 10. 
OBSERVATIONS ON THE GEOGRAPH- 
ICAL OR GEOLOGICAL RANGE OF 
BUTTERFLIES. 
BY MR. HODGKINSON. 
Perhaps the few remarks I have to 
make, concerning the casual appearance 
or otherwise of what are considered our 
less common species, may be of some little 
use to those who take an interest in the 
known distribution of our butterflies; and 
probably if others would make known 
what they really know respecting species 
that occur or have been taken in their 
respective districts, we might arrive at 
something interesting, but not conclusive. 
What I mean by really knowing is, that 
