1880 .] 
149 
level peat bog, Ccenonympha Davus was to be seen, its tawny wings 
harmonizing with the quiet tone of the surroundings. At an elevation 
of about 1000 feet, on either side of a picturesque burn which was 
shut in on both sides by rocky banks, we found Erebia Cassiope , at 
first sparingly, but as we advanced a little higher it increased in 
numbers, and at 2000 feet was abundant. It was seen in greatest 
numbers in the ravines formed by those small mountain rills where 
tufty grass grew, but was to be seen also flying over, alighting on, and 
at rest (when out of the sun) on the heather. During the afternoon 
and while the sun was bright they were very active on the wing, and 
sometimes took pretty long flights, but always flew low, seldom rising 
more than four feet above the ground, and when a slight passing cloud 
overcast the sun for a few minutes, they did as Erebia Blandina so 
often does under the same conditions — dropped in among the grass 
and lay with folded wings close to the roots, looking like old withered 
leaves. There was one sheltered place beside a small waterfall where 
mountain thyme and a little yellow starlike flower grew in abundance, 
and it was charming to see them resting on the flowers with expanded 
wings, the dark red spots looking brighter in the sunshine than they 
do in the cabinet. At a height of about 1000 feet Larentia ccesiata 
ceased to appear, and was succeeded by JKixodia Schulziana , Scopula 
alpinalis, Amphisa Gerningana , and Tortrix viburnana , all these on 
this hill ascending to 2000 ft. A little above this altitude the dense 
cloud which had overshadowed us in the morning, still shrouded the 
hill top, and rendered the air too chill and damp for butterflies and 
moths. And a strange experience it was to be so near this thick mist ; 
while standing in the sunshine about 100 feet below it, the distance 
so clear that the blue peaks of far-away Jura and Mull were visible. 
An occasional drift of chill misty air blowing past, warned us that it 
was unwise to remain so near the cloud, and getting over the shoulder 
of the mountain we began to descend the southern slope, keeping in 
the gorge of a water course. A little below 2000 feet Erebia Cassiope 
again appeared, in some sheltered spots, literally swarming, and alto- 
gether in fresher condition than those on the north side of the mountain. 
It was pretty early when we started in the morning, but I was so 
charmed with the sight of this pretty Alpine butterfly, that I lingered 
among them until the sun went down behind a higher mountain, and 
then the Cassiope betook themselves to their night’s quarters. A very 
few simply closed their wings, and hung like little withered leaves 
from grasses, but the majority dropped in among the heather and 
clung to the stems a little above the ground with their wings drooping 
downwards. 
18, Moray Place, Edinburgh : 
October 15 th, 1880. 
