May  15,  1902. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
429 
Some  Flower-like  Butterflies, 
Just  about  this  time  a  stroller  in  some  wood  or  plantation 
may  chance  to  witness  a  rather  singular  sight.  His  attention 
is  drawn  to  a  man  upon  his  knees,  who  is  very  carefully 
examining  low  plants,  and  who  either  keeps  on  getting  up 
and  down,  or  crawls  from  one  clump  to  another.  Something 
he  is  seeking  for,  probably  hybernated  caterpillars,  which, 
after  a  fast,  have  keen  appetites  for  the  young  leaves  of 
April.  There  are  a  variety  of  species  to  be  found  in  woods 
and  elsewhere  ;  but  many  entomologists  hunt  at  the  spring 
season  for  Fritillary  caterpillars,  which  feed  upon  several 
low  plants,  especially  upon  the  species  of  Violet.  Such  a 
search  is  back-tiring  work,  with  possibilities  of  rheumatism  ; 
’tis  apt  also  to  be  disappointing,  since  Newman  cheerily 
remarks  that  hundreds  of  plants  may  be  examined  and  not 
one  caterpillar  be  taken.  Owing  to  their  mode  of  growth, 
the  food-plants  cannot  be  swept  with  a  net.  Then,  again, 
some  of  these  caterpillars  have  an  artful  plan  of  occasionally 
leaving  the  food-plant  to  repose  elsewhere  for  awhile.  Also, 
any  noise  may  make  them  drop  to  the  earth. 
The  Fritillary  butterflies  form  a  very  distinct  group,  of 
which  there  are  representatives  in  all  parts  of  our  globe,  and 
we  in  Britain  are  fairly  well  off,  considering  that  we  are 
somewhat  scant  of  butterflies.  Upon  the  upper  wings  there 
is  generally  a  curious  pattern,  of  varied  colour,  having  so 
marked  a  resemblance  to  the  adornment  of  the  Fritillary 
Lily  that  it  suggested  the  popular  name.  Upon  the  under 
side  many  species  display  brilliant  silvery  spots,  large  or 
small.  We  cannot  call  them  garden  insects,  a  few  species 
occur  upon  downs  or  heaths  ;  but  the  majority  have  their 
home  amongst  the  woods  and  forests.  Stragglers,  attracted 
by  flowers,  do  sometimes  visit  a  garden  near  their  haunt. 
Very  likely  they  would  be  commoner,  only  the  hybernating 
habit  of  the  caterpillars  doubtless  leads  to  the  death  of  a 
ortion  during  unfavourable  winters.  Also,  since  naturalists 
ave  taken  to  hunt  these  butterflies,  the  peculiarity  of 
several  species  in  having  an  assembling  ground  or 
“  metropolis  ”  has  led  to  their  wholesale  slaughter  when 
the  spot  is  discovered. 
It  is  amusing  to  find  the  late  J.  G.  Wood  swelling  the 
catalogue  of  our  garden  foes  by  mentioning  the  caterpillar 
of  one  Fritillary  as  a  possible  enemy  to  Heartseases  and 
Violets,  therefore  to  be  destroyed  when  seen.  He  describes 
it  as  being  reddish  while  juvenile  ;  aftrwards  becoming  olive 
green,  with  a  white  line  and  white  spot.  We  have  never 
heard  of  anyone  who  saw  a  specimen  in  a  garden,  though 
it  is  not  an  impossible  occurrence.  Like  the  rest  of  the  tribe, 
it  is  shy  of  exhibiting  itself,  as  caterpillar ;  and,  in  the 
butterfly  state,  it  is  wary,  the  capture  requiring  a  skilled 
arm  and  a  swift  foot.  This  insect  is  partial  to  woods  ;  but 
also  frequents  verdant  hillsides,  flying  mostly  in  August,  and 
is  called  the  high-brown  Fritillary,  Argynnis  adippe,  being 
one  of  our  three  large  species.  On  the  upper  side  it  is  of  a 
beautifully  bright  brown,  chequered  with  black  spots, 
beneath  it  is  a  duller  brown  ;  but  this  is  a  contrast  to  the 
numerous  silvery  spots  and  small  crescents  which  light  up 
the  under  wings,  almost  excelling  the  kindred  species,  A. 
aglaia.  It  is  a  southern  butterfly,  rare  in  the  northern 
counties,  unknown  in  Scotland  or  Ireland. 
A.  aglaia  is  another  rapid  flyer,  preferring  downs  and 
sand-hills  near  the  coast ,  but  sometimes  resorts  to  woods. 
It  has  been  taken  in  Cobham  Park  and  Darenth  Wood,  Kent. 
Females  of  the  species  have  often  a  greenish  tint,  hence 
the  name  of  dark  green  Fritillary.  Both  sexes  have  a  black 
patch  at  the  base  of  the  wings,  distinguishing  them  from 
the  preceding  species.  Though  the  caterpillar  has  been 
taken  on  the  Dog  Violet,  it  probably  feeds  on  other  plants. 
A  full-sized  one  is  a  handsome  object,  the  skin  bluish  black, 
haying  a  few  grey  lines,  a  shining  black  head,  over  which 
spines  project  like  horns.  Its  whole  body  is  densely  spiny, 
these  being  thrown  off  when  it  becomes  a  chrysalis. 
The  commonest  of  the  three  large  Fritillaries  is  the  silver- 
washed,  or  A.  paphia,  though  scarcer  of  late  years,  owing  to 
the  clearance  of  our  woods  and  the  persistence  of  collectors. 
Now  and  then  specimens  are  attracted  by  garden  flowers  to 
take  an  excursion  from  the  parks  or  woods  where  they  have 
been  bred,  affording  a  pleasant  sight  on  a  sunny  July  day. 
In  this  species  we  have  the  usual  pattern  upon  the  upper 
wings,  but  beneath  is  a  show,  not  of  spots,  but  silvery 
streaks.  It  is  a  good  fl.yer,  the  season  only  lasting  two  or 
three  weeks  at  most.  The  caterpillar  feeds  upon  Violets. 
It  has  said  also  to  have  occurred  upon  creeping  Brambles. 
A  friend  of  ours,  riding  one  day  through  an  extensive  park 
in  the  west  of  England,  saw  all  these  large  Fritillaries  out 
at  the  same  time,  but  keeping  apart  from  the  other  two. 
Each,  he  observed,  had  a  speciality  in  its  flight,  and  he 
fancied  they  chose  a  position  for  themselves  regulated  by 
the  trees  which  were  growing  in  the  different  plantations  he 
passed. 
Then,  earlier  in  the  season,  smaller  Fritillaries,  similarly 
chequered,  are  on  the  wing.  Two  species  in  particular  we 
regard  as  pioneers  of  summer.  They  seldom  quit  the  woods, 
and  in  them  often  occur  only  within  a  limited  space — all 
the  worse  for  them  when  hunted  by  entomologists.  These 
are  the  pearl-bordered  and  lesser  pearl-bordered  Fritillaries, 
A.  euphrosyne  and  selene.  The  first  of  these  used  to  be  not 
unfrequent  near  London  •,  the  latter  has  of  late  been  scarcer 
in  most  places — it  has  most  silvery  spots.  Most  rare,  yet 
truly  a  native,  is  the  Queen  of  Spain,  A.  lathonia,  a  capture 
of  one  being  indeed  a  record  event  to  an  entomologist.  This 
has  generally  been  observed  as  late  as  September.  On  the 
Continent  there  are  two  yearly  broods,  where  it  is  more 
frequent. 
Then  there  are  the  Melitseas,  small  Fritillaries,  similarly 
marked  on  the  upper  side,  but  no  silvery  spots  beneath,  only 
delicate  tracings,  pleasing  to  the  eye.  They  are  gregarious, 
both  in  the  caterpillar  and  butterfly  state.  One  of  these  is 
particularly  attached  to  pasture  land.  M.  artemis,  drolly 
named,  for  it  is  by  no  means  a  rapid  flyer ;  noi’,  indeed,  are 
any  of  them.  They  have  the  peculiarity  of  appearing  by 
thousands  one  year,  and  the  next  being  scarce,  or  altogether 
absent. — Entomologist. 
•  • - 
Broccoli  Growing  in  Cornwall. 
Professor  Clarke,  principal  of  Cornwall  Technical  Schools, 
recently  lectured  at  Marazion  on  “  Broccoli  Growing.”  Mr.  R. 
Trndgeon,  who  presided,  said  foreign  Broccoli  sold  better  than 
Cornish  when  placed  side  by  side  in  the  open  market,  and  if 
Dr.  Clarke  could  tell  what  to  do  to  improve  their  position 
everyone  present  would  be  highly  pleased.  Dr.  Clarke  said  the 
foreigners  method  differed  from  that  adopted  in  Cornwall,  and 
he  felt  certain  that  unless  Cornishmen  adopted  the  special  method 
followed  abroad  they  could  not  successfully  compete  with  the 
foreigner.  Broccoli  came  from  the  wild  Cabbage  plant,  the  most 
extraordinary  plant  in  the  world,  and  was  a  malformation  or 
deformity.  Broccoli  being  therefore  more  or  less  unnatural,  it 
must  be  kept  in  an  unnatural  condition,  and  that  was  done  by 
feeding  the  plant  with  suitable  manures.  Nitrate  of  soda, 
sulphate  of  ammonia,  seaweed,  farmyard  manure,  and  good  guano 
contained  nitrogen,  which  was  a  manure  of  growth.  The  plants 
manufactured  all  they  needed  in  their  leaves.  Their  roots  took 
up  the  raw  material  from  the  ground,  and  the  flower  was  manu¬ 
factured  by  the  leaves  of  the  Broccoli  plant,  and  in  its  manu¬ 
facture  nitrogen  was  necessary.  Something  was  wanted  to  carry 
the  nitrogen  from  the  leaves  to  the  heart  of  the  Broccoli  plant, 
and  ijhosphate  was  that  carrier.  The  third  substance  required 
was  potash,  and  its  special  work  was  to  see  that  the  young  plants 
were  well  made,  as  young  plants  required  more  potash  than  old 
ones.  He  had  seen  abroad  first  rate  and  second  rate  Broccoli 
growing,  but  while  second  rate  Broccoli  was  not  sent  to  England, 
the  foreigner  took  great  care  never  to  send  anything  but  second 
rate  seed. 
The  selection  of  seed  was  a  very  important  matter.  From 
samples  he  had  examined  he  found  great  contrast  in  their  com¬ 
position.  Some  very  fine  looking  seed  contained  but  very  little 
potash.  The  best  Italian  seed  contained  nearly  60  per  cent, 
more  potash  than  any  English  seed.  The  soil  intended  for  making 
seed  beds  was  selected  at  least  from  six  to  eight  months  before¬ 
hand.  They  choose  a  nice  light  working  loam,  which  contained  a 
fair  amount  of  lime— not  lime  added  in  its  raw  state,  but  added 
to  it  in  some  natural  form,  such  as  shell  sand.  The  soil  was  mixed 
with  superphosphate  of  lime  and  wood  ashes  made  from  the 
clippings  of  hedges,  trees,  and  Vines.  Twenty-four  pounds  of 
superphosphate  of  lime  was  mixed  with  451b  of  ash,  and  the 
mixture,  after  being  carefully  turned  for  two  or  three  weeks,  was 
then  mixed  with  a  ton  of  the  soil,  special  care  being  taken  to 
make  it  is  perfect  as  possible.  The  Broccoli  seed  was  then  sown. 
Italy,  France,  and  Germany  all  aimed  at  getting  plenty  of  phos¬ 
phate  into  the  plants  at  the  earliest  stages  of  existence,  and  this 
country  was  the  only  place  in  Europe  where  that  practice  was 
not  uniformly  adopted.  In  France  they  also  carefully  watered 
the  Broccoli  intended  for  seed  with  phosphate  of  potash,  which 
costs  about  £18  per  ton.  Though  little  known  in  England,  it  was 
greatly  appreciated  on  the  Continent,  and  the  Germans,  French, 
and  Italians  were  prepared  to  buy  all  that  was  produced. 
