Evening Star Newspaper, August 14, 1927, Page 73

_E_;lthusi ARM Summer mornings find Washington's enthusiasti butterfly collectors afiel with their nets long befor the rising xun has dried the dew, seeking new heauties and new mysteries in_one of the most fascinating pursuits open to the collector. | Rock Creek Park and the woods about Cabin John are the favorite | haunts of these peaceful hunters who | frequently receive thrills of the chase equivalent to those which come to big game killers in equatorial forests. The netting of a rare or exceptionally beautiful specimen does not occur often, bhut it is a possibility ever be- fore the butterfly collector. Eveh an | entirely 1nrecorded species may be | hagged. despite the long period during | which the country surrounding Wash - ington has been rched thoroughly | by some of the world’s foremost ex-| perts on hutterflies and moths. | Most of the local hutterfly collectors are Sniithsonian Institution or De-| partment of Agriculture officials and emploves who have a professional as well 3 i flving | flowers hover above opening | hlossoms. Some exceptionally fine private butterfly collections have been gathered in Washington, to xay noth- ing of the scores of specimens added | to the great National Museum lepidop- | tera collection, which covers the whole | world. Some of the collectors are concerned essentially with the purely scientific side of the work. Others seek showy freakish specimens. But not a| few of them combine the science and the poetry of the hunt, experts on the finer points of color variation and | structure hut none the less concerned with the “human” side of butterfly life. They spy on the home life of the | insects, pick out the inebriates and | church members among them, and | interpret their existence in terms in telligible to the layman. Few have done more to interpret the butterfly to man than Dr. Austin H. Clark, National Museum curator, who combines a lifelong enthusiasm for the scientific study of these insects with a no less intense earnestness of purpose in opening the doors of sci- ence to the great mass of citizens who are repelled by technical terms and language. He is one of the most per- sistent of local collectors and for the past 15 years has roamed through | nearby fields and woods on the lool out for insects with interesting cha acteristics. Dr. Clark has discovered some curi- ous and valuable specimens and has tirned over his most valuable finds to | the National Museum for the benefit of the whole world of science. He | has hunted butterflies all over the | world as a side line to his work on ous scientific expeditions, but he still finds the ever.present possibility of a “thrill” among the commoner | varieties of the eastern United States. * ¥ % % ‘0 Dr. Clark, familiar from boyhood with every scientific term used in the description of lepidoptera, the but- terfly remains something far more than a Latin name on the outside of | a museum case, and yvet something more definite and distinct than the poetical conception of the insect ris- ing from its chrysalis as symbolic of the resurrection of the human soul from the shrouded bod One hutterfly is a fop. & drunkard. Another still is a bully and a killer. Tho whole range of character can be covered in the ex- tremely abundant butterfly kingdom. This butterfly primps and powders like the most effeminate dandy te- fore calling on his lady love. His close relative is a sulky hermit found | only in the recesses of treetops. Some feed daintily on fragrant blossoms and sip sweet wine from dewy petal cups, while others eat only meat. fight to kil at the flutter of a wing, smell | like a horse stable and drink hard | liquor. There is a code of law in the Jepidopteran world, but the insects have not adopted the eighteenth amendment to the Federal Constitu- tion and are at liberty to take their rum or leave it alone. Within the past vear Dr, Clark has . found and described scientifically one new subspecies and one new variety in the neighborhood of Washington, And he has located here from time to ‘time very rare types. His latest ci- entific study has been devoted to the subject of butterfly fragrance and in the last report of the Smithsenian In- stitution he published a lengthy treat- ise on the meat-eating habits of other varieties. It is a little known fact that butterflies carry their analogy to flowers not only to the petallike ap- pearance of their wings, but to dis- tinct, flowerlike fragrance of the body. véry fact in science, says Dr. Clark, is related in some way to every other fact. From the simple fact of the existence of an odd butterfly type can be reared a structure which eve tually involves such seemingly distant subjects as meteorology, oceanog- raphy, chemistry, physics and astron- 3 Dr. Clark’s conception, is like a gate to the great temple of sciénce. This insect at- tracts human interest by its beauty | and leads young men and women who | become enthusiastic in_their vouth ever deeper in scientific research. The amatour as well as the scientist finds in Dr. Clark’s work a guide for hiz morning collecting expeditions. The odor of butterflies sometimes is too delicate and elusive to be detected by adults. The adult nose, says Dr. Clark, is an uncertain organ, especial- 1y in men, and the testing of a_butter- fly often results only in a fit of sneez- ing caused by the irritation of the Joosened scales. The sense of smell in children is much keener. This situa- tion has been met, so fa the scent- ed butterflies around Washi concerned, by the obser: Clark’s two sons, Austin B. and Hugh U. C who are follow- ing the footsetps of their father as enthusiastic naturalists, with sharp eyes for those minute. variations of form and color in nature which con- tribute . so much toward a sympa- thetic understanding of the woods and fields. “On our various excursions in the field,” Dr. Clark said, “it fell to them first to investizate the butterfiles we caught. In most cases 1 could myself confirm their observations, but in gome I was quite unable to detect an odor, which they assured me was quite strong.” Another is * ok ok ok HE flower-like odors of m: flies usually have their origin in rs or scales of a peculiar type alled androconia, grouped in patches on the wings, distributed along the veins or scattered widely on upper surface. In the common milk »d butterfly around Washington the ave scent in a little xtensible h: #te in all directions when extende grance Is very and difficult to detect in youns butte The secretions wait until the are fully formed. The oldest ragged veterans most noticeable odo purpose served by this fragrance is #omewhat obscure, but Dr. Clark is practically convinced that it serves as an aid to courtship. That is, among butterflies the practice of the sexes | j= reversed from that among humans. It is the male, and not the female, who powders his body with perfume when he goes courting. Last Summer Dr. Clark watched the Jovemaking process of one of the com- Jnen butterfies around Washington, known technically as argynnis cybele. A female was seated on the upper R of a horizontal leaf with the wings folded tight together. An inch or =0 away from her on the same leaf wae the male. At intervals he would £uddenly open and close his wings. These intervals, at first ahout a sec- e, became less and less. Constantly e butter- | their ¢ ck | asm 1n THE SUNDAY STA R, WASHINGTON, D. €, AUGUST 14, 1927—PART ' 8 Butterfly Hunt Equal to That Those Who Invade the Realm of Nature With Nets Are Afield Early in the Morning—Professionals as Well as Amateurs Find Pleasure in Seeking Rare or Beautiful Specimens—Study Is Made of Showy Butterflies and Characteristic Odors Are Classified—Science and Recreation Combined for Washingtonians. merica - ¥ hip Cracker from Tropical Cuban Swallowtail- Showy Local Butterflies- “~fodor of vanilla Pairted Lady= Papilic Doubleday from Siam= he slightly shifted his position in a| series of little, rapid movements. It | was evident, he believes, that the male | was trying to surround the female with a cloud of perfume. He has ob- served a somewhat similar procedure in the case of the common sulphur | butterfly and in other species, One conclusion likely to be jumped at is that the perfume of the male somewhat resembles that of the flow- er upon which the female is accus- tomed to feed. Butterflies are not pro- miscuous in their choice of flowers and | probably distinguish the one type of blossom on which they will feed by its_characteristic odor. But a_com: | parison has shown that, so far as these two local types are concerned, the odor of the male is not at all like | that of the flow The odors of hutterflies which have been detected and analyzed read some- thing like a catalogue description of the old-fashioned flower garden. The common white cabbage butterfly of local fields has a fragrance which one observer compared to mignonette; an- other insists that it is closer to that of the foliage of after a rain, although the comparison is not exact. The native gray-veined white butter- fly (P. olearacea) exudes a fragrance comparable to that of syringa blos- soms, although one observer who ex- amined it in British Columbia found it closer to that of the lemon verbena. The comion sulphur, examined by Dr. Clark both in nearby Maryland and in Massachusetts, emits a fairly strong odor of dried sweet grass. The little sulphur, common about Washington, has a somewhat sweeter and more flowery odor, which can be detected very easily. ‘One observer in Jamaica described it as close to the fragrance of the night-flowering jasmine. Still others have found it somewhat like that of the clove pink or of the pink bind-weed. The large, clear yellow butterfly, eubule, which is very common in the Southern States, exudes a faint violet odor. ‘ Among foreign species which have been studied by Dr. Clark still more | sweetbriar Toses | striking instances of fragrance have heen observed and reported in butter- fly literature. For instance, the European species corresponding to the local gray-veined white has an odor which has been compared to thyme, lemon verbena, orange and balsam. The large white of Europe closely duplicates the odor of scarlet geranium petals, and this also has been compared to the flowers of rape and to orris root. A close relative of our common sulphur found in the Sudan exudes an odor of chocolate dandy or of cloves. A similar species caught in England duplicated the odor of heliotrope. There is a South Afri- can species the males of which have the fragrance of tuberoses. South American relatives of the dog-face butterflies common in local fields have a slight but very sweet scent like clover. « Dr. Clark has heen unable to detect any fragrance in the pretty Eastern orange tip butterfly, but a fairly dis- tinct odor of musk has been found in a close European relative and some- thing similar may be revealed in the local species with further study. The odors of musk, of meadow- sweet and of sweetbriar can traced all through the butterfly king- dom, from fairly strong exudations to ery t traces, which can be detected only under favorable con ditions. Syringa and freesia also have quite frequent duplicates among the “fiving flower: The giant orange-tip of Ceylon, one of the most showy of butterflies, has an odor compared to that of the mango or to cinmamon. The fra- grance of honeysuckle, blue bell, pine and burned sugar has been detected in other fairly common butterflies in different parts of the world. One South African species has an odor which one observer compares to clover and another to sweet peas. * K ok ok MONG the most showy of butter- flies all o swallowtails and many of these have distinet odors, which, however, are nearly always faint and difficult to detect. The most fragrant local spe- cies is the spice bush swallowtail, be | the world are the | whose odor is somewhat like that fi{“ honey biscuits, says Dr. Clark. The | males of the black swallowtail exude the fragrance of carrot flowers. The common yellow swallowtail has much {the same sort of fragrance the | spice-bush swallowtail. The female of this species, however, has a quite dis- agreeable pungent or acid odor, some- what like that of rubber cement or creosote. The males of the blue swal- lowtail have a sweet, flowery odor for which no very exact comparison can be found, but the smell of the females is comparable to acetic acid. Dr. William Schaus of the National Museum says that the most fragrant butterfly he has encountered in his long life as a butterfly hunter is a close relative of the local blue swal- lowtail, which he captured in Florid: It has a perfume like that of very fragrant orchids. Others of the same family exude odors comparable to musty hay or to the scent of rue. An- other one smells like sassafras. In some cases among the swallowtails the odor persists even after the death of the insect. “About 30 years ago,” says Dr. Clark, “I was much surprised to find that a strong and pleasant fragrance, comparable to that of sweet flag or of sandalwood, combined with Span- ish cedar and with a ‘dusty’ element, was given off from the wings of one of our commonest fritillaries. Since then 1 have found that about one in five possesses a very strong aroma. In several cases so fragrant was the butterfly that the odor could be de- tected as the insect fluttered about in the net. Some of the most fragrant of the butterflies were badly rubbed and torn, while some freshly emerged were almost scentless.” Another similar species has been known to retain its fragrance for sev- eral weeks after death when inclosed at the time of capture in a paper en- velope. Some of this type have the odor of sandalwood so strong that it is_impossible to handle living speci- mens without detecting it. In foreign representatives of this family the odor of coffee and of chrysanthemum has been detected. One representative in the South, how- BY E. C. KOHN. HINATOWN, that medley of | strange sounds, Wwith its deep | mystery suggestive of weird | images and resplendent beauty, has found in Wash- | ington an abode within the shadow of | the Capitol. | “Seeing Chinatown” is one of the features in nearly every large Ameri an city, and yet it is a fact that few, even though they travel with the open sesame of police protection, ever see more than the outer fringe of the little patch of Asia. Secrecy, a most clearly developed trait of the Celestial, has always been the barrier to an insight into their mode of living. The Oriental prefers that all who are not his fellow coun- trymen shall remain outsiders, so far s he and his affairs are concerned. With the exception of those they con- sider their friends, such as Detective Edward Kelly, upon whom they feel they can rely to protect them, an out- sider is given no information. Tucked away in the narrow streets at the end of the town, the home of the Chinese is usually an adjunct to the slums. But in Washington the first Oriental, Chiang Kai, made his home in 1851 on the then fashionable Pennsylvania avenue. Chiang must have liked the new country, egen though it was mostly an uncultivated wilderness, for in 1890 his kinsmen numbered 91. They continued to come to the land of opportunity, forming a colony within the limits of | Second and the east side of Four-and- a-half streets, But outside of business the Celestials would have little to do with the “barbarians,” as they called the Americans. Within that space was comprised all t the Celestial ojourner found necdful to his well being. Here w his stores and bazaars, here he did his shopping, pur- shased his food and his clothing and the supplies for his laundry. Here he met and chatted with his friends. The Orientals have continued in the |s ay 1s still m n, and is the rew: week’s industry. Although more than 50 per cent of the Chinese have laundries throughout the city they gather on Saturday night and Sunday at the handful of native shops on the Avenue to mingle with | their own, to speak the language of | their beloved China and to hear the gossip and the news of the Chinatowns of other cities. Contrary to the American belief that Orientals subsist entirely upon rice, *ausing unfair competition with Ameri- can laborers, the Chinese table is more hountifully provided with food, of greater choice than that of the aver- age well-to-do Am For to them the matter of buying and selling is a thing to be done with care, and not to rd for a [deal of a humor | one to me paths as in their pioneer days. | ket day with most | or standing around the difference in price of 2 cents is'to the wealthy American. Buying is an art of the past ages, and is still practiced by the nation that was old when Con- fucius was young. Most of the Chinese stores have benches reaching the length of the counters. In' a few there are chairs for the use of customers, who, if they want to sit, must be on hand early. Late comers, if the day is a busy one, are likely to be compelled to stand. * ok ok ok PBARGAINING is a source of great pleasure to the Chinese. True, there are some commodities whose prices are fixed and do not admit f haggling. Others are not so, and over these, with the real Oriental disregard for time, John argues for a lower rate. The process is a fa- miliar one. The customer asks the price of an article. In reply the merchant names a figure far in ex- cess of the sum he expects to receive. The customer retaliates by scorning the shopkeeper’s demand and making n offer equally far under what he is willing to pay. From these two extremes they work together until they arrive at a basis mutually agreeable. 9 It is evident that if the customer is shrewd enough he will secure a much hetter bargain than will his neighbor who is less adept at this art. The bargaining, however, is not confined to the actual buyer and sell- er. Those present are at liberty to take a_hand, siding with the one or the as they see fit. Some will se the merchant and his res, while others will speak on be- of the customer. It gives an pportunity for free conversation lay of wit, and the Orien- L in his own fashion, is a great it John does not give all his trade to one pl He likes to wander from another. Od Sunday, rain or shine, groups can be seen cluster- ing in various Chinese shops, sitting doorways, or passing from one place to another. It is late in the evening wher they leave the Avenue for home, in groups of threes and fours, finally separat- ing into_solitary, dark-habited fig- ures, trudging silently along the mid- | night stillness. | “As a storekeeper, the proprietor has certain duties of hospitality to perform. He must welcome his ! customer in__well chosen, formal language. Then he must lay be- fore him pipe and tobacco. Tea is one of the foundation stones of Chinese sociability, and every few minutes, if a _merchant would have his name well thought of, he must pour a fresh-brewed cup, strong and fragrant. op be lightly regarded or passed over without due attention to its gravity, Phoning for groce ual to the Celestial as haggling over the Tea is kept hot for almost an hour by keeping the fragile china pot in |a” cotton stuffed basket into which ‘the pot fits as Into a mold. On a table in one corner of the store Chinatown Has Own many tiny cups are kept swimming in a basin ready to be filled with the favorite beverage and then returned to_the water. Thick tobacco fumes ascend and the chatter of sing-song conversation goes on without cessation, hour after hour. The refreshments are put down to profit and loss. If the beverage is savory and the tobacco pleasing, they may retain customers and make many Spirit o sales. If not, the storekeeper on the next block has teg and jtobacco of the best, and it will be all the more money in the pocket of the rival business man: Over the door of the shop hangs a signboard in gilt against a background of black. Upon the sign rests two pyramid-shaped ornaments made of red paper and feathers. To the eye of one to whom all Chinese characters 4 DOMESTIC PHASE OF CHINATOWN, look alike this is undoubtedly the name of the shopkeeper. So it is, but often it combines something more—a busi- ness motto or a poetically worded ad- vertisement—stating that the store it adorns is the “bazaar wherein are to | be found all the most beautiful things of the world.” The Oriental is nothing it not flowery in his language. In a tiny corner of the store the office, with' its bars, is almost hidden from view. Here, in volumes, are kept the records of those who have paid their bills and those who still owe. The old Chinese counting board rests upon the desk and the little black beads are moved backward and forward in totaling accounts. The counting boards are used by every merchant in Chinatown. The shops are kept immaculately clean, the shelves are stocked with canned goods bearing Chinese labels and queer-looking vegetables in tall reed baskets. The Oriental store sup- plies John with his tobacco and pipes, furnishes his quarters and the brick- like pillows that he places under his head when he reposes. Even articles of American manufacture, such as soap, laundry appurtenances, etc., are purchased through the medium of the Chinese tradesmen. * Kk ok ASHINGTON possesses some good examples of the Chinese “‘general store”—a store which is not Chinese nor yet American, but a strange com- bination of the two. Even the largest of them is small compared with the business transacted in them and the wide extent of the lines of goods han- dled. They do not helieve in special- izing, these genial salesmen from over the Pacific; all is fish that comes to their mets. They clothe the semi-Chinese fashion that prevails here, from their broad-brimmed felt hats to their soft felt shoes. Most of them wear black silk blouses reaching below the waist. Once a year, usually in Februar: when the day of the New Year has come around according to the chron- icles kept for many cycles, the deco | tions of red are renewed and China- town becomes gay in ruby-hued bits | of bunting and gloriously brilliant placards. These are expressive of good will and pleasant wishes for the twelve-month that is just dawning. In China all business places are closed for a period of 20 days during the New Year celebration, but of] course the Chinese of America have imbibed too much of the American commercial spirit to submit to the nec- essary business loss entailed by such ! proceeding. On New Year all the colony makes merry in honor of the occasion. All work that can be left undone is sus- pended, and even the most unpreten- tious laundry of the poorest coolie keeps “open house.” It is a time of general rejoicing, of forgiving enemies and forgetting old grudges and @ paying off debts. In in f Exclusiveness this respect the Chinese are most scrupulous. Every financial obliga- tion must end with the year. To be a defaulter on New Year day is to lose credit and reputation, and rather than begin a new year under such ill- omened circumstances, shopkeepers sometimes offer their stock in trade at prices below cost. Each enters on the new period with a clean slate and a clear conscience. Likewise he burns many sticks of incense to the gods who have watched favorably over him from their slant eyes and have smiled the bland smiles of Cathay upon his undertakings. A more than usual obsequiousness is required of acquaintances when meeting in the streets, and an invari- able law makes it obligatory for every one to appear on New Year day il his best attire. As in America, the beginning of the year is a time when good resolutions are made, and every Oriental resolves to “mend his ways.” John makes many calls in this festal period, and all his guests are received with the Celestial equivalent of “Happy New Year” and treated to oranges, Chinese nuts and other deli- acies, and, of course, tea. Chinese wines are sometimes indulged in, but not to any great extent. On this day of days the headquar- ters of the two factions, the On Leongs and the Hip Sings, are noisy with shrill-voiced chatter and the beat- ing of Chinese tom-toms, accompanied by the weird, unharmonious tunes of the stringed instruments. At the door of each faction headquarters the or- ganization leaders welcome the mem- bers. Some shuffle noiselessly past the doorway in their soft slippers, while the tread of American-shod feet sounds heavily upon the steps. Through the long narrow hallways they hurry, up dimly lighted steps, past the first, sec- ond, third, then fourth landing, open- ing a scarred door upon a wonderland of Oriental beauty and color. Promiscuous in the Chinese setting of ancient carved lanterns, with low hanging silk tassels, inlaid tables and ebony chairs, is a new American grandfather’s clock bearing upon its protecting glass the names of the con- tributors of the out-of-town On Leong Association. Beside silk-embroidered pictures of Chinese girls, scenes and storks hang old-fashioned scenes of America's rural countryside bordered with wide brass frames. Behind two high American tables loaded with a profusion of flower-filled vases of all sizes and de- signs towers a gold altar of delicately laced carving, the acme of Oriental beauty. Above factory-made, brass-trimmed pots containing sand, little Chinese gods seem to sniff the ascending pors of incense. Not 2 feet away JRestion of vaailla. 3 in Game Pursuit ever, is described as smelling like “a stable. The males of the common peacock butterfly about Washington, Dr. rk says, have a rather strong. sweety odor. which soon disappears. He d@scribes the fragrance of the males of the common, and presum- ably poisonous. milkweed butterfly as “like the faint, sweet fragrance of red clover blossoms or of the flowers of the common milkweed. With this is a fainter cockroachlike or carroty odor. which is found alone and much stronger in the female: Some ex- otic members of this group have heen described as having a fragrance like that of sweet chocolate with a sug- In another type has bheen detected the scent of a crushed cabbage leaf. The odor of balsam has heen found in one of the wood nymphs. Another member of this family is described as having the biscuits with a sug- gestion_of that of chocolate candy. e OT all butterflies, however, are fragrant. The odors of some are distinctly unpleasant. In this respect the females appear to be the chief of- fenders. Probably the evil scent is a protective device of nature to scare oft -their natural enemies. Some of the' males possess this same charac- teristic and are unpleasant for the collector to handle. One is described as “acetylene plus cockroach.” An- other emits a combination of the scent of musty straw and vinegar, while still another is described as “‘muskrat plus acetylen: The male of one species of wood nymph or satyr has been described a: vielding a scent similar to chocolat andal-woed, while the female emits the scent of snuff or old cigar boxes. In four males of one Australian species was found the cdor of, hargo and molasses mingled, while the females all had a flowery scent, like" balsam. This apparently is an isolated case where the female smells sweeter than the male. The common little blue lycaenid of local fields yields the delicate odor of ¢ stirred gardens in Spring or of crushed violets, while in the common blue of England has been detected the odor of chocolate. A somewhat simi- lar species, however, was described by an English observer as smelling very strongly “like a pig sty or rather like a pig.” Tt seemed to him hardly credi- ble that so small a butterfly could smell so strongly. The female of this species is odorless. A strong-bat- like odor has heen found in a Brazilian representative of this family. The smell of musty straw and of ammonia is frequently drawn upon as a com- parison for the odors emitted by females of common species, while one has been found which exudes the odor of witch hazel. One smelled like a sable-skin fresh from the furrier's shop. Butterfly types often are difficult to distinguish from the coloring: alone because of the fact that, while the males are always the same, the females of the same variety may differ widely. This is one of nature's protective schemes, according to Dr. Clark. The females show a tendency to mimic in their wing colors the wings of certain poisonous species, such as a milkweed butterfly, which birds and reptiles have learned to leave strictly alone. These insects are, in fact, quilte virulently poisonous. Curiously enough. they form the ane type of butterfly used for human food. An Australian variety is eaten in great numbers by the natives. The first meal makes the eater violently sick. The zecond leaves him shaky but not quite so ill. The third meal he can eat with impunity and continue de- vouring this delicacy ¢o the end of his life. Confirmed butterfly eaters who have become immune to the poison have a tendency to put on flesh rapidly. A few of the more showy butterflies are raised for the decorative value of their wings. The most beautiful are difficult to capture bhecause of their secrecy and the fact that they haunt treetops. Hence, as far as possible, they are hatched and raised in cap- tivity. There are several syccessful butterfly farms in Brazil. There was formerly one in Maine devoted to theé rearing of the beautiful luna mot! not uncommon about Washington, f¢ sale to schools. * ko % THE loveliest hutterflies have given rise to curious folk lore. In Dr. Clark’s collection is one wonderfully colored insect from Colombia, which is quite rare. It occurs throughout the emerald belt. According to the natives, when one of these insects dies it is buried under the earth and becomes an emerald. Dr. Clark also has what s known as the original butterfly—a small European type the male of which has wings of approximately the color of newly churned butter. It is very abundant in England and re- celved its name from the peasant farmers who noted the curious re- semblance. The other sex, however, is pure white, like milk. Hence in Germany it is known as “the milk thief.”” Among the most curious of butter- flles, according to Dr. Clark. are those credited with having the capag- ity to inflict an electric shock om their enemies. Two of this sort have been reported from Nigeria. This propensity exists only among the larvae. One observer describes the experience as follows: “A curi- ous sensation in finger and thumb, like a very faint electric shock. It was not accompanied by a prickly sensation, but was rather as if one were tickled by a tiny bunch of slight but strong bristles. The sensation was not that of tickling so much as that of a faint shock which was not continuous but rapidly intermit- tent. On putting the larvae down, there was no after sensation such as that which would follow stinging. One family of butterflies while in the larval stage serve as “cows” for colonies of ants. These creatures exude a sweet liquid of which the ants are very fond. The arrange- ment is mutually beneficial. The larvae are reareC ‘n the ant nest ant carefully fed and guarded up to the point where they fly away as butterflies. The ants sometimes go so far as to fence off their “cows” by stringing a few strands of silken web about the caterpillar and the leaves on which it is feeding, and they attack fiercely any living thing which intrudes on this ‘“pasture.” These caterpillars usually are colored like the leaves or pods upon which they feed and are difficult to find except by looking for the ants first. Some of a similar species do not give off this sweet liquid, but nevertheless find a haven among the ants, who evidently are not intellizent enough to discern that they are harboring worthless animals in their herd. All these “milk-giving” types of butter- fly are exotic. The popular conception of the but- terfly can hardly be reconciled with the fact that he often is a flesh eater, a killer and a fierce fighter. Appear- ances are deceptive, however, and Dr. Clark has accumulats® from but- terfly literature a large number of proven instances whers various types of these insects live on other inseets, mostly aphids. Some are even can- nibals. Al of these tvpes, however, are foreign to Washington. One of the fascinations of butter- fly hunting, according to Dr. Clark, is the narrow range of some varie- ties. They will be found only within an area of a few miles. Particularly is this true on mountain tops, where a_definite ‘variety, never seen any- where else in the world, will be found inhabiting a narrow plateau where it evidently was cut off from the rest of the world ages ago. There are many wealthy butterfly collectors who pay good prices for stands a miniature altar about 4 feet high, the offerings of fruit and candy resting within_its unadorned limits. (Continued on Sixth Page.) new varieties or for especlally showy specimens, but these rarely come into the hands of the average collector, who must content himself with the thrill that comes from the hunting.