READING FOR EVERYBODY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6120, 5 March 1898, Page 7

READING FOR EVERYBODY.

BUTTERFLV COLLECTING. j There are a number of wealthy entoinolo- • gists in England, who own private collec- ' tions of but-torn* ies, vjilned all tho way I from ICO.OOOdoI to 150,000d0l (says the Scientific American.) The most costly, and probably the most perfect, collection in the ; world, private or public, i3 owned by j Walter Rothschild, and is kept in his pri- , vate museum of Tring, in Hertfordshire. The African Papilio antirnachus, a very ; rare butterfly, is quoted high intho London • market ; and a beautiful pair recently sold for 130dol at auction. Nevr Guinea butter-' flies, were exceedingly high-priced a few ' years ago, and ' some brought as much as 250d0l apiece ; bat to-day they are plentiful and sell at about hall' this price. . Papilio caunus, one of tho mimic butter- , flies, will generally bring SOdol in the mar- : ket to-day. When the hunters first began 'to penetrate into the wilds of the unexplored regions of the earth for butterflies, exorbitant prices were offered for the few rare specimens brought back. The wealthy collectors then paid prices that were out of all proportion to the real value, report having it that an American collector offered lOOOdol for a single rare specimeu,.and one. of the Rothschilds paid half this -sum for a Papilio that is quite common to-day. In ,'the Denton collection, recently placed^ on view at the American Art Galleries, there were 1300 varieties represented, and their value has been variously estimated at 10,000dol 'to 30,000d01. ■ Most of the specimens were caught and mounted by tho two owners of the collection, William and Skelly W. Denton ; bxit others were gathered by private hunters in different parts of the earth, or purchased outright in the London market. There are several London firms j engaged in butterfly collecting, and most of the rare specimens find their way, sooner ox- later, to them. They have travelling entomologists in every part of the earth, who collect for them such specimens as they need. These authorised agents for the firms are supplemented by freelances and general collectors of everything queer and unique that can be found in the outofrway corners of the earth. They unite butterfly collecting to orchid and lizard hunting, in such a way that they are pretty sure of pood rewards. t