The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-10-14
A QUEER COLLECTION.
One Hundred Thousand Butterflies In
a hoom-Some Very Costly Ones

One hundred InOuSanO bubCernl65 IN
hoom-Some Very Costly Ones.
From the NelO York Collector.
DR.. Herman Strecker of Reading, Pa, has
a collection Of butterflies which is commence
ing to attract attention. II numbers over
10000 specimens, and represents some
thirty years OF collec5orship on the part Of
the proprietor. He comes of a we'll known
Philadelphia family, his grandfather hav-
ing bsen for many years collector OF that
port DIR. Strecker inherited a love for
natural history. Three OF his uncles, Ben
jamin, Richard and Edward Kern, persisted
in the pursuit, the first among the Indians
on the Fremont expedition, the second in
the Gunnison expedition, and the third on
Perry's voyage to Japan. He himself began
with the sciences, then devoted himself 70
natural history, aud at last narrowed his
life-study to insects. He gathered com
prehensive collection of tarRntulas. A
choice arose between the orders lepidoptera
and coleoptra, and at the age of 10 he chose
the former. the butterflies and moths.
moths said he, ''are nothing but butter
flies that fly by night"
AS boy he chased the delicate beauties
over the meadows under the frown Of the
Neversink, and he has been chasing them
ever since-chasiug them all over the worlo.
Early in his career as lepdopterist he Jour
neyed to Central America, Mexico ana Ghe
Vest Indies; but most OF his pursuit has
been done by correspondence. During the
mast thirty wears he has been in intimate
Communication with every lepidopterlst OF
note In the world. Being obliged 20 earn
his daily bread as a marble sculptor and de-
signer he could never give an hour OF day
light to his favorite pursuit, but mas tolied
over his books, letters and butterflies night
after night, only to be warned thence by
the striking of IL.
Eager TO publish book about a number
OF new species, many OF which he had first
named, he saved money enough to buy one
photographic stone. On this he drew and
engraved the first group, sent it to Phila-
delphia and had 800 plates struck of. The
stone being returned, he cleaned it Off and
made another group. Owing to such heroic
devotion the book saw the light, but, I'M
fortunately, the plates having besn de-
stroYed each in succession, the volume is
now as rare as some OF DR.. Strecker's most
precious specimens.
1t is impossible, excspt by personally visit
ing DR.. Strecker's 3x2x20-root butterfly
studio, packed from floor to ceiling with
glass covered cases, slowed away In cab
inets, TO arrive at any adequate conception
of the inexhaustible beauty and interest of
the collection. There are butterflies of all
sizes and shapes, from the giant owl moth
of Brazil, measuring foot across the wings,
the Atlas moth OF China and Indie, aud the
enormous gray colossus of Australia, which
is considered an epicurean delicacy by the
natives, to the tiny white butterflies with
pink fecked wings, small as a penny, that
once flew above the Alps. aud midgets that
it almost takes a microscope to study.
The colors are as multlfarious as the
shapes, and the wings are of every describa-
bic pattern. Among the 100 900 examples
Is to be found every imaginable oombina-
ton of colors--the splendid golden Croesus
aud Lydius butterflies of Halmeheira, the
resplendent rhipheus OF Madagascar, the
beautiful silver flies of Central Chile, the
brown velvet ones Of Ashantee, the silken
ones, brilliant in green or blue, of Brazil
and many others prismatic as the rainbow.
Many of the butterflies are peculiar In
shape and appearance. The argus moth
sports enormously long slender tail-like at
tachments to the hind wings. The curious
dead-leaf butterfly from China and India
resembles withered beach leaf. One buff
colored moth has an anchor stamped on his
back. and another would pass for bee. A
black velvety butterfly with shining green
baud displays "SS" on its wings. One moth
has the peculiar markings Of a skull. The
wings of the Brazilian oW l-Inokh exactly re-
semble an owl with notified head and huge,
staring eyes ..-..
The specimens come from such far-away
mysterious crannies of nature as the Isle OF
Bananas, Moselkatze-land, Mou-pin, TAFT
slnloo, Koolloo, Alden, Boothia Felix, Po-
chrofka. Ascold, Torbogahei, Ceram, Bat
jan. Diilola, and other spots known TO few
outside of butterfly collectors. One butter
fly alone from Sierra Leone Africa cost
$l07. A number cost $25 and $50. A great
rarity is a specimen of colias Boothii taken
above Hudson bay by the second Ross ex-
petition in search Of a northwest passage in
1929 This dimitive green butterfly with
yellow wings is the most northerlY known.
DR.. Strecker has other rare ones from DR..
LivinGstone's. Wallsce's and Wilkes expe-
ditions. The great papilio autimaohus from
Equatorial Africa of which only about
dozen are known, is represented in his col
lection by three specimens.