The record-union., 1893-12-06

Who Encounter Many DaneetS anu
Varied Hardships.
But few persons in this country know
anything about the joys and troubles OF
collecting butterflies. We have all seen
our children with net chasing the beau
tiful winged creatures, and, after captur-
ing one or more. piercing their bodies
with pin and sticking them about the
house. Or the eldest hopeful, touched
with the magic wand of science, may go
further, and, procuring an outfit from
dealer, begin a veritable collection. lie
spreads and dries his butterflies and slows
them away in cigar boxes, with few
chemicals as a preservative.
He is a collector and has a collection,
true But between this and great col
lection, to which contributions come
from professional collectors in all quar-
ters of the globe, there is the same differ
ence as that which exists between the
smallest school newspaper printed on
hand press, and the New York Herald,
with it's multitudinous correspondents in
all the cities of the world.
Man GEOP14E EhRLO1 EOs
It will doubtless surprise many to hear
that thousands of people make living by
collecting insects. These rank from the
men who have become celebrated for
their work and discoveries IN the field, to
the natives who are trained by them and
by missionaries TO catch and preserve the
winged butterflies.
A few of the professional collectors who
have become world renowned among sci
~, D-fo -f,f,h fo1 a1c fi,N
Amazon; the Marquis Antinori, in AbYs-
sinia; Stanley, Baron Wissman and Pro-
fessor Pogge, in the Dark Continent; Nc
Clay, in Australia, and also the late
Henry Edwards, whose collection was
recently acquired by the Museum OF Nat
ural History IN this city; Doherty and
Ribbe, in New Guinea, and Captain IAN
kowsky, in Western China and Thibet.
Besides these, as | have limited, are the
missionaries. These, sent to the furthest
ends OF the earth, are nearly always COM
missioned TO collect insects by some of
the great museums, dealers or private
collectors. These, in turn, besides con-
Verting the ignorant natives, train them
TO the work, and thus are taken insects
which inhabit jungles impenetrabIe to
any but these native hunters. ON the
\ orth American Continent, north of
Mexico. which latter country is counted
in the tropical belt, much valuable col
lecting has been done by Morrison in the
South and Southwestern States; Bruce,
in Colorado: Koebele and Wright, in
California; Cunningham, in Oregon; ia
cob Doh, in Arizona; Captain Giddes,
Bean, Dandy and Deb. Green i'll British
Columbia and Vancouver; Lieutenant
Schwatka, in Alaska, and the late Cor
pOral Israel of the Greely expedition, in
the frigid locality of Lady Franklin Bay.
Mr.. NEUMOEGEN's COLLECTION.
All OF these men have been contribu-
tors TO the great collection owned by Ber-
thold NeumOegen OF this city. Many and
varied have been the experiences which
they have encountered. Extremely peril
Gus have been their adventures on hun
dreds of occasions. In the cause of sci
ence they have been indefatigable, work
ing day and night.
They have encountered the wild men
of the jungle, the wild beasts of the for
est, the feyers of the swanps and the
snOWstorms of the mountain tops. to say
nothing of fatigue, privation, hunger
thirst and the heat and glare OF tropical
suns. They were men OF enthusiasm de-
tered by nothing.
Once in Florida a collector espied a
glorious hued butterfly slipping the hon
ey from the topmOst flowers on a tower
ing palmetto. He recognized that it was
prize, even at that distance, for the but
terfiy hunter has the keenest sight. How
could he get it? I4aboriOusly he began to
cut down the tree, and remember that
the palmetto is no easy wood to cut
After arduOus work the tree was slowly
leaned toward the ground, and as it came
the butterfly followed the blossoms, until
at last, with one deft swoop, the hunter
enveIUped it in his gauZy net That in
sect now graces MIR. Neumoegen's col
lection and is one Of the only two ever
captured.
AFTER 4 RARE SPECIMEN.
On another occasion Jacob Doll, hunt
ing in the Rocky Mountains with indian
guides, saw an odd looking insect sail
over cliff. Lying prone along the edge
OF a Drecipice thousands Of feet deep he
saw the butterfly feeding upon flowers
that blossomed 100 feet below. A rope
was quickly tied about his waist and the
Indians lowered him into the depths
until he captured the prize. This in
sect is the only one OF its kind ever
found, and also is iii Mir. NeumOegen's
collection.
Men who are at present actively en-
gagged are Wittkuggel, in Honduras;
Schultz. on the Amazon; Foe3terle, in
Central Brazil, and o. L. Baron, in Peru.
With the downfall Of Bamaceda in
Chile, Lieutenant Schumacher of the
Chilean Navy, was obliged TO tlee from
his native country almost penniless. lie
Dau DGGn d COl16CIOI 1OT bMGltN years,
and thus having experience Mr.. Neu-
moegen gladly commissioned him to
hunt for him IN Mexico, where he still
is. During the season just ending he has
proven himself TO be a wonderful col
lector, for not only has he sent home
above thirty thousand specimens, but
many OF them are most rare and not d
few entirely new to science. His work
has more than once aroused the animos-
ity OF the lazy natives, who. unwilling tC
work themselves. have been nevertheless
jealous of his earning money, and have
shown their resentment by personal at
tacks, so that his life has been in danger
HOW COLLECTIONS ARE MADE.
I may as well interject few words
here as to the methods employed in col
lecting.
1t is not alone by means of the net that
butterflies are captured, Tor they must bt
sought by night as well as by day
Through the darkness they are attracted
bv lights set to lure them. Since the ad-
vent of the electric light many new
species have been discovered, anu hun
dreds of specimens taken of species which
were before counted most rare.
But many of the most beautiful Great
ures can be had only by trapping or bait
ing. By batting IS meant the smeariug
OF trees with materials having powerful
odors to which the moths come in nun
dreds. 4 most curious fact in this con
nection is that while in the temperate
zones the bait is made OF sweet and sour
or sweet and bitter mixtures, such as
rum, beer and molasses, in the tropics
the most gorgeous and dainty insects are
attracted by putrescent fish, soiied cloth
ing soaked with perspiration and sucl
ill-smeliing material. surrounded as
they are by abundant and rich vegeta.
ton the sweet smells are common anC
unattractive.