The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1912-10-24
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER
Special Corr. of THE REPUBLICAN.l
Five Thousand Dollar Butterflies and
Butteril Farming.
Washington, D. c., Oct. Is, 1912.

taken official notice of many new
trades and occupations, and some Of its
present day correspondence would have
sounded like fairy tales MOI long ago.
The public has become so used to
wonders that in short time even the
greatest marvels of the age, such as
flying machines, submarines, tele-
phones, wireless telegraphY, X-Ray
photography and automobiles are ac-
cepted as commonplace things. Each
one OF these has its place to-day in the
commercial world and is represented by
factories and companies controlling
millions of dollars. The automobile in
dustry, unknown twenty years ago, and
in its infancy ten years ago, produced
in1910, according to the Census Bureau,
cars TO the value of $249, 202, coo; $50,
000,o70 worth Of these cars found
markets abroad, in nearly every part
Of the world including Darkest Afri-
ca, and the Pampas of South America.
:. One Of the latest and most fairy-like
industries to be brought to Uncle Sans
Official notice, however, IS Butterfly
Farming.
In The Washington Star Of August
26th is the following paragraph:
Butterfly Industry In The United
states"
Business men from New York are
TO establish here Red Bank, H. j. the
first butterfly farm in the world. They
will raise butterflies OF all varieties,
specializing in specimens Of brilliant
coIoG.ae and higaly decorative appear
ance. The product Of the farm is to be
sold to society women, who viii thus be
enabled TO satisfy their whim for hav-
ing butterflies flying about their con-
se4so,o4.~4 s.ud pariors. "
But, if we are to believe our Consul
at Leeds, England, this will not be the
first butterfly farm For in his official
Ietter ne tells Of one that has been in
existence for years. The story is brief
lY as follows: One of the best known
entom0ogists in Yorkshire is Mr.. H.
w. Head, who now lives on his butter
fly farm at Burniston. near Scarbor-
ough, England. MIR Head was the
first to breed butterflies in captivity,
and Is the owner of the largest butter
fly farm in the British Isles. Mr.. Head
says much of the pleasure Of scientific
wors and specimen collecting is lost
when one has to make a commercial
business OF it, His success, however,
has been remarkable. After five years
of hard work he has the farm in good
order and is about to reap the reward
of his labors. For twenty-eight years
he has made a business of butterfly
breeding and now has a wonderful col
lection Of about four hundred varieties,
R'irish and foreign, and a stock Of
z00,0 butterflies and moths all bred
on his farm.
The farm is stocked with a great va
riety Of trees, plants and weeds and
one part Of It in a veritabe Jungle.
This is necessary because while in the
caterpillar stage a suitable plant food
must he furnished for each variety; and
each sind OF caterpillar requires its
own special plant food Mr. Head has
gone to great trouble and expense to
provide the rare plants necessary for
many Of his specimens. He has been
remarkably successful in rearing by
birds, having produced about a dozen.
One q yellow form Of the green-veined
white butterfly sells for 30 shillings
($Z3U each
He is always on the lookout for
sports, or insects of well known
species with unusual colors Or mark
ings. There is a good demand for these
and they bring from SO to $25 a piece.
He deals mainly in dead and compress
ed specimens and has customers from
all parts Of the world; but he also sup
plies fertile eggs and living caterpillars.
Think of a butterfly worth $1,000
and vet, according to the British press
dispatchs this is the value Of specimens
of a huge jet butterfly recently brought
from New Guinea by Mr.. A. +. Mock.
1t is nearly as large as a robin and
measures 1l3 inches from tip to tip.
Mr.. Mock is an explorer " no has been
% years in New Guinea in the. service
of the Hon. Walter Rothschild, the
millionaire owner Of the famous pri-
vate museum in Tring Park. Mr.. Mock
discovered in New Guinea several new
varieties that are by far the largest in
the world. He says:
81 had to take up from the coast
cases Of pearl she'll, tomahawks and
beads of all kinds before l could get the
natives to aid me in capturing butter
flies The natives shoot them with
four-pronged arrows, which they use
for killing birds. The female giant but
terfiies are black, or brown or white;
but the males are splendidly marked IN
green or gold, | brought back also a
butterfly which has hairy body on ac-
count of the intense cold of the snowy