WCP746

[1]^1,2

Broadstone, W<imborne>

Nov^r.15^th <1905>³

My dear Fred⁴

We have now a weekly Ma<il?> <to?> Trinidad, one week on Saturday from Sou<thampton?> by which I wrote you a long letter⁵ of 3 <?> with important information from Tring<g> <and?> from a French beetle collector. This we<ek's> mail leaves on Friday from Dartmou<th> <and?> I take the opportunity of writing agai<n> <with?> a little more information, as the let<ter> must be posted here tomorrow mo<rning.>

Dr. D. Sharp⁶ told me of a beetle coll<ector> in London — a Dr. Heath⁷, who is a phy<sician?> and an F.L.S.,⁸so I wrote to him t<o?> <ask?> if he would buy a 3rd. set of your <beetles?>. I had his reply yesterday saying, <that?> as he has a large number [of] S. Ameri<can> beetles he does not buy sets, but <would?> buy some if "they are sent to h<im> <with?> their prices." This may be <?> when you have sent to W<?> and have found out <?> [2] <?> I have found an old <memoran>dum[?] sent me by S. Stevens⁹, <?> receiving my collections from Borneo <givin>g[?] me the selling prices of about 50 <species?> of choice beetles, mostly new or rare, <and?> <of?> moderate or large size. They varied <the>n[?] from 2/- to 10/- or 12/-; and as Janson¹⁰ <tells?> me that good insects now fetch "quite <as?> <g>ood prices as they did at that time," — <I> <th>ink, if I saw specimens of your <bes>t things from Santa Catalina ( when <I> know which are the best) I should be able <to> price them for you and you <cou>ld then send him ^{(the Dr. Heath}) a small lot <of> them. If you do get a fair proportion of new species, many of them are sure <to be> quite abundant.

<I> also send on opp. page copy of Mr. <Jordan>'s letter stating exactly how the Butt[erflie]s. <a>re to be sent to Tring Museum. <?>y will take even the micros., at <?> while the hint about the [3]^11,12 is a very valuable hint. As "mothing" <is?> <onl>y[?] good in rainy weather you will <have?> to make your hay when neither sun <nor> moon shine, and sleep by day!

<It?> <i>s well to take with you a large sheet <of> white calico about 2 yards square, to pin to the wall of the Verandah. With a small <lam>p on a table in front of it this makes <a?> <gl>ow of light for a long distance, and not <only> attracts more moths but gives a good surface on which to see and capture <th>em. I will just mention here what <I> found a good plan to prevent pinned <sh>eets be coming loose. Use pins the same <he>ight in each box (cutting off extra long <end>s[?]) then lay a sheet of rather thick <paper?>, cut the size of the box, on the pins <on?> <e>ach side, and if the pin heads on the <edg>es[?] do not almost touch lay a <cot>ton wool of the required thickness <?>. In this way even if pinned [4]¹³into deal not an insect can c<ome>[?] <loose>[?]

I have just bought a copy of the edition of Bates' Amazon, with a<n> interesting "Life and Letters" by Clod<d.>^{14, 15} <I> shall read it through again soon. <I> have only myself had the cheap a<?> edition which Bates gave me. I f<ind?> states that at Caripi and Cametá <the?> two first places where he found b<eetles?> plentiful, he mentions specially, the <?> of roads and paths, and of new clea<rings?> which were all productive of beetl<es> <and?> he remarks that even on fallen trees &c. they were "not very abundant a<t> one time", but that day after day new species continually appeared, as I found in Borneo. He mention<s> <the?> middle of the dry season as being <best?> <for?> beetles, but on days after a <?>.

Another thing worthy of <note.?> He says: "I had <?> [5] <?> food was as much a necessary of <life?> in this exhausting climate as it is in <the> north of Europe. An attempt such as I made to live on vegetable food was quite <a> failure." Of course if you could <ha>ve a quart of new milk or half a <doz>en eggs every day, you might live <on> rice, mandioca, and fruits, especially <if> you have plenty of cooked plantains, <sw>eet-potatoes, or bread fruit. But even <th>en I believe a good meal of fresh <fi>sh or game two or three times a week would for most ^European people be essential <for?> thorough health. But as you can <su>rely get milk or eggs, I consider it <ma>dness to try and live on chance <nu>tritions and unappetising vegetable <?> and that you will act wisely <?> <wha>tever nourishing food you <?> especially eat all that other <?> then live to [6] come home, and return to your <vegetarian?> ideals if you "feels disposed"!

I think you were told that there <were> some Campos within a walk of S. Cat<alina.> I see Bates remarks on the abundance <of> beetles at the flowers of trees & shrubs <in> <the> Campos of Santarem in the wet seaso<n.> Also the bits of forest by the sides of streams seem to be especially pro<ductive> of insects; so when it is too wet <for> the forest near S.C. you can explore the Campos. I hope before this let<ter> reaches you you will be at that <land> of promise and that by 'Xmas or <at> all events early in January I sh<all> hear of your first impressions of <the> place and its surroundings.

Wishing you every success |Yours very truly | A. <R. Wallace> [signature: first initial only visible at burned edge of paper]

[7]¹⁶ Copy of Mr. K. Jordan's <letter>

Nov^r. 13 th 1905

Zoo<logical> <Museum>

Tring

"(1) All butterflies should be put in <papers.>

1. All the large and medium sized <moths?> should also be put in papers.

3. The small moths, such as Pyralis <and?> small Geometridae should be pin<ned> with a thin pin sideways, the w<ings?> being raised above the back. If <a?> specimen is very small, the thor<ax> being too fragile for pinning trans<versely?> it should be pinned in the ordinary way and set flat.

Parcels to be sent to this Mus<eum> not to Mr. Rothschild.¹⁷ All B<irch's?> letters about Lepidoptera are <to be?> addressed to me here.

If Mr. Birch intends collect<ing> <using?> light please tell him that many insects, such as Sa<?,> Cossids, & Hepialids co<me> <to?> light after mid<night> <?>raion[?] : rarel<y> <?>[Ms burned, bottom right corner of page missing]