As Stanley Clisby Arthur points out in his 1914 book "Butterfly Farming," butterfly farming is not only an attractive vocation, but, if successfully conducted, will yield a profitable revenue as well. The demands from such sources as colleges, private collectors, dealers, schools, natural science institutions and nature lovers for specimens of butterflies and other insects to add to collections and for purposes of study, has caused some to become "butterfly farmers" for recreation, study and profit.

There are few farms that give as much in return as the harvest one reaps from a crop of these fairy-like creatures that fly all summer long in the fields and woods of our country. Netting the butterflies in the field can be done and many rare species secured in this fashion but as the highest prices are paid for butterflies in perfect condition the farming of them is by far the best plan for butterflies that have been flying the fields become rubbed and their wings torn from the attacks of other insects and birds.

As a reward for raising butterfly specimens in perfect condition will be secured and, aside from being profitable to pocket, one of the most interesting phases of nature can be studied. By the farming method a great many species that appear only on rare occasions in certain localities may be obtained, in unthought of numbers by the breeding process. One rare female butterfly captured may be kept prisoner until she deposits eggs on the food-plant and these may be kept until the caterpillars go through their various stages and transform into the perfect insect-—the butterfly. As some butterflies lay from two to four hundred eggs the profit can easily be computed.

Contents:

Introduction

A BRIEF "LIFE HISTORY" OF BUTTERFLIES.

STARTING THE FARM.

THE BREEDING CAGES.

STOCKING THE BUTTERFLY FARM.

STOCKING WITH CATERPILLARS.

SEEKING THE CATERPILLARS.

STOCKING WITH FEMALE BUTTERFLIES.

FEEDING THE CAPTIVE BUTTERFLIES.

"FORCING."

CARE OF BREEDING CAPTIVES.

THE VALUE OF BUTTERFLY FARMING.

THE MARKET PLACE.

BUTTERFLIES THAT SELL.

About the author:

A native of California, Stanley Clisby Arthur spent several years as a journalist as well as a war correspondent in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. Arthur arrived in Louisiana in 1915 and came to view it as his adopted home, dedicating much of his life to documenting its customs, culture, and history.

Arthur was the head of the Louisiana Fish and Wildlife Department for many years. His love of the outdoors is reflected in his novel about naturalist John Audubon, titled Audubon: An Intimate Life of the American Woodsman. During the Great Depression, Arthur was appointed regional director of the Survey of Federal Archives. Stanley Clisby Arthur died in 1963 at the age of eighty-eight.