OF WASHINGTON. 89 



Reaumur has emphasized the fact that during the long period 

 of stagnation of the middle ages the natural sciences suffered as 

 did all other forms of learning, and nothing was added to the 

 stock of information. When the taste for knowledge finally 

 revived, as has been often pointed out, under the stimulus of the 

 invention of printing, and the scattering over Europe of the 

 Greek scholars consequent on the capture of Constantinople by 

 the Turks, the interest in the science of entomology was again 

 aroused, but at the time of this revival it seemed to be the belief 

 that the ancients, notably Aristotle and Pliny, had recorded all 

 that was to be learned, and, therefore, instead of studying nature 

 herself, the mere copying of writings of these very old authors, 

 and particularly of their stories and fables, was made the basis 

 of the published works. 



Group II. Period of Revival of Interest in Science. 



The charge of Reaumur's, just referred to, is descriptive of and 

 applies to my second group of writers on entomology. Promi 

 nent among the authors of this period* (1550-1650) is the little 

 group consisting of Gesner, Alclrovandi, Moufet, and Kircher, 

 who were the precursors of the more careful writers of the fol 

 lowing period of Ray and Reaumur. A few notes about these old 

 writers may be of interest. 



Conrad Gesner (1516-1565), who is styled the modern Pliny 

 by Lacordaire, w r as a physician of Zurich, and compiled from the 

 ancients a history of animals, in 3 volumes folio, supplemented 

 with original observations and many very creditable woodcuts. 



compiled a great work, De natura animalium, in 17 volumes, in which 

 insects are often discussed and in which the interesting fact is recorded 

 that Greek anglers sometimes employed artificial insects to attract fishes. 

 Many editions of this book have appeared, the one examined by the 

 writer bearing the date 1611 and published in Greek and Latin text and 

 carefully indexed a quaint volume of more than 1,000 pages. 



*A little earlier in time than this group of writers was Albertus Magnus 

 (Groot) (1195-1289), who, on the authority of Kirby & Spence and Lacor 

 daire, devoted one of the 21 volumes of his writings to natural history, 

 taking the matter, as he himself confesses, from Aristotle. Insects come 

 under the term "Anulosa," and all are " worms," the butterflies and flies 

 being "flying worms," and the spiders " spider worms," etc. 



