Packard] INSECTS OF THE GARDEN. 19 



to the fact, that when their destruction was attempted in 

 Hungary, winged insects increased so rapidly that rewards 

 for the destruction of sparrows were suppi'cssed, and others 

 given for bringing them back. 



"Frederick the Great ordered the destruction of sparrows 

 because they ate his cherries, but in two years' time he found 

 his cherries and all other fruits consumed by caterpillars. 

 In a sparrow's nest on a terrace in the Rue Vivienne were 

 found the remains of seven hundred cockchafers. Owls 

 and birds of that class which agricultural ignorance pursues 

 as birds of ill omen ought to be welcomed. They are ten 

 times more useful than the best cats, and not dangerous to 

 the larder. The martins that were killed, were found to 

 have in their stomachs the remains of five hundred and forty 

 three insects. The commission recommended a prohibition 

 of bird-nesting and the destruction of eggs or young birds." 

 We must not kill any birds : even those that in the late 

 summer pilfer from our orchards, at other times eat multi- 

 tudes of worms. It will not do to destroy the balance of 

 nature. 



The stud}' of insects has been too much confined to their 

 classification and the synonymy of the species. It is only 

 occasionally that we see naturalists whose dispositions and 

 opportunities lead them to study habits exclusivel}*, or to 

 combine the two departments of study. DcGeer and Reau- 

 mur of the last centur}-, whose ponderous tomes arc packed 

 with observations of insect econom}', many of which have 

 never since been repeated, laid the foundation of these in- 

 quiries. The labors of the Swedish Count and French nat- 

 nral philosopher are monuments of patient research and 

 curious inquiry. 



Here also should be noticed Ratzcburg's great work on 

 forest insects. In the elaborate and beautiful plates, fifty- 

 seven in all, that enrich the two volumes of this distin- 

 guished entomologist, is reproduced the tree as it stands 



19 



