128 HALF HOURS WITH INSECTS. [Packakd. 



base, with three atoms of oxj'gen, forms the formic acid. 

 Now Dumas not only made this out, but he further discov- 

 ered that the three atoms of oxygen might be replaced with 

 three atoms of chlorine. He thus obtained terchloride of 

 formyle. It so happened that, when etlier had been em- 

 ployed as an aniiesthetic, Dr. Simpson of Edinburgh was 

 induced to look for some agent that might act even more 

 beneficially than ether in this I'espect. He tried the terchlo- 

 ride of form^de, and found it to succeed ; and this is the 

 agent which under the name of chloroform, has been the 

 means of alleviating a vast amount of human misery : and if 

 occasionally it has destroyed life it has saved so much that 

 mankind owes a deep debt of gratitude to those who have 

 successfully introduced it into practice." 



Such, then, are some of the relations in which insects stand 

 to us. They feed ns, clothe us, and lull us to sleep. The 

 gorgeous hues and lines of grace of some fill our minds with 

 visions of beauty ; others, master pieces of ugliness, turn 

 us to loathing. They are our companions by day, and, alas 

 also by night. Finally, a thorough comprehension of their 

 origin, structure and habits forms a part of that grand science 

 — biology — which great intellects have through the centu- 

 ries since the time of Aristotle, gradually and with much 

 pains built up, and the end and aim of which is to seek the 

 answer to the question — What is life? thus bringing the 

 mind of the inquirer into closer relations with the Source 

 of all Life. 



82 



