33 INTRODUCTORY LETTER. 



Things that are universally obvious and easy of examination, as they 

 are the first that fall under our notice, so are they also most commonly 

 those which we first feel an inclination to study ; while, on the contrary, 

 things that must be sought for in order to be seen, and which when sought 

 for avoid the approach and inquiring eye of man, are often the last to 

 which he directs his attention. The vegetable kingdom stands in the for- 

 mer predicament. Flora, with a liberal hand, has scattered around us her 

 charming productions ; they every where meet and allure us, enchanting 

 us by their beauty, regaling us by their fragrance, and interesting us as 

 much by their subservience to our luxuries and comfort, as to the neces- 

 sary support and well-being of our life. Beasts, birds, and fishes, also, in 

 some one or other of these respects, attract our notice ; but insects, unfor- 

 tunate insects, are so far from attracting us, that we are accustomed to 

 abhor them from our childhood. The first knowledge that we get of them 

 is as tormentors ; they are usually pointed out taus by those about us, as 

 ugly, filthy, and noxious creatures ; and the whole insect world, butter- 

 flies perhaps and some few others excepted, are devoted by one universal 

 ban to proscription and execration, as fit only to be trodden under our feet 

 and crushed ; so that often, before we can persuade ourselves to study 

 them, we have to remove from our minds prejudices deeply rooted and of 

 long standing. 



Another principal reason which has contributed to keep Entomology in 

 the back ground arises from the diminutive size of the objects of which it 

 treats. Being amongst the most minute of nature's productions, they do 

 not so readily catch the eye of the observer ; and when they do, mankind 

 in general are so apt to estimate the worth and importance of things by 

 their bulk, that because we usually measure them by the duodecimals of 

 an inch instead of by the foot or by the yard, insects are deemed too in- 

 significant parts of the creation, and of too little consequence to its general 

 welfare, to render them worthy of any serious attention or study. What 

 small foundation there is for such prejudices and misconception, I shall 

 endeavor to show in the course of our future correspondence ; my object 

 now, as the champion and advocate of Entomology, is to point out to 

 you, her comparative advantages, and to remove the veil which has hith- 

 erto concealed those attractions, and that grace and beauty, which entitle 

 her to equal admiration at least with her sister branches of Natural 

 History. 



In estimating the comparative value of the study of any department in 

 this branch of science, we ought to contrast it with others, as to the rank 

 its objects hold in the scale of being ; the amusement and instruction 

 which the student may derive from it ; and its utility to society at large. 

 With respect to public utility, the study of each of the three kingdoms 

 may perhaps be allowed to stand upon nearly an equal footing; I shall 

 not, therefore, enter upon that subject till I come to consider the question 

 Cm bono 1 and to point out the uses of Entomology, but confine myself 

 now to the two first of these circumstances. 



As to rank, I must claim for the entomologist some degree of prece- 

 dence before the mineralogist and the botanist. The mineral kingdom, 

 whose objects are neither organized nor sentient, stands certainly at the foot 

 of the scale. Next above this is the vegetable, whose lovely tribes, though 



