I2JTR0DUCT0RY LETTER. 8 



pursuit, lias given his sanction, acknowledging in the preface to his Fauna 

 Siiecica, that altliough the vegetable kingdom is nobler than the mineral, 

 yet the animal is more excellent than the vegetable. Now it is an indis- 

 putable axiom, 1 should think, that the more exalted the object the mor^ 

 excellent the study. By this observation, however, I would by no means 

 be thought to depreciate or discountenance the study either of plants or 

 minerals. All the works of our Creator are great, and worthy of our 

 attention and investigation, the lowest in the scale as well as the highest, 

 the most minute and feeble as well as those that exceed in magnitude and 

 might. Nor ought those whose inclination or genius leads them to one 

 department, to say to those who prefer another — " we have no need ot 

 you" — for each in his place, by diffusing the knowledge of his works, and 

 adding to the stock of previous discoveries, contributes to promote the 

 glory of the Great Architect of the universe and the good of his creatures. 



It is not my wish to claim for my favourite science more than of right 

 belongs to her ; therefore, when the question is concerning rank, I must 

 concede to the higlier orders of animals, I mean Fishes, Am[)hibia, Birds, 

 and Quadrupeds, their due priority and precedence.^ 1 shall only observe 

 here, that there may exist circumstances which countervail rank, and tend 

 to render the study of a lower order of beings more desirable than that of 

 a higher : when, for instance, the objects of the higher study are not to be 

 come at or preserved Xvithout great difficulty and expense ; when they are 

 few in number; or, when they are already well ascertained and known: 

 circumstances which attach to the study of those animals that [jrecede 

 insects, while they do not attach to the study of insects themselves. 



With regard to the amusement and instruction of the student, much 

 doubtless may be derived from any one of the sciences alluded to ; but 

 Entomology certainly is not behind any of her sisters in these respects ; 

 and if you are fond of novelty, and anxious to make new discoveries, she 

 will open to you a more ample field for the.^3 than either Botany or the 

 higher branches of Zoology. 



A new vertebrate animal or plant is seldom to be met with even by those 

 who have leisure and opportunity for extensive researches ; but if you 

 collect insects, you will find, however hmited the manor upon which you 

 can pursue your game, that your efforts are often rewarded by the capture 

 of some nondescript or rarity at present not possessed by other entomo- 

 logists, for I have seldom seen a cabinet so meagre as not to possess some 

 unique specimen. Nay, though you may have searched every spot in 

 your neighbourhood this year, turned over every stone, shaken every bush 

 or tree, and fished every pool, )ou will not have exhausted its insect pro- 

 ductions. Do the same another year and another, and new treasures will 

 still continue to enrich your cabinet. If you leave your own vicinity for 

 an entomological excursion, your prospects of success are still further in- 

 creased ; and even if confined in bad weather to your inn, the windows of 

 your apartment, as I have often experienced, will add to your stock. If a 

 sudden shower obliges you at any time to seek shelter under a tree, your 

 attention will be attracted, and the tedium of your station relieved, where 



1 If, however, rank were to be estimated by number of species or individuals of a 

 species, the pre-eminence could be claimed by insects, ■\vhici), from the calculations 

 made by various entomologists, probably amount to -100,000 or even more, perfectly 

 distinct from each other; Avhile for all the other classes of animals together, 30,000 

 species would be a high estimate. 



B 2 



