CLASSIFICATION OF INSECTS. 201 



The power of intelligibly designating an object, or a group 

 of objects, is only to be attained by a close attention to 

 nomenclature. 



In nomenclature, it is a sound plan to revert to some stan- 

 dard authority ; and, supposing that described and named 

 objects be at any subsequent time re-described and named 

 as new, to strike out such new names as soon as the fact shall 

 be pointed out, and substitute the old names in their right 

 of priority : in all instances subsequent to such authority, 

 the best rule is, that the name first published be received. 

 Naturalists are agreed in considering Linneus the original 

 founder of our admirable binominal nomenclature, and, 

 with very few exceptions, they refer to him as the standard 

 authority : the author has adhered, as nearly as possible, 

 to the Linnean nomenclatm'e, altering, however, the termi- 

 nation of the names, in order to appropriate the original 

 names to minor divisions. 



For convenience, we make catalogues of all known ani- 

 mals : it is the object of every compiler of such catalogues 

 to make as near an approach to nature as he is able. These 

 catalogues or arrangements are not limited to a simple list 

 of single names or kinds of animals, called species, but many 

 species are grouped together under a second name, and called 

 a genus ; a number of genera are united, and called a family 

 or familia ; a number of families are united and called an 

 order or ordo. From orders we mount upwards to stirpes ; 

 from stirpes to classes; from classes to tribes or tribus; 

 from tribes to provinces or provincim ; from provinces to 

 kingdoms or regna ; and, from kingdoms to universal nature. 



Universal nature is divisible into material and imma- 

 terial : the material is divided into organic and inorganic ; 

 the organic is divided into animal and vegetable : these 

 are called kingdoms or regna, and the whole of the animals 

 thus constitute the animal kingdom : the inorganic division, 



