428 PRESERVATIOX OF INSECTS. 



the number of known species. A useful little French 

 work, by M. Brez, entitled ' Flore des Insectophiles,' was 

 published about forty years ago, containing a systematic 

 list of plants, with the peculiar insects found on each, and 

 though recent discoveries render it very imperfect, it may 

 still be consulted with advantage. But, with all the infor- 

 mation we can procure, the remarks of Addison, in the 

 paper we have quoted, still hold true, that " Seas and 

 deserts hide millions of animals from our observation ; in- 

 numerable artifices and stratagems are acted in the howjing 

 wilderness, and in the great deep, that can never come to 

 our knowledge. Besides, that there are infinitely more 

 species of creatures which are not to be seen without, nor 

 indeed with the help of the finest glasses, than of such as 

 are bulky enough for the naked eye to take hold of. How- 

 ever, from the consideration of such animals as lie within 

 the compass of our knowledge, we might easily form a con- 

 clusion of the rest, that the same variety of wisdom and 

 goodness runs through the whole creation, and puts every 

 creature in a condition to provide for its safety and sub- 

 sistence, in its proper season."* 



Looking minutely at all the leaves, flowers, and stems of 

 plants and trees, and prying into every comer where in- 

 sects may lurk, is one means of discovering their haunts, — 

 the onl}^ one, indeed, with respect to many species ; but 

 collectors are not satisfied with a process so necessarily 

 slow, and take various means for expediting the capture of 

 numbers, rather ihan observing the natural movements and 

 dispositions of a few. We may advantageously adopt these 

 methods when we wish to furnish our cages with live in- 

 sects, in 0]'der to study their economy. 



One of the most useful and handy instruments for this 

 purpose is an umbrella. In Avalkiug through a meadow, 

 for instance, where the grass is not too short, we Taaj 

 stretch the umbrella, hold the hollow side uppermost, and 

 push it through the grass, when the insects which may be 

 above its level will fall into the trap. In this way we have 



* 'Spectator,' No. 111. 



