166 



THE MUSEUM. 



white and scarlet, in the air or bob- 

 ling in the fruited cherry tree. I can 

 enjoy them as well as cherry pies. 



And how often at this season as I 

 go about garden work do the quaint 

 Catbirds, hhere only after a few cher- 

 ries, scold me as if I were the robber, 

 and they held a mortgage on the crop. 



Pleasures of Entomology, and 

 Some Suggestions to Be- 

 ginners. 



By Benj. O. p. Kittleman. 



i. remarks for the skeptic. 



In all the realm of learning there is 

 no subject which has more fascination 

 for its adherents than Entomology or 

 the study of insects, scientifically and 

 economically. Geology, Paleontology, 

 Botany each have their interest but 

 entomology has a charm peculiarly its 

 own, associated, as it is, with fresh 

 air, the fields and woodlands. Take 

 a trip with an enthusiast some bright 

 day when all Nature is smiling and 

 you will catch the inspiration. It is 

 in us all and needs but the calling 

 forth. We all love the beautiful and 

 harmonious. What better place can 

 we go to find them than 

 Under the open sky? 



Nature is full of sublimity, charm 

 and inspiration and she is willing for 

 us to draw from them at our will. If 

 the lover of Nature will persistently 

 follow her through her outward man- 

 ifestations she will bring him at last 

 face to face with the Ideal. Such a 

 pursuit will take him beyond the world 

 of shadows and strife. The more we 

 study rocks, plants, insects, or observe 

 the heavenly bodies in illimitable 

 space the closer are we brought in 

 touch with the Divine. "A spiritual 

 interpretation is the only key which 

 can unlock the motives and mysteries 

 of cosmic forces, and reveal the rhy- 

 thmical order of their operations." 



There is no disputing the fact, that 

 from remote antiquity the attention of 

 observant minds has been more or less 



attracted to the wonders of the insect 

 world about them, and in the records 

 of those ancient times which have 

 been preserved to us we meet with 

 frequent references to them, com- 

 mending their industry and foresight 

 and condemning the ravages of others. 

 It is not difficult to account for this. 

 The splendid and gorgeous hues of 

 many, the remarkable forms of others 

 and the curious habits of each are well 

 calculated to excite the admiration of 

 all, even those ignorant of them, in a 

 scientific way. 



Insects play a most important part 

 in the economy of Nature, which be- 

 comes more important as our knowl- 

 edge of them advances. The average 

 townsman can hardly appreciate this 

 fact as usually his knowledge of them 

 is confined to certain household pests 

 and consequently he can entertain no 

 other feeling than contempt and dis- 

 gust for the annoying hexapods of his 

 very limited acquaintance. 



Yet, they not only vitally concern 

 man but as scavengers, as pollinizers 

 of our fruits and flowers, or as food 

 for other animals they are seen to be 

 absolutely essential to his very exis- 

 tence. Hear what that noted observ- 

 er, John Lubbock has to say on this 

 subject. He says "Neither plants 

 nor insects indeed would be what they 

 are, for the influence which each ex- 

 erts on the other. Some planis, in- 

 deed, are altogether dependent for 

 their very existence on insects. We 

 know now, for instance, that certain 

 plants produce no seeds at all unless 

 visited by insects." Trifoliuni prat- 

 cusc or red clover is one well known 

 instance of this dependence and it is 

 dependent on our common bumble- 

 bee, that great awkward fellow that 

 goes buzzing over our fields and pas- 

 tures in mid-summer. 



The next instance I might cite is 

 that of the scavengers, the Nccroplia- 

 gac or burying beetles, which dig pits 

 tor any stray dead mouse or bird and 

 cover them with earth that they may 

 have a decaying mass of flesh in which 



