PREFACE. 



Philosophy has invested even the commonest ob- 

 jects of Nature with charms unknown to the unedu- 

 cated. The conditions of our being are such, that we 

 are tied by destiny to every object; and the more in- 

 timate and appreciable the connection, the more inter- 

 esting and important to us becomes a full understand- 

 ing of our mutual relations and dependencies in the 

 vast arena of Life. Xo part of IN'atural Science, there- 

 fore, can be considered unimportant or devoid of inter- 

 est. Still there are differences in our appreciation of 

 its individual parts, as there are differences in our tastes 

 and mental capacities. If we are accustomed, like the 

 sportive birds in their splendid plumage and graceful 

 motions, to look down upon the mammalia as the real 

 laborinof class in the dominion of the Animal Kino-- 



o o 



dom ; if we despise the Eeptiles on account of their 

 ugliness and the deadly venom which they contain, 

 still we may approach with pleasure the class of Fish^ 

 es, the greatest part of which are excellent food, a 

 valuable article of commerce, and a great source of 

 wealth to many nations. 



No branch of Natural History deserves a more care- 

 ful and thorough study than the class of Insects, be- 

 cause none is more abounding in use or injury to man. 



