THE PURSUIT OF ENTOMOLOGY. 3 



standard work on the subject, there was not room left for 

 notices of the rare species which have become common, 

 without swelling the book to a size which, by enhancing its 

 cost, would have diminished its usefulness by limiting its 

 circulation. 



Entomologists are not drawn from the wealthy, but rather 

 from the working classes ; an extra sixpence or two in the 

 price of this book might put it completely beyond the reach 

 of a large circle of Entomologists. An Entomologist is 

 none the less one because he wears fustain, and " labours, 

 working with his hands;" and in very many of this class 

 the innate love of these beautiful objects of creation, the 

 Butterflies and Moths, supplies them with one of their 

 purest pleasures. Should not such tastes and such pursuits 

 be encouraged ? An observation, if new, is as important by 

 whomsoever made ; and a Spitalflelds weaver may supply 

 some important gap in our knowledge, which Oxford and 

 Cambridge put together would fail to elucidate. 



To those who have not yet left school, I would suggest 

 that the Midsummer holidays of the school-boy afford op- 

 portunities of making Entomological captures, which rarely 

 re-occur in after life. At no subsequent period are they 

 likely to have so much time thrown completely on their 

 hands ; hence it is that many of our rarest species have 

 been taken by Entomologists while yet in their teens, and 

 much more would, no doubt, be accomplished by them, if 

 older and more experienced Entomologists would assist the 

 young inquirers with information. Those who have acquired 

 information should endeavour to render it as useful as they 

 can, by communicating it to as wide a circle as possible ; 

 and, acting on this principle, I am always happy to answer 

 any inquiries addressed to me by young Entomologists. 



b2 



