38 OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 



gist : " We have not taken animals enough into alli- 

 ance with us. The more spiders there were in the 

 stable, the less would the horses suffer from the flies. 

 The great American fire-fly should be imported into 

 Spain to catch mosquitos. In hot countries a reward 

 should be offered to the man who could discover what 

 insects feed upon fleas ^," It would be Avorth our 

 while to act upon this hint, and a similar one of Dr. 

 Darwin. Those insects might be collected and pre- 

 served that are known to destroy the Aphides and 

 other injurious tribes ; and we should thus be enabled 

 to direct their operations to any quarter where they 

 would be most serviceable : but this can uever be done 

 till experimental agriculturists and gardeners are con- 

 versant with insects, and acquainted with tlieir pro- 

 perties and economy. How is it that the great Being 

 of beings preserves the system which he has created 

 from permanent injury, in consequence of the too great 

 redundancy of any individual species, but by employing 

 one creature to prey upon another, and so overruling 

 and directing the instincts of all, that they may ope- 

 rate most where they are most wanted ? We cannot 

 better employ the reasoning powers and faculties with 

 which he has endowed us, than by copying his exam- 

 ple. We often employ the larger animals to destroy 

 each other, but the smaller, especially insects, we have 

 totally neglected. Some may think, perhaps, that in 

 aiming to do this we should be guilty of presumption, 

 and of attempting to take the government and direc- 

 tion of things out of the hands of Providence : but this 

 is a very weak argument, Avhich might with equal rea^ 



^ Soul hey 's 3itff/oc, 4((>, Notes, j19. 



