DECEMBER. 191 



itself to his mind, What shall I do with them ? And 

 if he has not learnt his lesson well, the answer will be 

 make all you can of them, barter, huckster and peddle 

 with them— drive hard bargains— give as little as you 

 can, and take as much as you can get. And if a certain 

 something tells him this is not right, that it is not liberal, 

 that it is not just, he smothers it by arguing that it is 

 only the usual course, almost everybody does the same, 

 and that many of our oldest Entomologists are not 

 above practising it. But beware : the practice of huck- 

 stering, chaffering and bartering duplicates has been 

 the cause of more lying and deception than anything I 

 know of in the Entomological world ; has caused more 

 heartburnings, alienated more friendships, and gained 

 for its votaries more ill-will, slander and backbiting, 

 which has damaged their characters for years, and 

 thrown them considerably in the rear of the Entomo- 

 logical throng; who have acted in a more liberal and 

 brotherly spirit. And all for what ? That he might 

 have the pleasure of saying, " he had an insect that 

 Mr. So-and-so had not; that he was willing to part 

 with a few specimens if he could get something good 

 for them, but unless he did he should not let them go." 

 The collector who speaks and acts in such a manner 

 has no part or lot in the science of Entomology. He 

 does not bring his heart to the work further than so far 

 as it fills his cabinet ; he grudges his brother Entomolo- 

 gist any rarity he may have taken, and if the latter be 

 a tyro or young beginner he will by fair or foul means 

 obtain it from him, and chuckle over the action as if it 

 were meritorious. Such are the actions, I grieve to 

 say, of many of the collectors of the beautiful objects 



