EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF ENTOMOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS. 947 



We now come to another phase of the subject. If educa- 

 tionally " the game is not worth the candle," and I am satisfied 

 it is not, is the time we spend on Entomology defensible, or is 

 such time wasted ? My answer to this is, that the time spent on 

 Entomology is perfectly defensible, and that such time is not 

 wasted. Entomology as we study it, or rather the entomological 

 collections which we make, — and to me there is a vast deal of 

 diiference here, — is a hobby, purely and simply a pleasant 

 occupation to fill up spare time, and an illustration of the old 

 couplet, that " All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." 

 The harder we work at our daily labour the more necessary is 

 recreation for our physical and mental health. After most severe 

 mental work I find I can always turn to Entomology with 

 pleasure, and after an hour or so feel entirely invigorated. Is 

 this education? It may be. I think it recreation. It is a 

 pleasure to me, and I dare say it is to hundreds of others. 

 Again, not only is the collection in itself valuable as a relief to 

 which one can turn at any time, but the actual process of 

 collecting is in itself to be considered. The formation of a 

 collection is in itself an incentive to outdoor exercise and 

 recreation ; and to men of sedentary or indoor occupations, 

 what does this mean ? Only those so engaged can tell, and 

 those in large towns — London, Liverpool, &c., where the 

 conditions are emphasised to an alarming extent — feel the 

 reaction more than all. I have often thought that it is this 

 feeling or craving for the country that has increased the number 

 of entomologists in our large towns to such an extent, as 

 compared with those in the rural districts. 



I think I have said enough in defence of the time we spend 

 on Entomology, and I believe I am right in the view I have taken 

 of Mr. Coste's article. He undoubtedly, when he wrote his 

 article, was fully convinced that there was an educational value 

 in Entomology ; the point he wanted discussed was whether the 

 educational result obtained was at all equal to the time spent on 

 the subject. Let me consider another point in connection with 

 the question. What time do we spend on Entomology ? and 

 what educational value is returned for this time ? For this 

 purpose we may consider the question under three heads : — 

 1. The actual collecting of specimens. 2. Pinning and setting. 

 3. The arrangement of the collection. 



