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Ill 1773, Beiijaiiiin Wilkes published one hundred and 

 twenty plates of " EticjUxlt Motlia (ind Biitterfliex." This work 

 I have not seen. Previous to this, in 1742, he published some 

 twelve plates which I exhibit to-night. They are dedicated 

 to the worthy members of the Aurelian Society. He writes: — 

 " Permit me the honour of laying before you twelve new 

 designs of English Butterflies, creatures whose elegance and 

 variety of beauty demand our admiration. Ignorance long- 

 imagined them spontaneous production of pntrifying matter 

 and undesigned chance, causes as little able to form an 

 animal as to create a world : but your discoveries have rectified 

 that mistake, and proved them to proceed from parents like 

 themselves, after a constant though wonderful order of 

 generation." 



The figures on the plates are arranged in geometrical 

 patterns, known as " Picture-making," a practice in vogue 

 among working men until quite recently, and still adopted 

 by the soldiers in India. The figures are beautifully and 

 accurately engraved. His advertisement states: "Sets, plain 

 and coloured from the real flyes, sold by B. Wilkes, against 

 the Horn Tavern in Fleet Street, where any gentleman or lady 

 may see his collection of insects." 



In 1839 was published the celebrated " Index 

 Enfomohf/in,.«," by William Wood, F.R.S., F.E.S. This 

 book served as the great popular guide to the entomologists, 

 of the early part of the 19th century. The author conceived 

 the idea of delineating all the British species in a uniform 

 size, reducing the larger ones, and enlarging the smaller 

 species. By this means he was able to figure 1,755 species, 

 which, in many cases containing both sexes, increased the 

 number to some 3,000 figures, in a small 8vo book. The 

 plates are hand coloured, and accurately done, though in some 

 cases the white lead of the yellow pigments has oxidised 

 and become discoloured with age. The letterpress consists 

 of the Linnsean names of the species, as well as the English 

 names, with synonyms, and about half a dozen words of 

 description of the habitat and date of appearance. The- 



