Co Ol'scrvations on some Insects little known, 



\n August, and the surface kept vciy light l)y the frosts and 

 ficecc of grass, the cattle have pulled up the young plants 

 bv the root.-, and entirely destroyed them. The duke of 

 llichniond's hailiff" was very desirous to feed the young 

 grasses before mentioned in the spring ; the flock wanted 

 the food, and there was an abundant crop. So urgent was 

 the man, that tlio duke, who had promised that my direc- 

 tions should be implicitly obeyed, wrote for my consent; 

 but to this plan I positively objected, declaring that, should 

 the stock be allowed to feed the lands the first spring, I 

 would not answer for the success of the experiment, j-fis 

 "race, who is aKvays firm on such occasions, would not 

 therefore give his consent to his bailiff's request. The re- 

 sult of the experiment was such, that neither the duke nor 

 his steward ever regretted adhering to my advice. 

 r I'o bj concludti.! in our next.] 



X. Glssrvaf'ir.r.s on some Insects little known. Bij 

 ]Ni. Meykk, of Gottingcn'^\ 



XN endeavouring: to class insects which have not been ac- 

 curately described bv those who saw them, nothing more 

 can heoficred than conjectures. The fevv eliaracters whicli 

 are given must be employed in order to deduce from them 

 something nearer the truth ; and it then becomes the dut\' 

 of future observers, when they have an opportunity of see- 

 in? new insects which have any similarity to those Imper- 

 fectly described, to examine and establish the points in 

 which thev correspond. It is by these means only that we 

 can attain to certainly in things wliich have before rested 

 only on conjecture. 



I have for some time past read, in dilfcrent authors, ac- 

 counts of insects, which attracted my attention the more, 

 as noxious qualities were ascribed to them ; I wished that 

 1 might be able to obtain better information than I found 

 in tlie books where they arc described respecting the genera 

 to which they belong; and, having taken the trouble to de- 

 termine this as far as possible, I here giv^e the result of what 

 appeared to me most prf)bable. I am far from giving these 

 observations, as strictly agreeable to truth : on the contrary, 

 I consider them as very imperfect ; but it is only by making 

 them known that I can obtain more certainty in regard to 

 jny conjectures. 



• From Mara^infuy da' Neufstc niis dcy Phsik, vol. ix. part s. 



The 



