"INSECTS AT HOME." 83 



" Natural History of Man " having made its appearance 

 in volume form a short time previously. 



Two small handbooks of the " Common Objects " 

 series, " Common British Moths," and " Common British 

 Beetles " were also written and published during the 

 year 1870 ; both appearing under the auspices of Messrs. 

 George Eoutledge & Co. I think that my father was 

 afterwards sorry that he had ever written these two 

 books. He did so under pressure from the publishers, 

 at a period when he had not the time to devote to his 

 subject ; and under any circumstances, moreover, he was 

 scarcely the right man for the task, as he had for nearly 

 twenty years discontinued the active collection of in- 

 sects, and had never given that minute attention to 

 species and specific differences which is essential to those 

 who write even a popular handbook upon the subject. 

 In consequence, the insects selected for description were 

 not well chosen, and the books as my father himself 

 afterwards freely admitted are of but little practical 

 value. 



The year 1871 was occupied by the preparation of a 

 much larger and more important work, which, under the 

 title of " Insects at Home," comprises descriptions, life- 

 histories, &c., of a great number of representative British 

 insects. The book was far more carefully prepared than 

 its two smaller predecessors. More time could be de- 

 voted to its preparation in the first place, and the 

 author had not constantly to write under the haunting 

 dread of an imperative demand for "copy." The illustra- 

 tions, too, were provided for in a much more satisfactory 

 G 2 



