SCIENTIFIC TRACTS. 



NUMBER VII. 



ENTOMOLOGY. 



AMONG the different sciences which of late years have 

 been zealously studied in this portion of our country, 

 none, perhaps, have received more attention than several 

 branches of Natural History. 



A taste for these pursuits is rapidly increasing, as the 

 pleasure and instruction received from them are pointed 

 out by those who have diligently and faithfully investiga- 

 ted them. But while peculiar circumstances have ren- 

 dered some of these branches more popular than others, 

 a few have been neglected almost altogether. Thus while 

 the objects of some may have been eagerly sought after at 

 much labor and pecuniary expense, and those of others 

 have been carefully examined and accurately arranged, 

 several have been permitted to remain unheeded and 

 unsought for. 



Mineralogy, indebted for much of its popularity as a 

 science among us within a few years, to the brilliancy of 

 a star in the East, has become not only a delightful 

 pursuit for the student at our Universities, but an amuse- 

 ment for the man of leisure, and a fashionable recreation 

 among the most wealthy. 



The variety and beauty of our plants the pleasing 

 associations at all times recalled by reverting to the days 

 of our childhood, when we so joyously plucked them 

 and the unusual facilities offered for their study, have 

 rendered them the objects of general admiration. Few 

 are there among us who have not some slight acquaint- 

 ance with this fascinating branch ; who cannot describe 

 the parts which compose a flower, and distinguish many 

 of our frequently observed species. Here we have great 

 inducements to proceed, being furnished with many in- 

 valuable aids. Dictionaries and manuals, written in the 

 VOL- i. NO. vn. 15 



