46 HISTORY OF 



these insects, in one shape or another, present 

 themselves to our view. Some, in every state, 

 offer the most entertaining spectacle j others are 

 beautiful only in their winged form. Many per- 

 sons, of which number I am one, have an invin- 

 cible aversion to caterpillars, and worms of every 

 species ; there is something disagreeable in their 

 slow crawling motion, for which the variety of 

 their colouring can never compensate. But others 

 feel no repugnance at observing, and even hand- 

 ling them with the most attentive application. 



There is nothing in the butterfly state so beau- 

 tiful or splendid as these insects. They serve, not 

 less than the birds themselves, to banish solitude 

 from our walks, and to fill up our idle intervals 

 with the most pleasing speculations. The butter- 

 fly makes one of the principal ornaments of ori- 

 ental poetry ; but in those countries the insect is 

 larger and more beautiful than with us. 



The beauties of the fly may therefore very well 

 excite our curiosity to examine the reptile. But 

 we are still more strongly attached to this tribe, 

 from the usefulness of one of the number. The 

 silk-worm is, perhaps, the most serviceable of all 

 other animals ; since, from its labours, and the 

 manufacture attending it, near a third part of the 

 world are clothed, adorned, and supported. 



Caterpillars may be easily distinguished from 

 worms or maggots, by the number of their feet, 

 and by their producing butterflies or moths. 

 When the sun calls up vegetation, and vivifies 

 the various eggs of insects, the caterpillars are 

 the first that are seen, upon almost every vegeta- 



