PREFACE. 



THE contents of this book originally appeared as a 

 series of articles in Knowledge, and I am indebted to 

 the courtesy of the editor and proprietors of that 

 journal for their re-issue in the present form. My 

 aim has been to give a plain and easy account of such 

 insect pests as may be met with in ordinary dwelling- 

 houses, and thus to show that every one has ready to 

 hand, with very little trouble in the way of collection, 

 abundant material for the practical study of that most 

 fascinating branch of natural history, entomology. As 

 the book is written primarily for those who have no 

 special knowledge of the subject, I have endeavoured 

 to put the descriptions of insect structure into ordinary 

 language as far as possible, and to abstain from the 

 unnecessary introduction of technicalities. Where tech- 

 nical terms have been of necessity used, an attempt has 

 been made to explain each on its first introduction. 

 Though the book is intended primarily for the novice, 

 I would yet venture to hope that it may be of some 

 service to more advanced students of entomology, as 

 bringing into one volume items of information that 



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