46 OUT OF DOORS. 



UNDER THE BAEK. 



MAKCH. 



THERE is a time for all things, and this is the time for 

 that pursuit so dear to the heart of all entomologists, 

 hunting ' under the bark.' And well may it be dear 

 to him, for, putting aside the fact that ' under the 

 bark,' and there only, are found some of the rarest in- 

 sects that can enrich a cabinet, the pursuit is in itself 

 one of singular fascination. By withdrawing the 

 curtain of the bark we are admitted, as it were, on the 

 stage whereon Nature acts her ever-varying drama, 

 and indeed penetrate behind the scenes of the theatre. 

 We trace insects throughout the various stages of their 

 existence, and see how, by regular degrees, the fat, 

 white, round-bodied, slow-moving grub is transformed 

 into the active, ample-winged, long-legged beetle. 

 Then there is all the fascination of the lottery attendant 

 upon the search under the bark, and every fresh tree 

 or stump contains within it new elements of amuse- 

 ment. That there will be something under the bark is 

 absolutely certain ; but what it may be no one can 

 tell. There may be, perhaps, nothing but a common 

 woodlouse or centipede ; but there may be, and very 



