500 LETTERS OF A CITIZEN. 



classical, minute, and philosophical of naturalists ; whose name, 

 indeed, is but another term for all that is excellent and profound 

 in Natural History. Look at his great work, "Regne Animal" in 

 four volumes 2042 pages. Look at the divisions of his work : 

 the introduction embraces 32 pages ; the catalogue of authors, 

 120 pages, leaving 1890 for the work proper. Of these, 950 

 pages are devoted to ENTOMOLOGY, or Jlnnellides, Crustacce, and In- 

 sects, which belonged to Mr. Randall's department : Annellides, 

 30 pages ; Crustaca, 158 pages ; Jlracknides, 63 pages ; Insects (or 

 bugs, to speak a la Dickerson), 674 pages ; so that you will per- 

 ceive this rejected department equals in extent all the others in the 

 animal kingdom ; and, if the more extended details of the former 

 portion of the work be taken into consideration, actually exceeds 

 them ! ! ! Wishing to make a final disposition of you while I have 

 you in hand, I have thus gone into statistics, for the purpose of 

 rendering the subject more tangible, and leaving you without a 

 shadow of defence. 



Do you object to this mode of judging by the number of pages ? 

 I own that in many works and not a few official documents such 

 a method might seem unjust, but not so in such a well-proportion- 

 ed and erudite work as the " Regne Animal" of Cuvier. The 

 combination of distinguished authors who prepared it for publica- 

 tion did not permit one portion of the work to suffer on account of 

 another. 



It is true, sir, your dictum would have little weight apart from 

 the appendages of office ; but, as it cannot be viewed in that light, 

 and might, therefore, be regarded as authority, and become a 

 precedent, I deem it proper still farther to indicate to you and to 

 the country the accumulated weight of authority by which you are 

 opposed, leaving you to enjoy whatever of self-complacency may 

 result from the comparison. 



On the one side we have the Honourable Joel R. Poinsett, sup- 

 ported by Governor Dickerson and Lieutenant Wilkes : formidable 

 authority ! If any one of the three has written upon the subject 

 of Entomology, his labours, I believe, have not yet seen the light. 



On the other hand, the limits of my letter, already extended far- 

 ther, probably, than you desired, will only permit me to notice a 

 portion of the works which have been written on Entomology. A 

 mere catalogue of their names would fill many pages. Indeed, I 



