66 LIFE AND ORGANISATION. 



classes into which zoologists have distributed the animal 

 kingdom, the same astonishing augmentation of numbers ; 

 less indeed as we reach the higher classes, but even among 

 the Mammalia trebling the number within the time we have 

 named. The birds and fishes made known to us have been 

 still more multiplied ; while of insect genera and species, the 

 ratio of increase is such, that calculation can hardly follow it. 

 A commission sent to Brazil for beetles alone, is sure to 

 bring back from that country, so profusely swarming with 

 animal life of all kinds, many species before unknown to the 

 European naturalist. The cases of our Museums are replete 

 to overflowing with these new insect forms from every region 

 of the globe; certainly far exceeding 100,000 in their total 

 number. The British insects alone have been catalogued up 

 to 12,000 : the Coleoptera in the collections of Duport and 

 Baron De Jean, at Paris, amount to more than 20,000 species. 

 Of the Butterfly at least 3,000 species have been enumerated ; 

 while the catalogue of the Moths almost transcends any nu- 

 merical estimate. 



This augmentation, however, must be qualified by the 

 certain fact, that numerous individuals have been named as 

 species which are not really such. The species has been 

 recorded, where it is only the specimen or variety we have in 

 our hands. How far reduction may be carried on this score, 

 it is not easy to say. Undoubtedly it must be largely admitted 

 hereafter in correction of our actual catalogues. 



But we take an imperfect view of life, as it exists on the 

 earth, if attending only to the number of species, vast though 

 this be. The numerical individualities of different species 

 their richesse effrayante, to borrow a phrase of Cuvier is yet 

 more impressive to the reason and imagination. A single 

 swarm of insects, or a shoal of herrings, would in simple 

 numbers represent a populous empire. Without wishing to 

 malign a popular English institution, we might quote the 



