PREFACE. 



any thing of the habits of the animal by which 

 it is produced ! On this division of the subject 

 I have been pretty full, shewing the extent and 

 importance of the manufacture to Great Britain, 

 as well as to many continental states. If I have 

 descended to too statistical a detail, I trust the 

 importance of the subject will make amends for 

 what naturalists might consider as a fault. 



In the selection of illustrations, I have in 

 some instances been guided more by the singu- 

 larity of the shape and markings of the insect, 

 than by the beauty and variety of the colours. 

 It is not pretended that the figures are by any 

 means entitled to consideration as works of art, 

 but, such as they are, it is presumed that a 

 work, requiring the same labour, and executed 

 in a similar style, has not before been offered to 

 the public at so cheap a rate. Another edition 

 can never appear at the same price, nor would 

 the present, had not the publishers pledged 

 themselves to their numerous subscribers. 



I have chosen the Linnean arrangement in 

 preference to that of Latreille, or other cele- 

 brated modern authors : not that I think it 

 more perfect, but because it will be more easily 



