JANUARY 1, 1897.1 



KNOWLEDGE. 



Fio. 2. — Pboto-iuicrograph of tbo upper wiug of 

 a miuute Hynicnopteron, from Nature. 



magnified," with which so many are charmed, apparently 

 unable to grasp anything not made by human hands. 



Great as 

 the pleasure 

 is which we 

 obtain from 

 minutely ex- 

 amining and 

 describing an 

 insect, it can- 

 not compare 

 with that 

 derived from 

 making a 

 drawing of 

 one of these 

 marvels of 

 creative skill, 

 and those 

 who desire to 

 increase their 

 power of ob- 

 servation I 

 recommend 

 to place a 

 small insect 

 in position under an inch objective, and then to make an 

 ed-(ict drawing of it. This should be made on the sectional 

 paper, or, best of all, in the journal, where the squares 

 can be either divided or doubled according to the scale. 



We must, when thus engaged, bear in mind that we are 

 not making a freehand drawing or one in which we can 

 put in any of our own ideas, for the insect is not like a 

 weed, say, of grass, where the leaves turn and twist about 

 in all directions. We shall find before we have been 

 di awing for an hour that every hair and spine has its 

 place and peculiar form ; some perfectly straight, others 

 bent over in 

 a graceful 

 curve; another 

 on the oppo- 

 site side bend- 

 ing over to- 

 wards it in 

 exactly the 

 same curve. 

 In a freshly 

 emerged fly, 

 or even in a 

 tiny larva just 

 hatched, and 

 before it has 

 received any 

 rough hand- 

 ling, can be 

 seen numerous 

 hairs on each 

 segment, 

 every one 

 placed most 

 exactly to cor- 

 respond with those on the other side of the centre line, over 

 which some of them cross in graceful form, meeting exactly 

 over the centre ; others bending forward and away again 

 in such marvellous order that no one can fail to be convinced 

 of the evidence of design in cvsry hair and spine, each one 

 of which is so exquisitely fitted into and held by the skin 

 tbat the desired movement and allotted function can be 

 performed with the greatest ease. 



Fig. 3. — Photo-uiicrograpli of tongue of Bee wliieh 

 lias been soaked in liquorpotassa, squeezed 

 Hat between two pieees of glass, washed uud 

 dried, then mounted in Canada balsam. 



All engineers' draughtsmen, when designing any mechani- 

 cal work, know the vital importance of allotting to each 

 bolt and rivet its place, so that from foundation to finish 

 all work together without confusion. So it is with every 

 insect, any one of which, as we go on drawing, draws out 

 our wrapt attention, until we feel spellbound with the 



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Fio. -1. — Tongue of Bee as seen in its natural form. 



inexpressible and marvellous manner in which it is put 

 together. With such a copy no liberty ought to be taken, 

 but faithful representation made, to the best of our ability, 

 of these works of creation. 



All drawings should be carefully inked in and the scale 

 marked under each. 



To show how necessary it is that greater care be taken 

 in drawing minute insects, I give a few instances, without 

 names of either author or insect. 



On comparing Figs. 1 and 2, it is at once apparent that 

 the artist has not studied his subject, but simply noticed 

 that the wings have long hairs all rouud, the photo- 

 micrograph proving that the drawing has almost twice the 

 correct number of these characteristic hairs, which I havo 

 found constant in over sixty specimens. These peculiar 

 paddle-shaped wings are unique, so that anyone capturing 

 this insect would recognize it from the incorrect drawing. 



Fig. 3 is a specimen of "wicked distortion" to which 

 insects are subjected, showing the various parts utterly 

 ruined, with little or no resemblance to the original form. 

 Drawings or photo-micrographs of these flattened prepara- 

 tions convey but a poor idea of the original insect. 



Drawings made of minute insects, mounted in the usual 



