ORDERS OF INSECTS. 59 



In this Table I have left the Neuroptera as a single 

 order amongst the insects with an incomplete meta- 

 morphosis, although, as already stated, its members 

 exhibit that phsenomenon both in a complete and 

 incomplete form. The most recent German entomo- 

 logists, however, divide the Neuroptera into two 

 orders, in which they are supported both by the na- 

 ture of the metamorphosis and by some points of 

 structure, although it would be contrary to the plan 

 which I have laid down for myself to adopt this course 

 in the present work. 



We have thus got safely through the investigation 

 of those preliminaries, a knowledge of which appeared 

 necessary to enable the reader to derive some know- 

 ledge from the short biographies of particular insects 

 and descriptions of minor groups which will be laid 

 before him in the following pages. We here take leave 

 of the consideration of Insects in general, a circum- 

 stance which I doubt not will be attended with some 

 little gratification to many of my readers, although I 

 have certainly used my best endeavours to render these 

 necessary details as interesting as possible. Unlike 

 the worthy Tristram Shandy, who tells his reader that 

 when he is dull, he has an object in it, I can only say 

 that when I have been dry, it was because I could not 

 help it ; but at the same time I must beg the reader 

 to bear in mind that although it may be perfectly 

 impossible to render the description of certain facts 

 attractive to the general reader, yet the investigation 

 of these facts themselves may be in the highest degree 

 interesting. 



