28 JANUARY. 



prophet to see that it must become more and 

 more so. To say nothing of the benefits or in- 

 conveniences we experience from insects ; there 

 are in their minute shapes such wonderful in- 

 stincts, powers, and I may add, passions, com- 

 prised ; their habits are so curious, extraordi- 

 nary, and varied — their forms so splendid and 

 beautiful — some in their silken robes, some in 

 their blue and burnished armour, some with 

 their glowing and gorgeous wings, transparent 

 as crystal, or feathered like the peacock ; they 

 effect such vast designs with such small means, 

 and they so haunt all corners of the habitable 

 globe, that I can conceive no portion of all 

 God's wonderful creatures, more capable of, at 

 once, fascinating the attention, charming the 

 fancy, or exciting the highest admiration in the 

 most intelligent minds. 



I regret that out of upwards of ten thousand 

 indigenous insects, my catalogue must be con- 

 fined to a very few — the most splendid, the 

 most conspicuous, the most curious, and the 

 most popular — such, in fact, as the general 

 lover of nature will be most likely to meet with 

 in his walks, without much seeking after. 



