2 NOTICES OF EPISODES OF INSECT LIFE. 



" In the beginning of the eighteenth century, the will of an English lady 

 was attempted to be set aside on the ground of lunacy, and the sole basis of 

 the attempt was her fondness for collecting insects. It was thought to be an 

 evidence of insanity to devote so much time to such a trivial pursuit. Since 

 that period, the science of entomology has been labored upon and developed 

 by some of the greatest and wisest men, and we have all been taught to see in. 

 the minutest forms of insect life further proofs of the existence and goodness 

 of God. If the cultivation of this science had no other object than to manifest 

 the Deity, it would deserve our utmost commendation. Medicine and the arts, 

 however, are indebted to the study of entomology for many valuable dis- 

 coveries. The book under notice is one of especial beauty and utility, and we 

 heartily thank the publisher for his enterprise in putting it within the reach 

 of American readers. It is worthy of a place in every family library. Ele- 

 gantly illustrated and humorously yet chastely written, it is calculated to amuse 

 and instruct all classes of readers." Commercial Advertiser. 



" An elegant republication of a recent elegant English work. The author 

 whom we might, perhaps, infer from the feminine designation on the title- 

 page to be a lady, says, in the preface, that the work was not written with a 

 view of teaching Entomology as a science, but of affording such a measure of 

 acquaintance with the habits of the insect world as might awaken the desire 

 for more exact and systematic knowledge. Several of the more commonly 

 known insects the cricket, the fly, the ant, the spider, the wasp, the bee, &c., 

 are taken as examples of the large class of living things to which they belong, 

 and accounts of their habits are given, illustrated with drawings representing 

 them in the different stages of existence. The author is a zealous friend of 

 some of these little creatures in one part of the book is a chapter on the uses 

 of flies, and another is entitled the Defence of Wasps. The book is pleas- 

 ingly written, and will form an agreeable companion for a vacant hour in the 

 ensuing summer." Evening Post. 



" This is the title of one of the most beautiful American publications that 

 we have ever seen. The paper and print are of the nicest, whilst the crowds 

 of illustrations are 'even about' the daintiest possible. The binding, also, is 

 all right, and the cover is blazoned over with golden spiders, and beetles, and 

 butterflies. The contents are rambling and spirited sketches, ostensibly of 

 Entomology, but really on matters and things in general, combining a good 

 deal of amusement with a fair amount of instruction. Each chapter is headed 

 with a correct engraving of some noted insect in its various stages of being, 

 while at the conclusion of each is a grotesque embellishment, finely executed, 

 of insects arrayed in armor, or in fashionable rig,. in a style similar to that of 

 the illustrations to Wright's La Fontaine. The letter-press is not of value to 

 the scientific reader, but it contains much that will add to the knowledge of 

 people in general. It is written easily and gracefully, and accords well with 

 the delicate beauty of the binding, print, and engravings of the volume." 



Morning Post. 



" Episodes of Insect Life. This is an elegantly printed and illustrated 

 volume, containing 'authentic records' of the insect world, wreathed about 

 with the flowers of imagination arid fancy, admirably adapted to popularise 

 the subiect. 



