46 ETON NATURE-STUDY 



is that they did not appeal to the old-fashioned collector, who cared 

 little for anything which could not be preserved easily, and which, 

 when kept in a dry state, had a handsome appearance in the cabinet, 

 as is the case with butterflies, shells, and birds' eggs. 



Most of the creatures which we have mentioned must be kept in 

 alcohol, and while it is necessary to preserve some specimens for 

 reference and in order to leara the names of the creatures whose 

 habits are being watched, there will not be the temptation to collect 

 merely for show. 



Wood-lice are to be met with almost everywhere, and it would be 

 easy to make observations upon them. Very few nature students 

 have seen the interesting way in which these creatures change their 

 skin, by shuffling off" half their old coat at a time, so as to leave at 

 least part of their bodies protected during the process. 



The food of wood-lice is stated in some books to be animal. In 

 others it is put down as being almost entirely vegetable, and from an 

 economic point of view it would be interesting to know whether 

 this is the case, as well as how far living plants are attacked by 

 them. Wood-lice are given a very bad character by gardeners, but 

 none of the latter seem to have caught the creatures in the act of 

 damaging seedlings. It is possible that some other creatures are 

 responsible for the injuries, and that the hordes of wood-lice to be 

 found in greenhouses and "frames" take up their abode there 

 because of the moist atmosphere rather than the young vegetation. 

 It would hardly be a fair test to tempt captive wood-lice with 

 seedlings, so that observations would have to be made upon 

 specimens still at large, though, as in all probability the creatures 

 feed principally at night, there are certain difficulties to be 

 surmounted. 



Wood-lice, and particularly those of the open country, offer 



