THE LITTLE ERMINE. 517 



the H and spell the word Yponomeuta. This practice, although 

 it is largely indulged in by various writers, is utterly wrong, as 

 it omits the aspirate in the Greek, the English representative 

 of which is the letter H. 



Following exactly the spelling as well as the arrangement of 

 certain authors, I have more than once accepted this omission 

 of the aspirate, but I can do so no longer, and hereby offer my 

 protest against any such barbarism. The scientific names of 

 insects are quite crabbed enough as it is, and there is no need 

 to add to the difficulty of remembering them by false spelling. 



It would be thought extremely absurd to write of burning 

 ydrogen gas, of killing an yena, of using yperbola, of singing 

 an ymn, of planting an yacinth, of inserting an yphen between 

 two words, of unmasking an ypocrite or supporting an ypothesis ; 

 and yet, such words are not one whit more ridiculous than 

 Yponomeuta for Hyponomeuta. I rather think they have been 

 so spelt by persons more conversant with entomology than 

 philology, and who have learnt enough Grreek to know the 

 alphabet, but not enough to know the aspirate. 



In the next place the reader will remark that the specific 

 names of the insects belonging to the Tineae are made to end 

 in ' ella.' The specific name of the insect just described, used 

 to be given as nervosa, but has been altered to neix'osella for 

 the sake of uniformity. 



It is impossible to mistake the little Ermine, whose long, 

 narrow, satiny white upper wings, sprinkled with black dots, 

 render it exceedingly conspicuous. The destruction wrought 

 by this little insect is almost incredible, whole trees be- 

 ing stripped of their foliage, and, instead of bearing leaves, 

 covered with the white webs and strong threads of the cater- 

 pillars. Even in the midst of London, in the densest, smok- 

 iest, dingiest part of Bermoudsey, I have seen this Moth in 

 full force. It was simply master of the situation. The little 

 square yard which did duty for a garden was overrun with the 

 caterpillars, which stretched their tough silken cables across 

 the yard, across the windows, across the doorways, across the 

 path, and, in fact, seemed to have calculated liow they could 

 most annoy the legitimate proprietors of the place. 



Not content with taking possession of the tinv garden, they 

 invaded the houses around, and every window that was opened 



