NATURAL GENERA. 297 



of nature. It is this perception which has alike inspired the 

 philosopher, the painter, and the poet ; and it would be diffi- 

 cult to point out an art or a science which has not been, 

 directly or indirectly, benefited by it. 



But how useful soever the results of this keen relish for 

 nature and natural things may be, the study of them is no less 

 amiable for its own sake ; and perhaps no purer happiness can 

 be enjoyed on earth than that which arises from it. If it be 

 true that "a. main article of human happiness is the exercise 

 of our faculties, either of body or mind, in the pursuit of some 

 engaging end," — surely no end can be proposed more engaging 

 than the perusal of the great book of the creation, whose every 

 page is full of interest and beauty. 



There are but few, however, whose avocations will allow to 

 take more than a cursory view of the general scheme of nature; 

 and we usually find that naturalists have chosen some particu- 

 lar branch, upon which to bestow the greater portion of their 

 labours and investigation. And here, as a lover of entomology, 

 I cannot refrain from expressing the pleasure with which I 

 have observed the increasing attention paid to this wonderful 

 and delightful study. 



Entomology is indeed a study which will well repay those 

 who may bestow their attention upon it; yet, whether from the 

 comparative difficulty of pursuing it, or in consequence of the 

 sneers of the vulgar-minded, it has never been, and probably 

 never will be, extremely popular. Those, however, who are 

 the best acquainted with it, consider it as, perhaps, the most 

 wonderful branch of the creation, and as affording some 

 most valuable auxiliary evidences of the existence of a 

 Supreme Being ; and whilst those individuals of the animal 

 kingdom, which are most remarkable for their gigantic bulk, 

 more particularly excite the attention of the many, the ento- 

 mologist sees in those atom-like beings, which others pass by 

 absolutely without notice, organs as perfect, and as beautifully 

 adapted to their particular functions, as any which are to be 

 found in the whale or the elephant. 



Interesting, therefore, as even a vague acquaintance with 

 entomology is, we shall be still more interested when we 

 observe how beautifully and gradually its almost endless 

 varieties of forms are blended, and flow into each other. 

 Indeed so nicely, and almost imperceptibly, does this blending 



NO. III. VOL. I, Q Q 



