408 Mr. W. S. MacLeay's Ecramination of 



bulk ; and I find that " it would be the height of folly to give up the 

 " term of genus for such insulated groups as Erica, Rosa, and Eriocau- 

 " Ion among plants, and VespertiHo, Strix, and Scarabaeus among ani- 

 " mals." If there be pleasure in being able to meet you on a known 

 arena, I may also be expected to experience fear in having to defend 

 myself against one who enters the lists so cavalierly. There is nothing 

 like presenting an imposing front on the first attack where boldness is 

 often of more avail than strength of weapons. No doubt it was from 

 contempt for a strong example, that you chose your present zoological 

 weapons, and therefore it would be presumption in me to tell you that 

 upon a little deeper acquaintance with Zoology, you will see that neither 

 VespertiHo, Strix, nor Scarabseus, as defined by LinnjEus, are insulated 

 groupes. As to Scarahaus, indeed, I should be glad to know by what 

 characters you would insulate it. I happen to have seen more than 2000 

 species of the Linnean genus Scarabseus, when Linnteus himself saw 

 little more than 80. I suspect, therefore, that I have given quite as 

 much time and attention to the consideration of this Linnean genus as 

 you, although you, by a species of intuition, have got the start of me. 

 This must be my apology for daring still to brave your polite imputation 

 of having arrived at the acme of folly, and for still imagining that I 

 have done some service to Entomology in helping to subdivide so im- 

 mense a groupe. You are truly the first of Naturalists, and I dare say 

 will also have the honour of being the last, who has written on Scarabaeus, 

 and pronounced it to be an insulated groupe. Perhaps it was from their 

 being so little abstract, and their descending so low as to study the sub- 

 ject in nature that those plodding Entomologists, Fabricius and Latreille, 

 have had such difficulty in finding a place for Sinodendron, Lethrus, 

 &c., &c. As you profess, two or three pages after, to look at Entomo- 

 logy with ihe eye of a master, and to point out the difficulties and de- 

 fects of the science, you could not surely be ignorant that Fabricius, 

 whom Linnaeus called his master in Entomology, that Latreille, Olivier, 

 and Kirby, that in short every modern Entomologist who does not belong 

 to what may be termed the defunct or dying Linnean school of England, 

 has found it necessary to subdivide the Linnean genus Scarabaeus. The 

 chair, therefore, of the Secretary of the Linnean Society, must be 

 placed on some peculiarly high eminence, when it entitles a gentleman on 



