The Life of the Weevil 
ward; and all are ready for work when the 
peas come into flower. 
The great attraction of the insect world 
for the observer is that he can obtain a 
more or less general survey of the instincts, 
in their inexhaustible variety; for nowhere 
do we see the wonderful order of life’s 
details more clearly revealed. Entomology, 
I know, does not appeal to everybody from 
this point of view: people have a poor opin- 
ion of the artless person absorbed in the be- 
haviour of insects. To the terrible utili- 
tarian, a measure of peas saved from the 
Weevil is of more importance than any 
number of observations which bring no 
immediate profit. 
And who has told you, O man of little 
faith, that what is useless to-day may not be 
useful to-morrow? If we learn the habits 
of animals, we shall be better able to pro- 
tect our property. Do not despise disin- 
terested ideas, lest you live to rue the day. 
It is by accumulating ideas, whether imme- 
diately applicable or not, that mankind has 
done and will continue to do better to-day 
than yesterday, better in the future than in 
the present. If we live by peas and horse- 
260 
