marks or cigarette pictures. His results are of the minimum value to the world. 

 "Any addition to the sum total of human knowledge, however slight, is 

 the greatest achievement open to a scholar," said Professor E. P. Morris, of 

 Yale University. Who is to be the judge of its importance? No one has such 

 right. An addition to human knowledge! It is the prize, the aim, the result 

 to be proud of. No one has the right to belittle it because of its failure to 

 be of any economic value whatever. Twenty thousand insects are enumerated 

 in the catalogues and dismissed summarily as "of no economic importance." 

 Nevertheless, the man who should discover a spur on the hind leg of a minute 

 "bug," the most insignificant creature on the faunal list, and who should find 

 out what its function is in the creature's existence, why evolved, has accom- 

 plished more to be proud of than his fellow who has correctly named and aesthet- 

 ically spread 5,000 specimens. The discovery and description of any instinct, 

 habit, peculiarity of structure, phase of life or death, in the least of living creatures, 

 stands high in the category of desiderata for addition to the sum total of human 

 knowledge. 



CYCHRUS VENTRICOSUS DEJ. 

 Rensselaer J. Smith, M. D., Milpitas, Cal. 



Family, Carabidae (the Ground beetles). The Sub-family, Cychrini, has 

 two genera, Cychrus and Nomaretus. 



Specimen size 20 m.m., cut enlarged to 31 m.m. 



The Cychrus may be recognized by the long narrow head, circular wing 

 covers with a broad reflect margin. Their color is black violaceous or brownish- 

 purple. Some are very beautiful. The elytra have fourteen to eighteen very 

 distinct striae (parallel, fine impressed lines). Antennae with four basal joints 

 glabrous. The Nomaretus has only two of the basal joints glabrous. They 

 are found in moist locations, under stones, leaves, stumps, etc. They feed on 

 snails. We have about forty species in the United States. 



Learn early to examine all specimens with a microscope or common mag- 



119 



