Insects. 3999 



in this, if in nothing else, affording a lesson to the best of us.* En- 

 tomology was beginning to obtain my attention, and, although in a 

 very subordinate degree, had some influence in tempting me north- 

 ward. The results in this respect, I having so many things besides 

 insects to observe, were not much, the greatest of them being, perhaps, 

 a strong impression of the value of Scotland as a hunting-ground for 

 entomologists. I have mentioned these particulars to show that how- 

 ever much a tourist may be occupied with the sights and sounds of 

 the country through which he is going, he may always keep his eyes 

 open for any illustrations of its Natural History that will come in his 

 way, whether he look for them or not. To a genuine lover of Nature, 

 with but a limited time at his disposal, I can imagine nothing more 

 enchanting or enticing than to sojourn for a summer month or two 

 among the moors and forests of Perthshire. There would be now lit- 

 tle variety of incident by the way ; but the entomologist would have 

 no difficulty in staying at places where he might collect to the best 

 advantage, live like the natives, without wheaten bread, and with but 

 little animal food, and find the change to a simple diet vastly to the 

 benefit of his health. 



Within the last few years several collectors have visited Scotland, 

 and have discovered many species either new to our lists, or very rare. 

 Among these pioneers Mr. Weaver deserves especial mention, not 

 only for breaking ground in a new direction, but also for his discove- 

 ries. He evidently belongs to the Natural Order of "Hunters," which 

 has Nimrod at one end and Gordon Cumming at the other, although, 

 by force of circumstances, he has fallen upon one of the milder forms 

 of sport ; for, without any disparagement, the sporting phase of ento- 

 mology may surely be said to be the most attractive to him, when we 

 consider the years during which he had made collecting his occupa- 

 tion. He is a worthy example of what a man can do if the internal 

 impetus be strong enough to carry him onwards. 



But there is yet a vast deal to be done, both in the explored and 

 unvisited districts of Scotland ; the smaller Lepidoptera, for instance, 

 being all but unnoticed : it is more than probable that among them, 

 as well as the larger kinds, in Coleoptera and other Orders, many spe- 

 cies known in the North of Europe, or alpine countries, or altogether 

 new, are yet latent here. I need, surely, say no more, to tempt some 

 of those who have time and means, to breathe for a few months the 



* " And none at that time durst strive with a Douglas, nor yet with a Douglas's 

 man, for if they did they got the worse." — Notes to * Lady of the Lake,' Canto V. 



