THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



3 



EXCHANGES. 



I should be glad to send good specimens of 

 ^epidoptera, in return for Icheneumons, accom- 

 janied, when possible, by notes stating from 

 vhat species they were bred. — S. D. Bairstow, 

 Voodland Mount, Huddersfield. 



I have a quantity of birds' eggs and Lepidop- 

 era to spare. I want larva? of Lepidoptera and 

 jaw- flies, and recently caught Dragon Flies. — 

 j. L. Mosley, Primrose Hill, Huddersfield. 



I have good specimens of D Carpophaga, A 

 Basilinea, and A Ulmata. I shall be glad to 

 :xchangefor Butterflies.— J. J. Dixon, Hart Street, 

 iartlepool. 



Duplicates — Csesiata, Rubiginata, Salicata(a few 

 air). — Desiderata, A Cratcegi, Adippe, Athalia, 

 .nd numerous Common Moths. — J. Firth, 88, 

 .Voodlands Road, Manningham, Bradford. 



Duplicates — Ulmata, Leucophearia (Males), 

 ^aesiata, Rubiginata, Chi. — Desiderata, Gono- 

 ,tigma, Angularia, Omicronaria, Sylvata, &c. — 

 . W. Carter, 168, Priestman Street, Manning- 

 lam, Bradford. 



ENTOMOLOGY AND BOTANY 

 AS PURSUITS FOR LADIES. 



By Mrs. Hutchinson, Leominster. 



The want has long been felt of a periodical on 

 Statural History more suitable for young beginners 

 :han any of the excellent but more scientific 

 .vorks which have been for some time before the 

 Dublic. To meet this want The Young 

 STaturalist is started, and in this, its first num- 

 Der, I wish to draw the attention of parents and 

 ill intrusted with the education of youth, to the 

 imusement and instruction to be derived from the 

 pursuit of Natural History. All its various branches 

 aiay be followed wich the greatest advantage, 

 md will often yield an amount of pleasure to be 

 Dbtained from no other source. In some of our 

 argest and best Boys' Schools, this is acknow- 

 ledged ; and numerous are the collections of Plants, 

 Insects and Birds' eggs, begun there during play- 

 hours, and giving a taste for such pursuits which 

 continues through life. 



But, as a rule, young ladies are less in the habit 

 of having their attention directed to natural objects, 

 and it is especially to them I desire to recommend 



Botany and Entomology — studies which charmingly 

 go " hand in hand," and are strictly feminine. 



To dwellers in the country, they render every 

 walk delightful, for no season of the year is with- 

 out its special objects of interest, and every lane 

 or meadow may offer something new. 



Flowers are so very lovely that everybody plucks 

 them in passing, and has words of admiration to 

 bestow upon their beauty and fragrance ; and is it 

 not rather sad to think how many persons are un- 

 able to tell more than their common English name, 

 and sometimes not even that ? And, however 

 beautiful a flower may seem to a superficial ob- 

 server, its interest would be enhanced tenfold if 

 its class, genus and species were sought out, and a 

 full knowledge of the plant in hand thus obtained. 



Nor is it only as instruction and amusement to 

 self that Botany may be recommended ; it may be 

 | the happy lot of any young student to benefit man- 

 j kind by the discovery of a rare or unknown plant. 

 . Such a thing has been done this very year, by the 

 , finding, in this well-worked country, of a plant be* 

 ; fore totally unknown to science ; and, a few years 

 ! ago, a lovely Orchid, hitherto known only as a 

 native of Siberia, was discovered, by a lady, bloom- 

 ing in a wood near Bromyard, Herefordshire. 



Still more is this the case with Insects. A year 

 never passes without additions to our fauna ; and 

 the want of more labourers is felt, for, however 

 diligent the many Entomologists which Great 

 Britain can boast of, may be, there is still many a 

 bright and lovely spot never yet visited by one. 

 When it is remembered how very local many 

 species are, everybody must feel that there is still 

 a great amount of work to be done before a com- 

 plete knowledge of the insects of Great Britain 

 is acquired. 



The various orders of Insects are all deeply in- 

 teresting, but I think I may venture to say that the 

 Lepidoptera are the best study for a lady ; and a 

 rich field of delight they offer, from their bright 

 and varied colours, and their wonderful habits 

 It is to the study of these habits that I particularly 

 wish to draw the attention of the beginner. 



To commence with the earliest stage. No per- 

 son, who has not devoted attention to the subject, 

 can imagine the beauty of the various forms and 

 markings of the ova, or eggs, of Butterflies and 

 Moths, nor of the numerous modes in which they 

 are deposited and arranged — often with a nicety 

 that would baffle man's skill to imitate, and always 

 with an unfailing instinct as to the needs of the 



