290 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



graphs, if we may use the term. The 

 papers on Butterflies and Shells that 

 are now appearing, will, we hope, be 

 complete enough to serve any collector 

 as -manuals. Our next special plate, 

 which we hope to issue with No. 41, 

 and which will be colored, free for 

 annual subscribers, will illustrate the 

 genera of British Land and Fresh- 

 water Shells, and help our readers to 

 a proper understanding of the text. 

 With the papers on British Butterflies 

 we are giving extra plates instead of 

 the woodcuts originally intended, for 

 reasons already explained, and we are 

 greatly obliged to our many friends 

 for the help they have and are affording 

 us, in making these plates as complete 

 as possible by helping us to give 

 figures of the larvse and pupse of the 

 various species, as well as enabling us 

 to give some information on that por- 

 tion of the study that has hitherto 

 been so neglected, the parasites that 

 infest the different larvae. We hope 

 when the Butterflies are completed to 

 go on with the remaining families of 

 Lepidoptera, and when these are done 

 to take up some other group of insects ; 

 as also when the papers on Conchology 

 are finished, Ave will endeavour to have 

 another group ready to introduce to 

 you. 



While we are thus endeavouring to 

 arrive at our object — the assistance of 

 beginners — we find that we are losing 

 a considerable sum of money, and 

 though we did not expect that we 

 would establish a new magazine with- 

 out a deal of outlay, we find that the 



extra expense occasioned by the plates, 

 is making our loss heavier than we 

 like. We have considered very care- 

 fully many suggestions that have been 

 made, to reduce the expenditure, but 

 we have failed to find one that we 

 ; could satisfy ourselves would so reduce 

 the expense of the paper without more 

 : or less decreasing its usefulness. On 

 I the other hand we would much prefer 

 ! to increase our expenses. We would 

 i like to give a plate once a fortnight 

 j instead of once a month as at present, 

 and also to add a cover which could be 

 made available for advertisements, and 

 enable us to use the back page for 

 other matter. These can only be done 

 so far as we see by an increase in oui 

 circulation, and we think our present 

 subscribers might help us in this 

 matter, if they would only use a little 

 exertion. If our circulation could be 

 increased by an additional 200 per 

 week we would at once begin to issue 

 a fortnightly plate. If it could be in- 

 creased by 500 per week we would be able 

 i to add the cover as well, and if it were 

 still further increased we could either 

 give more letterpress, or a weekly plate. 

 Some of our friends, we know, have done 

 their very best already, and never lose 

 an opportunity of laying our paper 

 before their friends. But in many 

 quarters it is quite unknown. W e will 

 be glad to send specimen copies to any 

 address furnished to us, or to tend a 

 parcel of back numbers to any friends 

 for distribution, on hearing from therd 

 that they would do this for us. A 

 single number could be enclosed in a 



