878 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



popular description should be as free 

 from them as possible. One man will 

 lard his ordinary talk with scientific 

 phrases, in such a way as to render 

 himself ridiculous, another will use 

 the same terms with such perfect 

 propriety that the most unlearned 

 would understand what was said, all 

 the better for their use. It is not, 

 perhaps, so easy as some people think, 

 to describe so as to be understood, even 

 animals that we know well. Everyone 

 is familiar with a Butterfly, for instance, 

 but who can so describe one that it 

 would be recognized from the descrip- 

 tion by a person who had never seen one 

 before. We believe examinations in 

 Entomology would benefit beginners 

 very greatly also, by requiring them 

 to give more careful attention to mnmtas 

 and detail. The careless and super- 

 ficial observations that may do in an 

 ordinary way would be quite useless in 

 competing with others, and if habits 

 of care in observing and recording 

 were formed they would be of great 

 value. No doubt there are difficulties 

 in the way of arranging for such exam- 

 inations as would be needed. There 

 would have to be a Committee of 

 Management, or at all events, one 

 manager at every place where there was 

 even a solitary competitor, and there 

 l- no means for getting at these, and 

 getting at would be Competitors, so far 

 as we know at present. No doubt there 

 are plenty of well-qualified individuals 

 in every town, who would very willingly 

 undertake such a duty, but the entire 

 arrangements could not be done by any 



I one, or any half dozen. In the mean- 

 | time, and to prepare the way for that 

 ' period when such an examination could 

 be held, it has occurred to us that we 

 might do some little towards the ob- 

 jects set forth in the preceding article, 

 by asking a series of questions of our 

 readers, and if any replies were received 

 that were worth publishing, to print 

 them in our pages. The good to be 

 gained by endeavoring to reply to such 

 questions should be stimulus enough 

 without the offer of a prize, though we 

 are willing enough to give prizes if 

 necessary. On this and other points 

 we shall be glad to hear from our 

 readers, both young and old. To make 

 a beginning, we ask our readers to give 

 a definition of the order Insectu and 

 to point out how its members differ from 

 these animals most nearly allied, such 

 as Crustacea and Arachnida, The 

 answers to be written on one side of 

 the paper, and not to occupy more than 

 four pages of note paper and to be sent 

 in on or before the 4th October. We < 

 place no restrictions on Competitors, L 

 | as we scarcely see yet what the condi- , 

 j fcions should be, but if a prize be S; 

 ultimately awarded, the age and 

 experience of Competitors will be taken & 

 into consideration. At present we willfl 

 be glad to receive papers from any one. f 



SPECIAL NOTICE. 



Our friends have had great trouble hithertJ 

 in procuring the Young Naturalist through 

 a Bookseller : the firm who supplied th< 

 trade at first being too far from the centre foil 

 collectors to go to Walworth for odd copies a I 

 a penny paper. We now have pleasure t<| 



