242 



is copied and reeopied, and though 

 this applies to other things besides 

 Natural History, yet we doubt if any 

 other science has been so abused 

 by the attempts to popularize it. It 

 was said of Oliver Goldsmith that he 

 did not know a Goose from a Turkey, 

 unless it was dressed and cooked, yet 

 " Goldsmith's Natural History " is still 

 largely sold, and though the fact that 

 it was by Goldsmith is a proof of its 

 utter worthlessness, there is no doubt 

 that the name of the author largely 

 helps to sell the Book. Perhaps the 

 editions sold now-a-days may be purged 

 of some of the grosser blunders of the 

 original one, but there are few indeed 

 of these so-called " Natural Histories" 

 that, do not teem with errors that 

 have been copied and reeopied till their 

 origin cannot now be traced. There 

 are plenty of observers now if they 

 would only record what they see. A 

 correspondent suggests that the reason 

 we have few records of captures, is 

 that beginners do not know the name 

 of the species they take. Probably 

 the reason we have few observations 

 recorded is because Young Naturalists 

 do not know which of the things they 

 see have already been noticed, and 

 thus many a valuable fact is never 

 recorded for fear it is not worth pub- 

 lishing or has been printed before. Yet 

 to work out a Life History, we not 

 only want every thing of interest 

 recorded, but we want to have such 

 things recorded often, that we may 

 know whether they are normal or ab- 

 noraal, of regular occurrence or. only 



occasional. A person goes to Scotland 

 and takes an insect there much darkei 

 in shade than specimens of the same 

 species he had taken in England. H 

 makes a record of the fact, and hi 

 specimen might be considered an 

 abnormally dark variety. But othei 

 collectors go to Scotland, and the\ 

 also meet with dark specimens, and 

 eventually we arrive at the generaliz 

 ation that Scotch specimens of thi 

 species are darker. We have spokei 

 in this strain before, but it cannot be 

 too often repeated that it is not onrv 

 by recording isolated facts, but b 

 continuing to record every thing, tha 

 we learn whether the facts are isolate! 

 or not. We cannot generalize unti 

 a great deal of patient observation ha 

 been made. Whether the observation 

 refer to the life of the most minut 

 insect, or the largest mammal, thei 

 importance is probably equal, and 

 our Young Naturalists will learn no 

 only to take notice, but to record al 

 they notice, they will, as Mr, Gregso 

 says, take first rank at once. On 

 observation confirms another, and 

 matter that might be considered doubt 

 ful if only once noticed, becomes 

 recognised truth when the observatio 

 has been often enough repeated. 



Sf3 



TO 



EXCHANGE. 



Duplicates. — Fine Rurea and var. Combus 

 Thallasina, Gemina, Festiva, Augur, Tenebro- 

 and many others. Desiderata Larv/ 

 — S. L. Moseey, Beaumont Park, Hu 

 dersfield. 



b.Co 

 una 



: 

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