Sharp: Value of the Study of Entomology. 179 



<experiment with the goat-moth larva, extricating itself from the 

 inside of a tumbler glass by means of a ladder spun by itself up the 

 side of the glass. This action he does not consider as an exercise 

 of reason, or anything akin to it, " but as merely prompted by a 

 mechanical sense of danger mechanically obeyed," or, in other words, 

 we presume, rejiex action. He says different individuals of human 

 beings, gifted with reason, and having different sizes and qualities of 

 brain, would have different ways of getting out of such a dilemma ; 

 ^* but take 100 ligniperdas, and they would all act in precisely the 

 same manner. Thus are they all gifted with the same quality of 



operative force The sensation of hunger is natural, but a larva 



in choosing food, in rejecting wrong plants and selecting right ones, 

 displays instinct or its equivalent ; and none of the other details 

 ^iven by Mr. Woods can possibly demonstrate even a limited 

 capability of drawing deductions from premises. Young caterpillars 

 act just the same as old ones, from instinct, but young children do 

 not act the same as upgrown men. Insects adapt themselves to 

 circumstances, to climates, to periods, but each insect would act in 

 precisely the same manner under the same regulations, in nine cases 



out of ten If we grant the possession of reason to caterpillars, 



we must also allow their superiority over human beings, for with our- 

 selves the acquisition of this grand boon is progressive but young 



caterpillars exhibit the same capabilities as their more aged kin." 

 The paper concludes with some remarks on the question of varieties 

 in insects. 



THE VALUE OF THE STUDY OF ENTOMOLOGY. 



(Concluded.) 



By W. E. Sharp. 



I DO not here speak of those sordid individuals who look on every- 

 thing in earth or sea or sky merely in the light of £ s. d., who mow 

 down whole tribes in a campaign, and talk of their victims as an 

 Indian might boast of his scalps — men, whose highest ideas of an 

 entomological work are the priced catalogues of the dealers ; and of 

 an entomological triumph, the capture of some rarity which none of 

 his neighbours has had the luck to meet with. These men only have 

 the organ of acquisitiveness strongly developed — nothing more. 

 The proper way to make or regard an entomological collection, 

 if we are correct, is merely as an illustration of the special objects 

 of our study, and inasmuch as we want that illustration as full and 



