The Naturalist. 



All the Psychidoe and Coleophor(s require light and air, so that with 

 them gauze should be used instead of glass ; and in some cases of seed 

 feeders which hybemate, it is a good plan to place them in bags with 

 the food-plant, and hang them out of doors all winter out of the way of 

 rats and mice. But the way of breeding which appears to be almost 

 peculiar to the small fry is one used by all the old collectors, and 

 which was strongly recommended to me by Mr. Sang, of Darlington, 

 who has prosecuted the method most successfully. He uses tubes of 

 glass about Gin. long by 1 Jin. wide, such as the chimney of an argand 

 lamp, places the larvae with the leaf inside rolled up in very soft paper, 

 and corks up both ends. The leaves must not be wet, nor must the 

 tubes be left in the sun, but in a cool place out of doors, and the 

 difficulty to be solved is to keep away either mould or excessive 

 dryness. This last plan is especially suited to the most minute forms, 

 such as the Lithocelletes and Nepticuloe, which complete their larval 

 existence on a single leaf, and when full-fed spin an oval cocoon of 

 various colours on the paper. 



And here it may be useful to repeat a remark which the same gentle- 

 man made to me that the summer brood of larvee — viz., those feeding 

 in June and July — never produce a tithe of imagos, and had better be 

 left entirely alone, as in autumn they appear again, and can then be 

 kept and bred successfully. In spring also avoid tin boxes as perma- 

 nent cages, although they serve very well as temporary prisons whilst 

 away in the country. 



These are some of the ways, and will probably be already known to 

 many, of breeding the micro-lepidoptera. They are used also in 

 breeding the macros, and in mentioning them I can only plead the old 

 but valid excuse of wishing to arouse, or to fan into bright flame, that 

 earnest interest in the secrets of nature which makes the recollections 

 of our past life happy, and may produce in the future, discoveries which 

 shall benefit the distant generations of men. .For Nature allows to size 

 no priority ; her woiks, whether in the shape of distant suns or minute 

 organisms such as the Bacteria of Tyndall, are of equal value and 

 importance. 



Neglecting nothing, but observing everything, let each man join the 

 ever-increasing army of workers, determined to push on to the best of 

 his ability that glorious time when ignorance shall be the exception, 

 when to see shall be to know : thus fulfilling the undying though 

 ancient dream of poets and philosaphers when peace and plenty shall 

 be permanent, and the nations shall rejoice in wealth more precious 

 and exhaustless than the far-famed land of gold. 



Preston^ 1878. 



