OBJECTIONS ANSWEEED. 



37 



defective, tliat we were unable by the use of them to profit 

 from the discoveries of their philosophers ; the labours of a 

 Michaelis being a sealed book to our theologists, and those of 

 La Place to our astronomers. On this supposition, would 

 not one of the most important literary undertakings be the 

 compilation of more perfect dictionaries, and would not the 

 humblest contributor to such an end be deemed most merito- 

 riously engaged ? Now precisely what an accurate dictionary 

 of a particular language is towards enabling the world to par- 

 ticipate in the discoveries published in that language, is a 

 system of Entomology towards enabling mankind to derive 

 advantage from any discoveries relative to insects. A good 

 system of insects, containing all the known species arranged 

 in appropriate genera, families, orders and classes, is in fact 

 a dictionary, putting it within our power to ascertain the 

 name of any given insect, and thus to learn what has been 

 observed respecting its properties and history, as readily as we 

 determine the meaning of a new word in a lexicon. In order 

 to impress upon you more forcibly the absolute need of such 

 a system, I must enter into still further detail. 



There is scarcely a country in which several thousand 

 insects may not be found. Now, without some scientific 

 arrangement, how is the observer of a new fact respecting any 

 one of them to point out to distant countries, and to posterity, 

 the particular insect he had in view ? Suppose an observer in 

 England were to find a certain beetle which he had demon- 

 strated to be a specific for consumption ; and that it was ne- 

 cessary that this insect, which there was reason to believe was 

 common in every part of the world, should be administered in 

 a recent state. Would he not be anxious to proclaim the 

 happy discovery to sufferers in all quarters of the globe ? As 

 his remedy would not admit of transportation, he would have 

 no other means than by describing it. Now the question is, 

 whether, on the supposition that no system of Entomology 

 existed, he would be able to do this, so as to be intelligible to 

 a physician in North America, for instance, eager to admi- 

 nister so precious a medicine to his expiring patient ? It would 

 evidently be of no use to say that the specific was a beetle : 

 there are thousands of different beetles in North America. 



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