30 
THE GEELONG KATUKALIST. 
Melbourne time after time, but owing to the voracious appetites of 
the accursed sparrows, which appear to relish these and but few^ 
other insects, my efforts so far have not been successful. In 
Victoria we have a number of beetles, especially amongst the 
Carabidce, which both in the larval and perfect state destroy vast 
quantities of the grubs attacking our cereal crops, grass lands, 
lawns, &c. I had one of these, Hyperion, our largest species, which 
had been sent to me by a friend at Mooroopna, to show to you how 
it would demolish either a moth or a grub. Unfortunately, however,, 
an unfriendly rat got into the box, the lid of which I had incautiously 
left off, and in the morning nothing but a few fragments were left 
on which I could ponder as to the wrong principle of counting 
one's chickens before they are hatched. Spiders also, at least a 
large majority of them, are very useful to growers, more especially 
as they are destructive to boring insects, also to those which 
hybernate under the bark of trees, native as well as those introduced. 
One of these animals Vocconia, often called "Tarantula" (which it 
is not) is a perfect glutton, as the piles of insect debris, i.e. wing 
cases, &c., will show. It w^ould take hours for me to give you even 
a brief account of the many advantages to be gained by a study of 
economic entomology, as the subject is not only interesting and 
useful, but is also well nigh endless. As the time is short, I will 
bring this fragmentary discourse to a close by remarking that to be 
successful we must be practical as well as energetic, always willing 
to learn from those who are willing to impart their knowledge to- 
tbose seeking it, and never setting ourselves up as knowing every- 
thing, remembering that we may learn something from the humblest. 
Do not, when you have gained a little scientific knowledge, look 
with a superior sort of air upon the practical grower, as he having 
better chances in the field than you have, may be able to teach you 
many a practical lesson. The time is upon us when we must use 
our heads as well as our hands, and the end of this will probably be 
as the great Chas. Darwin has told us, the "survival of the fittest. 
Many of the lantern views here shown are from proof plates of 
Part III of my work which will be brought as soon as possible. I 
hope also by permission of the Victorian Department of Agriculture 
to be able to publish at some future time, an illustrated work on 
the "Beneficial luseets of Victoria," as to growers this work would 
be nearly as important as those parts previously issued on the 
destructive kinds. 
In conclusion, I beg to thank you for your attendance, I would 
like to mention, before taking my leave, that my offices having 
been removed to a more central and commodious place, I shall be 
very pleased to see any of you should you come to Melbourne. My 
rooms are in the New Crown Law Offices, Lonsdale Street, and in 
one of which is our Museum of Economic Entomology and 
Ornithology. To the former has lately been added a splendid 
collection, 14 large cases of insects, and their life histories from 
