OF SELBORKE. 
by Derham in his Phyfico-theology, p. 250 : an infeft worthy of 
remark for depofiting it's eggs as it flies in fo dextrous a manner 
on the fingle hairs of the legs and flanks of grafs-horfes. But 
then Derham is mifl:aken when he advances that this Oeftrus is the 
parent of that wonderful ftar-tailed maggot which he mentions 
afterwards ; for more modern entomologifts have difcovercd that 
Angular produftion to be derived from the egg, or the nmfca 
chamaleon : {ee Geoffroy, t. 17, f. 4. 
A full hiftory of noxious infers hurtful in the field, garden, 
and houfe, fuggefting all the known and likely means of deftroy- 
ing them, would be allowed by the public to be a moll ufeful and 
important work. What knowledge there is of this fort lies 
fcattered, and wants to be collefted ; great improvements would 
foon follow of courfe. A knowledge of the properties, 
oeconomy, propagation, and in fliort of the life and converfation 
of thefe animals, is a neceflary fl;ep to lead us to fome method of 
preventing their depredations. 
As far as I am a judge, nothing would recommend entomology 
more than fome neat plates that fhould well exprefs the generic 
dlftinHiom of infedts according to Linn^us ; for I am well afllired 
that many people would ftudy infefts, could they fet out with a 
tnore adequate notion of thofe diftindions than can be conveyed 
at firfl: by words alone. 
LETTER 
