INTRODUCTION 
Having from time to time written articles 
on insect life for journals and lectured 
upon the lives and habits of various small 
creatures, I have been struck with the 
great interest shown by the public, and this 
despite the very large number of books 
already published upon such subjects. 
A recent investigation among the shelves 
of one of our largest libraries has opened 
my eyes as to the reason of so much 
ignorance existing, with such a mass of 
knowledge obtainable. It is that so many 
entomological experts use terms which 
are totally incomprehensible to the 
uninitiated, while, on the other hand, 
some of the most pleasing little books upon 
the subject are written for children, in 
| childish language, or mixed up with a mass 
of information upon trees, flowers, shrubs, 
etc., etc. I am venturing in these brief 
pages to place in the hands of farmers, 
gardeners and others interested, a few 
straightforward facts, couched in simple, 
liiitiDiv 4 i I 
JR ban a, Illinois, 
U. S, A. 
