THE 
WEEKLY ENTOMOLOGIST. 
RNTOMA QUIDQUID AGUNT NOSTRI F.ST FARRAGO LIBELLI.” 
1 — 1 
c<i 
6 
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 1862. 
[Pkice 2d. 
S SIFIC ATION . 
question of Classification 
has given rise to endless dispute, 
and there seems indeed but little like- 
lihood that any unanimous conclusion 
will ever be arrived at on the subject. 
We do not propose to measure the 
merits of the several theories that 
have already been propounded for the 
arrangement of Insects in orders, 
groups, families, and genera, much 
less shall we presume to start one of 
our own. We shall content ourselves 
with a general review of some of the 
leading principles of classification. It 
is commonly believed by the uninitia- 
ted, that the naming and classification 
of insects is entirely arbitrary : and 
perhaps there may be some among 
our readers who have never thought 
much on the subject. It is for them 
that our article is intended. In one 
sense, all classification must be arbi- 
trary, or more correctly speaking all 
nomenclatui’e must be so. And the 
idea that there is no such thing as a 
natural arrangement owes its origin 
in no small degree to the fact, that 
some people have confounded these 
two terms. Names are indeed in a 
mechanical sense necessary to classifi- 
cation : but naming and classifying, 
are not, on that account, one and the 
same thing. A name cannot belong 
to an insect, before it has been con- 
ferred on it. It does not follow how- 
ever that insects are not naturally ar- 
ranged according to a certain law. 
By a nomenclature then this arrange- 
ment is expressed, not created, as 
some seem to suppose. Thus we see 
that in point of fact our work is not 
to classify after all, but, first, to find 
out what Nature’s law is, and secondly 
to express that law in technical terms. 
We say in technical terms, for Sci- 
entific names as they are called, so 
odious in the outset to the beginner, 
will be found as indispensable to the 
student, as algebraical signs are to the 
mathematician. We will now attempt 
briefly to exemplify this truth. To 
begin with — on looking round us on 
Creation, we find certain animals 
possessing six legs, four wings, a 
body divided into three parts, with 
two compound eyes, a pair of anten- 
nae ( or horns, to use a familiar ex- 
pression ) and other characteristics 
too numerous to mention in this place 
Well what is more natural than to 
name these by the general comprehen- 
sive term, insects ? Accordingly all 
