THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S 
WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
No. 152.] SATURDAY, AUGUST 27, 1859, [Price Id. 
EXPERIENCE. 
An able correspondent, in our last 
number, alluding to the captures of 
rarities, seems anxious to prevent young 
people making mistakes. We fear that 
while the world standeth young people 
will make blunders, and each will only 
learn to avoid doing so by experiencing 
the annoyance of discovering what a 
grievous mistake he has made. 
We are perfectly aware that it may 
be urged, that if youngsters are apt to 
make mistakes, why insert unauthenti- 
cated communications from juveniles? 
But how are we to ascertain who 
are the juveniles? We often conclude, 
from the hand-writing and style of 
letter, that such and such correspon- 
dents are juveniles, and discover after- 
wards that they are well advanced in 
life, with juveniles of their own. On 
the other hand, instances are con- 
tinually occurring of the hand-writing 
of incipients being mistaken for those 
of persons verging to old age, and 
our replies thereto are tinged with a 
respectful tone which must be exces- 
sively amusing to the overgrown school- 
boys. 
We limit the age of our correspon- 
dents; they must be fourteen , but 
yet we may receive letters written by 
children much younger, without know- 
ing it. 
Many of our best entomologists never 
communicate any notices of their cap- 
tures for fear that unwittingly they 
should make a mistake; this is the 
caution peculiar to adults. The ento- 
mologist of fourteen never thinks at all 
of the probability of making a mis- 
take ; but the entomologist of forty 
(who is far less likely to make one) 
does think on the subject, and shrinks 
from the contingency. He has at- 
tained this wisdom through experience ; 
and the rising generation of entomolo- 
gists can only obtain an equal degree 
of prudence by the teachings of the 
same stem master. 
Say what you like, and argue as 
you will, you cannot put grey heads 
on young shoulders, nor prevent a 
juvenile from jumping to a conclu- 
sion. 
It is as necessary for a juvenile to 
go through a course of experience, by 
way of training and educating him, as 
it is needful for a child to learn its 
letters; both processes are tedious and 
painful, but unfortunately cannot be 
avoided. 
The late Rev. Mr. Robertson has re- 
marked that “ Fire burns the child, (o 
z 
