THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S 
WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
No. 125.] SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 1859. [Pbice Id. 
JUVENILES. 
We are sorry to trouble the mass of 
our readers with a matter personal to 
ourselves, and with which they have 
no direct concern, hut we feel that the 
time is come when we must protest 
against the infantine letters we are 
doomed to receive. 
In the second edition of the ‘Ento- 
mologist’s Annual’ for 1855, at p. 13, 
we read as follows : — 
“ But even the fortunate possessor of 
several works on Entomology will still 
find himself at a loss to name many 
of his specimens; yet there are several 
entomologists, who, like myself, would 
gladly afford any beginner such infor- 
mation as he might feel disposed to 
seek ; hut how is the tyro to get ac- 
quainted with any useful members of 
the community? Of course I cannot 
answer so clearly for others as I can 
for myself, but I know this, that if 
any young collector (not under four- 
teen years of age) were to write to 
me for information, I should he more 
pleased at receiving his enquiry than 
he would be at obtaining my answer,” 
&c., &c. 
Now we wish to direct the attention 
of our infant readers, and of their 
parents and guardians, to the paren- 
thetic sentence, “not under fourteen 
years of age." This age was not fixed 
on without due consideration ; we felt 
that a line must be drawn somewhere ; 
and, just as the barber in ‘ Nicholas 
Nickleby’ could shave a baker but not 
a coalheaver, as he “ must draw the 
line somewhere,” so those born in 
1844 .can now correspond with us, 
whilst those born in 1845 and sub- 
sequently are precluded from so 
doing till their fourteenth birthday is 
passed. 
We are perfectly aware that some 
boys at twelve might be better quali- 
fied as useful correspondents than others 
at fourteen ; but, if we had worded our 
rule so as to accommodate these cases, 
“ not under fourteen years of age, un- 
less peculiarly clever,” why every num- 
' skull of thirteen would deem that he 
was peculiarly clever, and we should 
ensure a constant supply of letters 
from conceited, stupid children. When 
we inform our readers that we have 
lately received communications from in- 
fants of the tender ages of nine and 
eleven, they will understand the diffi- 
culty of our position. We did not wish 
to snub even these children, yet some 
means must be found of putting a 
stop to what was fast becoming a 
nuisance. 
