160 
Psyche 
[September 
They were displayed in a glass-covered rail-case in the gal- 
lery of the Museum where they were for the most part con- 
tinuously exposed to the damaging effects of white light. 
That some of the specimens became, with the lapse of years, 
nearly unrecognizable, is not to be wondered at. 
Such was the state of things when I was placed in charge, 
for a period, at first,, of one day per week, except during the 
summer. Later, the care of all the natural history collec- 
tions, — geological, botanical, and zoological, was added to 
that of the insects, and the time allotted gradually in- 
creased, until all the time that I can now give has been 
taken. 
Mr. John Robinson (a very good old-time botanist, by the 
way), who acted as Director during Prof. Morse’s absences 
in Japan and on his lecture-tours, used to say that his per- 
sonal knowledge of insects was limited to an acquaintance 
with those species most frequently brought in by children, 
or more or less conspicuous in themselves, — such as the 
house centipede, Scutigera forceps, formerly a common den- 
izen of the city, — and the larger moths and butterflies. In 
time, these were supplemented by the gipsy and brown-tail 
moths, and by pests responsible for local outbreaks. 
The persons visiting a museum who show an interest in 
insects comprise : 1st, the children of the vicinity, to whom 
the world and its wonders are new, and who do not cus- 
tomarily think, in the manner of their elders, of insects as 
small fry, unworthy of attention; 2nd, people of inquiring 
minds who have observed something new to them (it may 
be very old to an entomologist) ; 3rd, people to whom an in- 
sect has suddenly revealed itself as a possible pest, who 
seek information regarding it and how to control it; and 
4th, persons, old or young, who judge everything by its 
commercial value and hope to acquire dollars or cents by 
selling their captures to the Museum. (It may even be an 
almost totally denuded moth or butterfly or some similar 
worthless specimen.) These must all be treated with the ut- 
most courtesy if one would make friends for the Museum; 
information and advice must be freely imparted; gifts of 
much-rubbed butterfly or legless grasshopper must be 
gratefully accepted or declined with thanks, — if you would 
