i879-1 
Correspondence. 
651 
various shades of red or pink, and fade towards a white ; yet 
they belong to the same botanical family as the whitethorn. 
The change in question, though very general, was by no means 
universal, and it seemed to me most pronounced in situations 
little exposed to the direCt rays of the sun. — I am, &c., 
J. W. S. 
HUMANITARIANISM EXTRAORDINARY. 
To the Editor of the Monthly Journal of Science. 
Sir, — At a meeting held in connection with the recent West- 
minster Exhibition, Mr. J. G. Talbot, M.P., is reported to have 
said, in reference to some cases of butterflies there displayed, 
that such collections involved a “ fearful waste of inseCt life,” 
and to have expressed a wish that Entomology could be “ studied 
in a more humane manner.” It really seems as if, in these vir- 
tuous days, the infliction of pain or of death is to be tolerated 
for any and every purpose, save in the pursuit of knowledge. 
The number of inseCts sacrificed for preservation in museums 
and in private collections, or for microscopic examination, &c., 
seems to me a mere trifle compared with those destroyed out of 
mere wantonness or for ostentatious decorations. In the shops 
of certain “ naturalists ” (save the mark !) we may see trays and 
boxes full of splendid Buprestidse, &c., which are sold to jewel- 
lers, milliners, &c. Might not Mr. Talbot have found here a 
“ waste of inseCt life ” much more to be regretted ? With birds 
the case is even more glaring. I will venture to say that for 
one which falls a sacrifice to Science, ten become victims to 
Sport and to Fashion. But the modern humanitarian dares not 
attack Sport and Fashion, so he seeks to fetter Science. 
Biologists greatly deceive themselves if they think that even the 
total abolition of vivisection will satisfy the “ hysterical party.” 
It is surely time for the organisation of a “ Biological Defence 
League.” — I am, &c., 
Awake ! 
HABITS OF SERPENTS. 
To the Editor of the Monthly Journal of Science. 
Sir, — Waterton strongly insists, in his Essays, that serpents 
never pursue a retreating prey, and never aCt gratuitously upon 
the offensive. Both these statements are contradicted by more 
