THE TIMBER-BEETLES. 
57 
tliorax arc thickly punctured, and the wing-covers are punc- 
tured in rows. Its length is about three tenths of an inch. 
This beetle closely resembles one of the kinds which, in 
the grub state, is called the wire-worm in Europe, and pos- 
sibly it may be the same. This circumstance should put us 
on our guard against its depredations. It is found in April, 
May, and June, among the roots of grass, on the under-side 
of boards and rails on the ground, and sometimes also on 
fences. 
The utility of a knowledge of the natural history of in- 
sects in the practical arts of life was never more strikingly 
and triumphantly proved than by Linnaeus himself, who, 
while giving to natural science its language and its laws, 
neglected no opportunity to point out its economical advan- 
tages.* On one occasion this great naturalist was consulted 
by the King of Sweden upon the cause of the decay and 
destruction of the ship-timber in the royal dock-yards, and, 
having traced it to the depredations of insects, and ascer- 
tained the history of the depredators, by directing the timber 
to be sunk under water during the season when these insects 
made their appearance in the winged state, and were busied 
in laying their eggs, he effectually secured it from future 
attacks. The name of these insects is Lymexylon navale, the 
naval timber-destroyer. They have since increased to an 
alarming extent in some of the dock-yards of France, and in 
one of them, at least, have become very injurious, wholly in 
consequence of the neglect of seasonable advice given by a 
naval officer, who was also an entomologist, and pointed out 
tjie source of the injury, together with the remedy to be 
applied. 
* See the Preface to Smith's “ Introduction to Botany,” and Pultenev’s “ View 
of the Writings of Linnaeus,” for several examples, one of which it may not be 
amiss to mention here. Linnaeus was the first to point out the advantages to 
be derived from employing the Arundo arenaria , or beach-grass, in fixing the 
sands of the shore, and thereby preventing the encroachments of the sea. The 
Dutch have long availed themselves of his suggestion, and its utility has been 
tested to some extent in Massachusetts. 
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