128 
HALF HOURS WITH INSECTS. 
[Packard. 
base, with three atoms of oxygen, forms the formic acid. 
Now Dumas not only made this out, but he further discov¬ 
ered that the three atoms of oxygen might be replaced with 
three atoms of chlorine. He thus obtained terchloride of 
formyle. It so happened that, when ether had been em¬ 
ployed as an anaesthetic, Dr. Simpson of Edinburgh was 
induced to look for some agent that might act even more 
beneficially than ether in this respect. He tried the terchlo¬ 
ride of formyle, and found it to succeed; and this is the 
agent which under the name of chloroform, has been the 
means of alleviating a vast amount of human misery: and if 
occasionally it has destroyed life it has saved so much that 
mankind owes a deep debt of gratitude to those who have 
successfully introduced it into practice.” 
Such, then, are some of the relations in which insects stand 
to us. They feed us, clothe us, and lull us to sleep. The 
gorgeous hues and lines of grace of some fill our minds with 
visions of beauty; others, master pieces of ugliness, turn 
us to loathing. They are our companions by day, and, alas 
also by night. Finally, a thorough comprehension of their 
origin, structure and habits forms a part of that grand science 
— biology—which great intellects have through the centu¬ 
ries since the time of Aristotle, gradually and with much 
pains built up, and the end and aim of which is to seek the 
answer to the question — What is life? thus bringing the 
mind of the inquirer into closer relations with the Source 
of all Life. 
32 
