tion of their value. Even the making of butterfly pictures seems to be almost as intellectual an employment as the collecting of postage-stamps, which has been prosecuted with considerable zeal by a good many people in the present day. To this general ridicule we must, I think, add, in the case of entomology, that the practical collecting of insects for amusement was looked upon as a sort of sport, and therefore contemptible, because the game was so small; just on the same principle that the quiet angler is looked down upon by those who love "the noyse of houndys, the blastes of hornys, and the scrye of foulis, that hunters, fawkeners, and foulers make," according to Dame Juliana Berners. Although the marked feeling here alluded to is happily extinct, its effects, no doubt, to some extent survive, and it may be due to them that professed zoologists at the present day unquestionably know less of insects than of any other class of animals.

Nowadays it will hardly be formally denied that all branches of natural history are well worth studying; and it is the object of the present article to show that entomology, however it may have been maligned in the past, presents certain advantages to the intending student which may well give it in many cases a preference over other departments of zoology. It has already been stated that entomological researches may be carried on all the year round, and it may be added that there is no locality in which they cannot be pursued a matter of no small consequence to that great majority whose connections or avocations tie them down more or less to one spot. Even in the heart of large cities some representatives of most of the orders of insects may be met with; and suburban gardens, if at all favourably placed, may furnish quite a large collection to those who work them systematically. The late Mr. James Francis Stephens used to relate that he had obtained over 2,000 species of insects in the little garden at the back of his house in Foxley Road, Kennington. Short excursions, which the custom of Saturday half-holidays renders particularly easy, will enable the entomologist who is condemned to a town life to have many opportunities of adding to his stores both of specimens and of knowledge, whilst the resident in the country may find fresh objects of interest in whatever direction he turns.

Further, the means of procuring these objects are very simple and inexpensive. The student of marine zoology may be left out of the question, because a seaside residence is more or less essential for his pursuits; but even he cannot do very much practically without dredging, which is a troublesome and expensive operation. On the other hand, the ornithologist must either buy his specimens, or drag his gun about with him wherever he goes, on the chance of falling in with some desirable species; the representatives of other classes of animals than birds and insects in inland situations in this country are too few to enable them to come into competition with the latter. The entomologist requires only a net or two and a few pillboxes and bottles, all of which he can carry in his pockets, to set him up in his pursuit; and when he

brings home his prizes he wants only two or three papers of pins, a few pieces of cork, and a close-fitting box or two lined with cork, for the preparation and preservation of his specimens. No doubt, with his progress, the appliances made use of by the entomologists will increase in number and complexity; but the student of most other branches of zoology must either skin and stuff his specimens or preserve them in spirit or some other fluid, and his collections will in consequence cost more and occupy much more space.

As the characters upon which insects are classified are nearly all external-that is to say, derived from parts which may be investigated without destroying the specimens their systematic study is very easily pursued, whilst their small size, by enabling a large number of species to be brought together within a very limited space, affords peculiar facilities for the comparison of characters, and for the recognition of the agreements and differences presented by the members of the same group. If the entomologist chooses to go further, and to investigate the anatomical structure of the objects of his study, their smallness may at first sight seem to be an obstacle in his way, but this is soon got over, and it then becomes an advantage, seeing that, owing to it, such researches may be carried on anywhere, without the necessity of devoting a special apartment to the purpose, which can hardly be dispensed with in the case of vertebrate animals. Moreover, as the hard parts of insects are nearly all outside, their anatomy, which is perhaps the most interesting of all, may be studied with the greatest ease, and in fact the most instructive parts of the morphology of insects are those which it is essential for the student to know in order to understand their classification. Thus, for example, the investigation of the structure of the mouth in insects of different orders will give the student a clearer idea of the meaning of the term homology, and of the changes which the same parts may undergo in animals, than could be furnished him by any other examples; and the series of modifications, occurring not only in the various types, but even in the same individuals, at different stages of their development, is most striking and instructive.

Again, these developmental stages, the transformations or metamorphoses of insects, some knowledge of which is also necessary for the comprehension of the classification of these animals, furnish a study of never-ceasing interest, partly for its own sake, partly as giving the student a clear conception of the phenomena of metamor hosis, which plays so important a part in other departments of zoology, and partly from the views which it opens up as to the natural history of insects and their complex relations to the world outside them. Here the parasitism of so many insects in their preparatory stages may especially be cited, as affording an endless and most instructive subject of investigation; and the whole series of phenomena comprised in the life-history of insects affords an easily studied representation of the great system of checks and counterchecks which pervades all nature in the destruction of herbiverous by carniverous animals, of the latter by other carnivores,

and of both by parasites. Indeed, no other class of animals exhibits these inter-relations and mutual reactions between different organisms so clearly and so multifariously as the insects. Besides the ordinary division into herbivorous and carnivorous forms, we find many of both series restricted to one particular article of diet, or to nourishment de rived from a very few species nearly allied to each other; in their modes of activity insects reproduce those of all other classes of animals, combined with a few peculiar to themselves; the insidious phenomena of parasitism are displayed by them with a perfection of distinctness such as we meet with nowhere else; and their influence is exerted in a thousand ways for the modification of other organisms with which they are brought into contact. Thus, according to Mr. Darwin's theory, which is adopted by a great many naturalists, the action of insects is of the utmost importance in the fertilisation of flowering plants,-nay, as an extension or corollary of this view, we find some who are prepared to maintain that insects are the cause of the development and beautiful coloration of flowers. All these different aspects of the relations of insects to the world outside them open up an infinity of paths for investigation, each of them leading to most interesting and important results, and calling for an exertion of the powers of observation which, as a mere mental training, cannot but produce the most beneficial results. Moreover, so much remains to be done in most of these fields of research, that almost every earnest worker may look forward to the probability of ascertaining some previously unknown facts of more or less importance-a hope which is not without its influence upon most minds. By the knowledge of the facts involved in the recognition of this general system the entomologist may often render important services to the farmer and the gardener, and thus give a direct practical value to his studies. Nearly every production of the field or the garden is subject to the attacks of insects, which, in case of their inordinate increase, may easily cause very great damage to the crops, or even destroy them altogether. In the face of such enemies the cultivator is often quite helpless, and not unfrequently mistakes his friends for his foes, attributing the mischief produced by concealed enemies to more prominent forms, which are really doing their best for his benefit. In such cases the entomologist may step in to the assistance of his neighbour, indicate to him the real cause of the damage, and in many instances the best remedy, and the best time to employ it.

The asserted influence of insect agency upon the forms and colours of flowers, referred to above, leads to other considerations which may serve to give additional importance to the study of entomology. For while it is believed that plants and flowers are modified by the unconscious influence of insects, it is, on the other hand at least equally certain that the insects will undergo modifications in their turn: and there seems to be some reason to believe that the great and burning question as to the origin of species,

or distinct form of animals and plants, by evolution-that is to say, the modification of organisms under the influence of external causes, assisted by the survival of those best adapted to the prevailing conditions-will finally be fought out upon entomological grounds. In this respect the careful observation and comparison of the insect-faunas of scattered islands of common origin cannot but lead to most interesting results; as may, indeed, be seen from the brilliant researches of Mr. Wallace upon the butterflies of certain islands in the Eastern Archipelago, and from the elaborate investigations of the lato Mr. Vernon Wollaston upon the beetles of the Atlantic islands. In the case of the Cape Verde islands the last-mentioned distinguished entomologist, although a staunch anti-evolutionist, was compelled to admit that he did not believe all the closely related permanent forms which he felt himself compelled to describe as species really owed their existence to distinct acts of creation.

One of the most curious phenomena the full recognition of which we owe to the promulgation of the doctrine of evolution is the mimicry or imitation of one organism of the general characters of another, or of some inanimate object, instances of which arc tolerably numerous. Here again insects hold the first place. The subject was first approached in a philosophical manner by Mr. Bates, who found in the Valley of the Amazon whole groups of butterflies which imitated most closely the form and coloration of other species belonging to quite a distinct sub-family. Mr. Bates discovered that the imitated forms were endowed with certain properties which rendered them disagreeable to insectivorous birds, and hence concluded that these mimetic resemblances in general were acquired by a process of selection for protective purposes. Many other instances of the same kind have since been detected in various parts of the world, and they are by no means deficient even in this country.

In the preceding rapid and very imperfect sketch I have endeavoured to indicate the more important of the manifold pleasures and advantages which the study of entomology offers to its votaries, even supposing them to pursue it as a mere amusement. But even in connection with this method of study it has been pointed out that certain philosophical notions will crop up, such as the homology of the parts of the mouth in biting and sucking insects, the phenomena of the metamorhoses and of parasitism, the close inter-relation of diverse organisms, and the question of the origin of species. The influence of such studies in training the mind to habits of observation such as involve the clear appreciation of evidence has also been mentioned as a great and important educational advantage.

There is yet another side to the question. In these days of competitive and other examinations, and of wide-spread science-teaching, great numbers of students learn more or less of what is called zoology from lectures and text-books, their object being in most cases, perhaps, only to pass what they call an exam." By this means a certain

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amount of morphological knowledge gets crammed into their heads, but of the practical application of this they are as innocent as the babe unborn. For the due comprehension even of the principles of zoology it is essential that the student should possess something more than a mere book-knowledge, often merely of structural details; and an ac. quaintance with those principles is becoming day by day more necessary, as natural-history considerations are assuming a more and more promi, nent position in our general philosophy. How is this to be attained? It is manifestly impossible for anyone who does not devote himself entirely to zoological pursuits to make himself practically acquainted with the whole animal kingdom; he must perforce confine his attention more or less to some special group, and extend the knowledge of the principles and method of zoology thus acquired to the formation of a general conception of the whole. I have already indicated that, from the ease with which it is followed, and the total absence of restriction as to locality, the study of entomology presents special advantages; and in other respects, if pursued in no contracted spirit, its influence on the mind of the student will be at least equally beneficial with that of any other branch of natural history. Popular Science Review.

ART-EDUCATION IN GREAT BRITAIN.

WHOEVER explores a mountain-pass must necessarily often look back. From the vantage-ground he has gained the climber measures his advance, taking note of his point of departure the better to guide his future ascent. He looks down on the country he has already traversed; he marks the spot where he diverged from the true course, the swampy land that appeared likely to bar all progress, the torrent that he forded at the risk of his life. Far beneath him, insignificant because of their distance, lie the many obstacles which were once so formidable. His breath grows more and more regular with the momentary repose; then, glancing up at the towering peaks through which he must still force his way, he tightens his belt by a hole or two, and springs forwards with a fresh impulse. But suppose him to be not alone in his quest; nay, rather one of a multitude striving in the same direction; not engaged in a race to gain the highest mountain-peak, where one alone can come off victor, but struggling across a barrier which bars the path to a land where there is ample room for all to live in honour and prosperity; he must grievously regret that his own efforts will be of no benefit to others, and that a combination of all did not lighten the general task.

A similar reflection must have forced itself on the mind of many an English artist midway in his profession. Looking back on his