The Osceola times., 1876-04-15
NUMBER I.

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teria-'' in insects; while these, again,
"bits and with many mOss rs,cs ind ne
PARALLEL in thc hal,sIns'es Ina ~ the animal king
dom, and prove the. TO be most worthy
the students attention.
could dwell for hours Oh the remark
able diversity Of their habits. From the
asthetic side, the study Of insects, m the
study of any other branch Of natural
history. elevates and enlightcns. 1t dis
pels prejudice and superstition, and
affords happiness and instruction. 1t
more quickly than any other teaches to
:" find tongues in trees, sermons in stones,
and good In every thing" In my own ex-
perience have known of several hypo-
chondriacs made happy and hearty by
the mental enjoyment and the physical
exercise that resulted from getting in
terested in the collecting and study OF
natural history ohjects; snd y y p -
| nifcant fact that many Of oar grUseS
scientific minds, as Charles Darwin,
Herbert Spencer, ETC., began their scien-
tific careers, and developed their love of
investigation by the study Of insects.
1T DEVELOPS THE OBSERVING FACULTIES.
As I shall presently show, some knowI-
edge of entomology Is absolutely essen
tial to the agriculturist, and study OF
II should form part Of every farmers cdu-
cation. Those engaged in other pursuih
arc not 10 vitality concerned about In
sects. and generally fail to scc what ben-
eft can come from the study of them.
have known parents TO discourage their
children from the study Of these little
animals because II promised no practica!
benefit. But the same argument would
apply to the majority Of the literary and
scientific pursuits that occupy intelli-
gent people; and, judged by this narrow
and material standard, mostof that which
is taught in our schools is valueless.
What does the butcher, or the grocer, or
the baker, or, indeed, the ordinary busi-
ness man, intent on accumulating for
tune, or engrosscd with the cares and
necessities OF life, care about geography,
or geology, or chemistry, or astronomy,
or mathematical What connection have
these, or the fine arts, or philosophy,
with his pursuit? Does 1t help his busi-
ness 10 know the source Of the Nile or
the nature of the Polar seas W soar
among the stars and conceive OF the
growth and death Of worlds; TO know
the age and history of this bail Of matter
ON which he trcads? Will his coal burn
any better for the knowledge Of its origin
and nature? Does it help him, In driv-
ing bargain, to know how many kings
England has had, or when Washington
died Polite literature has held most
| important place In the civilized worlds
history, though |. has no connection with
any of the practical Affairs of life. Yet
every person in my audience recognizes
the advantages of all such studies; and
the child who Is deferred from them be-
cause they are not profitable, in the
money-getting sense, Is very apt 70 be-
come a narrow minded and miserly man,
incapable Of that large enjoyment Of life
that follows the full development Of his
faculties. Says Shakespeare, What is a
man, il his chief good and market for
his time be but TO sleep and fecdf A
beast-no more" There Is no saddcr
sight than sordid and penurious child.
In short, as ] have elsewhere said, In
common with all the other sciences, en-
tomology, viewed solely rs an educator,
cnriches the human mind by adding
to Its store of knowledge, and has few,
| if any, equals as a means Of developing
the observing faculties of the young.
The lifc-habits Of insects--their won
derf.ll metamorphoses, their instructive
lindustries-furnish ample food for re-
Election, and for our natural love Of the
curious and marvellous; and 1t IL sur
prising that the fact has not been more
fully recognized in our educational ..ys-
tens. Botany has long since had her
place in our schools, and her import
ance as a means of mental training u
net ignored. Yet lessons in animal life
the histories of living, sentient,. 70
tive creatures-can certainly be made ~
instructive and entertaining a. lesson. IN
vegetative plant-life, and should receive
as much or more attention.