Book Description

Excerpt from Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation, Vol. 8: May to December, 1896 Every educated man and woman has heard Of the leaf-butter flies, and, sooner or later, every entomologist, when showing his collection to a friend, is suddenly pulled up and asked to explain why certain insects resemble leaves, and how such peculiarities have arisen. There are three ways of answering the enquirer's question, so far as we have Observed To say you do not know. (2) To equivocate, because you do not like to say you do not know. (8) To explain the matter clearly to your own satisfaction and that of the enquirer. In order to do the latter, even in general terms, it is necessary to have some definite idea as to details one's self. The reason why certain insects resemble leaves is evident: it is to enable them to escape from enemies that would otherwise prey upon them. To explain how the peculiarities, which give them such strong resemblances to leaves, have arisen, is a much more difficult matter. It is evident that, if we are to attempt to explain the matter, we must hazard a theory. Our theory, it must be remembered, only attempts to explain the facts. The use of a theory is to Offer a probable explanation. If it explains all the conditions we observe, it may be that the theory is really the true explanation of how the facts have been brought about. SO soon as the theory ceases to be in accordance with Observed facts, so soon the theory must be discarded. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.