shes, crabs, mollusks, and all of
the lower forms of animal life, they would not all together amount to
so many different kinds as there are insects. This makes the
classification of insects quite complicated. There are eighteen or
nineteen main orders, and each one is subdivided almost indefinitely.
There is not one of these that is not full of interest. The habits of
ants, for example, living in communities by themselves, afford a
tremendous opportunity for interesting observation. A good book about
them has been recently written by Dr. W. M. Wheeler, of Harvard,
entitled "Ants, their Structure, Development, and Behavior," published
by the Columbia University Press, New York.

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Many insects live in the water, and to follow their life histories in
small home-made aquaria is one of the most interesting occupations one
could have, and there is a lot to be learned about these insects. Go
to any stagnant pool and you will find it swarming with animal life:
Larvae or "wigglers" of mosquitoes, and a number of other aquatic
insects will be found, feeding upon these wigglers. Water bugs of
different kinds will be found and the life histories of most of these
were until quite recently almost unknown.

Beetles and Wasps

The order _Coleoptera_, comprising what we know as beetles, has
thousands of species, each one with its own distinctive mode of life;
some of them feeding upon other insects, others boring into wood,
others feeding upon flowers, others upon leaves, and so on in endless
variety.

The wasps also will bear study. Here, too, there is a great variety,
some of them building the paper nests known to every one, others
burrowing into the surface of the ground and storing up in these
burrows grasshoppers and other insects for food for their young which
are grub-like in form; others still burrowing into the twigs of
bushes, and others making mud nests attached to the trunks of trees or
to the clapboards of houses or outbuildings.

This is just a hint at the endless variety of habits of insects. The
United States National Museum publishes a bulletin, by Mr. Nathan
Banks, entitled "Directions for Collecting and Preserving Insects,"
which gives a general outline of the classification, and should be
possessed by everyone who wishes to take up the study from the
beginning.

FISHES

_By Dr. Hugh M. Smith, Deputy Commissioner United States Fisheries_

There is no more fascinating and profitable study than t