"The age of material in a natural history
collection is one of its most important attributes because the older the
material, the better it reflects species presence before human-induced
ecological degradation. The oldest confirmed date in the collection is
1860 for Allocapnia roberti Surdick, collected by Illinois’s
first state entomologist, B.D. Walsh, in Rock Island, IL. Subsequent
collecting efforts support the contention that this species is now
extinct. . . These data have allowed the exploration of changes in the
distribution of several species, documented a shift in prevalence of
species assemblages of Plecoptera, and shown a dramatic change in
species diversity between historical and modern collections."
(Favret, C. and R.E. Dewalt. 2002. Comparing the
Ephemeroptera and Plecoptera specimen databases at the Illinois natural
History survey and using them to document changes in the Illinois fauna.
Ann. Ent. Soc. Am. 95: 35–40.)
Proverbs and sayings
He that hath the worst cause makes the most noise. English
The hasty and the slow meet at the ferry. Arab
The old forget; the young don’t know. Japanese
Traveller, there is no path; paths are made by walking. Spanish
"Another damned, thick square book! Always
scribble, scribble, scribble! Eh! Mr. Gibbon?" (William Henry, Duke
of Gloucester 1781, on receiving Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
vol. II).
"Be kind and considerate with your criticism . .
. It’s just as hard to write a bad book as it is to write a good
book" (Malcolm Cowley)
"Whatever is clearly expressed is well
wrote" (Mary Wortley Montagu)
Bargain basement
Classified advertisement: Need co-author for a book on self reliance
(Anon.)