REVIEWS 191 



West Aberdeenshire by Mr. Cran : Physarum citrinuin, Schum., 

 from Den of Craig ; Laviprodcrma physaroides, Rost., var. /3 sessile, 

 from Rhynie ; Cribraria violated, Rex, from Rhynie ; Dianema 

 corticatum, Lister, from Rhynie. 



REPORT OF A VISIT TO SANDA AND GLUNIMORE. By John 

 Paterson and John Renwick. Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Glasg., 1897- 

 98, v. pp. 197-204. On pp. 203-204 is a list of plants gathered 

 on these unfrequented islands (near the south end of Cantyre). 



REVIEWS. 



A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE BRITISH LEPIDOPTERA. By J. W. 

 Tutt, F.E.S. (London: Swan Sonnenschein and Co., 1899.) 



This is a closely printed octavo book of 560 pages, in which the 

 author shows himself to be, at least, a master in the arts of compila- 

 tion and condensation. It is divided into two parts, the first of 

 which, devoted to introductory matter, occupies 112 pages, and 

 contains nine chapters. These deal with the origin of the Lepi- 

 doptera, the ovum, embryology, parthenogenesis or agamogenesis, 

 external and internal structure of the larva, variation in the imagines, 

 protective coloration and defensive structures of lepidopterous larvae, 

 and, lastly, the classification of Lepidoptera. Upon all these subjects, 

 we find a great mass of information, collected from every conceivable 

 source, and presented in such a concise manner as to save the 

 student a vast amount of time and trouble in searching for any 

 particular fact. Chapter IX., dealing with classification, contains 

 much debatable matter, and whether the author's ideas will be 

 accepted generally only time can show. The system adopted in the 

 book appears to us somewhat revolutionary, and the characters 

 presented by the imago kept too much in the background. 



The second part of the volume, containing (exclusive of index) 

 434 pages, deals with 80 species belonging to the "super-families" 

 Micropterygides, Nepticulides, Cochlidides, and Anthrocerides, so 

 that, on the average, nearly 5^ pages are devoted to each. On 

 this basis, we estimate that the complete work will occupy twenty- 

 four or twenty-five volumes the size of the first. Truly the prepara- 

 tion of these will be a herculean task ! Each species is treated 

 of under the following plan : first, a full list of synonyms and 

 bibliographical references, then an exact copy of the original descrip- 

 tion, this last a good idea, and an extremely useful feature of the 

 book. Following this comes a description of the imago, then 

 particulars as to variation, egg-laying, description of egg, habits of 

 larva, descriptions of larva, pupa and cocoon, method of dehiscence, 

 food-plants, parasites, etc. Extremely full details are given as to 



