134 



ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



work which will be regarded by many as the embodiment of the 

 most recent research. It is specially astonishing to find in a clear 

 and well-written discussion of the affinities of the Myriapods, that 

 the author is apparently ignorant of the view put forward inde- 

 pendently by Kingsley and Pocock that the class Myriapoda cannot 

 be considered natural, and that the Centipedes are nearer to the 

 true Insects than to the Millipedes. 



Dr. Sharp's work is in most respects excellent. It is true that 

 the author, like Mr. Sinclair, has a partiality for ancient classifica- 

 tions ; for the arrangement of insect orders which he adopts differs 

 but little from that of Linne. But he has given a summary of the 

 schemes of Packard and Brauer, and states his reasons for preferring 

 the old paths. Apart from arrangement, the chief question at issue 

 is the retention or breaking up of the Linnean Neuroptera. Dr. 

 Sharp does not consider the internal and developmental characters, 

 upon which modern writers have divided the old group into several 

 orders, to be sufficiently certain or important to warrant the innova- 

 tion. ' Even those of us who do not agree with him in this view 

 must admit that he offers his readers the alternatives, and leaves 

 them to use their own judgment. 



This first instalment of the Insects comprises the Aptera (Collem- 

 bola and Thysanura), Orthoptera, Neuroptera (in the old sense), and 

 part of the Hymenoptera, besides an introduction in which the 

 external and internal structure, development, and habits of insects 

 generally are discussed in the light of the most recent knowledge. 

 Each branch of the subject receives its due share of attention, and 

 the references to the literature, both old and new, are very full. 

 The detailed accounts of the orders are also excellently compiled ; 

 and the student who consults Dr. Sharp's pages may rely upon 

 finding a summary of what is known about any group of insects, and 

 directions where to look for fuller information. The style is clear 

 though concise, and notes on habits and other subjects of general 

 interest alternate pleasantly with anatomical descriptions. The 

 numerous figures, very many of them original, are excellent. 



G. H. C. 



BRITISH BIRDS' NESTS : How, WHERE, AND WHEN TO FIND 

 THEM By R. Kearton. Illustrated from Photographs by J. C. 

 Kearton. Crown 8vo. (London : Cassell and Co.) Price 2 is. 



Ornithologists have for some time past been aware that a number 

 of their confreres had laid aside their collecting impedimenta and 

 aone into the field equipped with the photographic camera, 

 using it upon nests with eggs or young : objects which especially 

 lend themselves to their operations. Mr. R. Kearton, in the work 

 under consideration, gives us the first-fruits of the application ot 

 photography to this branch of ornithology, and he is to be con- 

 gratulated on the success he has achieved. His handsome volume 



