1896. SOME NEW BOOKS. 125 



reader, and how the fascinating problems presented by the facts of 

 development can be set forth at once plainly and accurately. These 

 pages are well illustrated from the author's own works. A section on 

 fossil myriapods, with a few figures, is a welcome addition ; but, here 

 again, neglect of recent literature is to be deplored. Two important 

 families of Carboniferous centipedes, the Eoscolopendridae and Gera- 

 scutigeridae, erected by Scudder in 1890, are not mentioned. The genus 

 Trichiiuhis still figures among the Archipolypoda, though the fossil on 

 which it was founded is truly referable to a fern-frond, as stated by 

 Zittel. Among the fossil diplopods, amber specimens of Craspeodosoma 

 are referred to the Lysiopetalidae, a family name not to be found in 

 Mr. Sinclair's Kochian classification of recent forms, where the family 

 to which Craspeodosoma belongs is called Chordeumidse. In conclusion, 

 Mr. Sinclair sums up the light thrown by embryology and palaeon- 

 tology on the origin of the myriapods. But, here again, we are faced 

 by the author's strange apparent ignorance of the fact that naturalists 

 of high repute deny the homogeneity of the class. The failing common 

 to Messrs. Sedgwick and Sinclair in their contributions to the present 

 volume is their unaccountable neglect of the work of all recent 

 authors— except themselves. 



The first instalment of Dr. Sharp's work on the Insecta occupies 

 six-sevenths of the volume. High expectations must have been 

 forn*ied by British entomologists of the character of this work. They 

 will not be disappointed ; for Dr. Sharp has given the naturalists of 

 to-day such a gift as Westwood gave their fathers in his " Modern 

 Classification." Dr. Sharp cannot claim to have done original research 

 on the structure and development of insects comparable to Mr. 

 Sedgwick's work on Peripatus, or Mr. Sinclair's on the diplopods. 

 He belongs to the despised group of the systematists ; but his con- 

 tribution to the volume, in the excellent balance of its subject-matter 

 and the fulness of its references to the literature, contrasts pleasantly 

 — and painfully — with the chapters written by the two eminent mor- 

 phologists. A perfect work on modern entomology is beyond the 

 power of man ; but Dr. Sharp has set before himself a high ideal, and 

 has gone far towards realising it. Opening with some remarks on the 

 immense success achieved by insects in the struggle for life, and the 

 high interest of the social organisation displayed by many of them, 

 he proceeds to an account of their external and internal structure, 

 embryology, and subsequent development, illustrated by numerous 

 figures, many of which are original. All technical terms are 

 explained, and any general reader who will take a little pains can 

 hardly fail to grasp the the author's meaning. To the student, these 

 pages are a veritable store of information containing a judicious 

 summary of the most reliable observations of numberless workers. 

 And if any particular problem calls for an appeal to the original authori- 

 ties, nearly every page is provided with several references in foot- 

 notes. In the embryological section it might have been well to devote 

 more space to the problems presented by the segmentation of the 

 head. The antennae are stated to arise from the procephalic lobes, 

 though there is a general agreement among recent workers (to some 

 of whom reference is made) that these organs arise primitively 

 behind the mouth and are serial with the limbs. 



Dr. Sharp's chapter on classification opens with the alarming 

 statement that the 250,000 known species of insects probably form 

 but a tenth part of the insect population of the globe. It is a surprise 

 to find that Dr. Sharp, though summarising the recent general classi- 

 fications of Packard and Brauer, holds to a scheme dift'ering but 



