

374 NATURAL SCIENCE [December 



fibres derived from the wood or bast tissue respectively, but whole 

 stems, roots or leaves, or split and shredded leaves, as well as ex- 

 ternal hair-like growths, such as cotton, and also a class of " pseudo- 

 fibres." The last comprises certain mosses, like Sphagnum, used for 

 packing, seaweed wrought into lines or cordage, and the mycelium 

 of certain fun^i. The book will be a welcome addition to the 

 libraries of individuals and institutions interested in economic 

 botany. To enhance the value of future editions, the author 

 requests notes or further information on any fibre plants, and 

 especially photographs of foreign species. 



Wing Neuration in the Lepidoptera 



Mr A. Eadcliffe Grote has been insisting both in German (///. 

 Wochenschr. f. Entomologie, band II., no. 28), and in English (Entom. 

 Record, vol. ix., no. 10) on the advantage of employing photography 

 in the illustration of the wing-nervures of moths and butterflies, as 

 by this means only can absolute accuracy be ensured. British 

 entomologists will be specially interested by Mr Grote's severe 

 strictures on Mr Meyrick's descriptions and drawings of wing- 

 neuration in his revision of the Geometridae {Trans. Ent. Soc, 1892) 

 and his recent " Handbook of British Lepidoptera." Comparison of 

 Mr Meyrick's figures with the photographs have led Mr Grote to the 

 conclusion that in the former " the distances, relative direction, and 

 at times the point of origin are frequently all wrong. Worse than 

 this, Mr Meyrick supplies nervures which have no existence . . . 

 and omits nervures . . . which are distinct in nature." We await 

 with interest Mr Meyrick's reply to this criticism. 



