New Works on the Coleoptera. 233 



Coleopterists, and indeed entomologists, (may we not say 

 naturalists in general?) at the present day, occupy themselves 

 too much with names. All that they seem to require, is the 

 names of the species in their possession; and when these are 

 discovered, the specimens are stored away, with the long 

 sought for names attached, as though the ultimate object of 

 science were gained. We have however already thrown out 

 hints sufficient to shew that our opinion is otherwise. Names, 

 it is undeniable, have their value, in a strictly scientific point 

 of view, as the condensed representatives of species and their 

 specific characters ; and until the various species of any par- 

 ticular country are accurately defined, with their varieties, the 

 entomologist of that country would be blameable, were he not 

 to endeavour to clear up the points of difference between the 

 species, so as to exhibit the fauna of his country, with refe- 

 rence not only to the national, natural, riches of his land, but 

 also to the interesting enquiries of the geographical naturalist. 



Hence the character of the majority of natural history works 

 of the present day, and especially of entomological works pub- 

 lished on the continent, is a necessary result of the little pro- 

 gress hitherto made towards a general Species or Systema 

 Naturae, or rather, we should say it is a convincing evidence 

 of the mass of materials of which no description has hitherto 

 been given to the public. Add to this the difficulties arising 

 from the insufficient descriptions or the errors of previous de- 

 scribers, which call for correction, and it will be seen that 

 there is yet much to be done before the actual species of in- 

 sects, (or of any other tribe of animals), of our own or any 

 continental country, can be considered as established. 



The first two works on our list have for their object the as- 

 certaining the species of beetles of two distant portions of 

 Europe : the third is a revision of a portion of the coleopte- 

 rous writings of Linnaeus and Fabricius : and the last is a 

 slight sketch of the distribution of the Coleoptera, foimded 

 upon the tarsal system of Latreille. 



Dr. Erichson, (whose fame as a clear-sighted entomologist, 

 was established by his first work, c Genera Dyticeorum,' 1832) 

 has in the volume at the head of this article, given descrip- 

 tions of the Coleopterous insects belonging to the Cicindeli- 

 da3, Carabiclae, Gyrinidae, Dyticidae, Hydrophilidae, Silphidae, 

 Pselaphidae, and Aleocharideous Staphylinidae, inhabiting 

 the 'Mark Brandenburg;' and as the majority of the species 

 are also inhabitants of this country, and his descriptions pre- 

 cise, his work will be an acceptable companion to that of Mr. 

 Stephens. Although from the occurrence of Omopliron lim- 

 batum, Procrustes coriaceus, four species of Calosoma, &c. 



u2 



