Kirby and Spence's Introduction to Entomology. 127 



tively, to the greatest extent that our limited acquaintance with 

 them will at present permit. 



Of the high scientific value of the information presented by the 

 Letters on the external Anatomy of Insects it is almost impossible 

 to speak in terms of sufficient praise. To estimate rightly its im- 

 portance it would be necessary to have devoted, like Mr. Kirby, 

 years to the investigation, and to have carefully examined, with 

 an acumen equal to his own, almost every entomological collection 

 in this country and many in foreign lands. On this subject it 

 may safely be asserted, that no one need fear to lower his own 

 importance by exclaiming to our authors, in the words of Linne 

 on another entomological occasion, Estote magistri mei. 



The immense mass of novelty introduced in this department, 

 a novelty of facts and not a mere pernicious alteration of names, 

 is preceded by a synoptical table of the parts into which the 

 insect skeleton is resolvable. The whole of these are subsequently 

 treated of with a detail which leaves nothing to desire. The 

 description of the head, and of those essentially important por- 

 tions of it, the trophi or organs by which the food is taken, is 

 particularly laboured ; but we cannot even enumerate the many 

 striking facts deduced from the accurate dissections to which 

 insects of every order must have been repeatedly subjected during 

 its composition. Even for the parts of the perfect mouths defi- 

 nitions are given more precise than any previously proposed ; 

 while to the imperfect ones are applied denominations so correctly 

 circumscribed as to obviate in future that misapplication of terms 

 by which considerable confusion has hitherto been produced. In 

 connexion with the head, another set of organs is now for the 

 first time pointed out as appertaining to a sense usually supposed 

 to reside in other parts of the body — that of smelling. The 

 Clypeus is regarded as a nose, Nasus, and the Rhinarium, situated 

 between this part and the lip, is considered as analogous to the 

 nostrils of quadrupeds. That the sense in question resides in this 

 situation seems almost to be established by the facts adverted to in 

 a subsequent Letter. The trunk is submitted to an equally minute 

 investigation with the head. It is divided primarily into Mani- 

 trunk and Alitrunk, the anterior pair of legs being denominated 



