REVIEWS. . 93 



either not think at all upon, or would ridicule, the researches 

 of the anatomical zoologist who, like Swammerdam or Lyon- 

 net, would spend years over the investigation of a single spe- 

 cies; whilst others, whose observations are directed to the 

 study of the habits of the different species, or their relations in 

 the great chain of the creation, would be equally thought to 

 be following up an amusement having no solid object in view. 

 We are not, fortunately, now-a-days called upon to write long 

 essays to prove that all or any of these different views of stu- 

 dying nature, are possessed of respective advantages ; neither 

 do we feel it necessary to enter into any enquiry whether the 

 researches of nomenclaturist, comparative anatomist, natui'al- 

 historian, or natural-classiiScationist, be entitled to the great- 

 est weight. All are leading us on to the same end, — the 

 knowledge of nature, — by different routes; and therefore, a 

 work like the one whose title stands at the head of this arti- 

 cle, is in its way as valuable, in our opinion, as that reviewed 

 in the following one, although there is not a single readable 

 passage in the work of Mr. Stephens. We are exceedingly 

 glad to find that the author has followed the plan of some of 

 the best botanical writers, in giving a short abstract of his 

 great work, which, from its price, is necessarily in a limited 

 number of hands. The volumes of the " Illustrations of Bri- 

 tish Entomology " which comprise the beetles, cost nearly 

 eight pounds ; whilst here, for little more than one sixteenth 

 of that sum, the specific characters, sizes, habitations, and 

 periods of appearance, of nearly 3500 species of beetles are 

 given to the reader : each page averaging about nine species. 

 Short characters of the order, and its primary and secondary 

 sections, are first given, which are succeeded by the families 

 of the stirpes, and the genera in the respective families. A 

 good plan has been adopted in respect to the latter ; all the 

 genera in a family being characterized in the same page, in- 

 stead of their characters being given at the head of the re- 

 spective genera : by this means the student has under his 

 eye, at one glance, the whole of the genera in the family, and 

 is able far more readily to determine the genus of an insect, 

 than if they had been scattered over many pages. The fol- 

 lowing description of the first genus and species will show the 

 manner in which the characters are given, and which will be 

 seen to be sufficient for all practicable uses. 



Genus 1. Cicindela. Anfer. tarsi of the ^ (male) with three dilated 

 joints; of the $ (female) simple : elytra oblong ovate depressed (with dis- 

 colorous markings) : tho. somewhat quadrate ; rarely a little cylindrical. 



1. sylvatica, L. vol. ii. p. 658. Sam. pi. 3, fig. 8. Ste. M. i. 7. Ahove 

 hrown with purplish tints : elytra with a crescent on the shoulder, a nar- 



