372 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Oct., 'l2 



In the first fascicule Oberthur says that with the 2ist livraison of 

 Etudes d'Entomclogie he had planned to close his publications on the 

 Lepidoptera, and devote his time to the arrangement of his collection. 

 But despite his resolutions he could not resist the temptation of again 

 entering entomological activity; and the attraction of certain prob- 

 lems was too irresistible, so we have this magnificent series of fasci- 

 cules. In fascicule III we have an important paper by Dr. Max 

 Standfuss, the well-known experimenter of Zurich, first in German 

 and then translated into French, on some results of experiments on 

 the reproduction by mutations of Lepidoptera on the basis of Men- 

 del's law and de Vries' mutation theory. It is on Aglia tan and aber- 

 rations, the Bombycid. 



A great portion of the fascicules is taken up with an extended cata- 

 logue and comparison of the fauna of France and Algeria; of great 

 interest to the zoogeographer ; and is replete with facts which will be 

 used by some coming generalizer ; the amassing of facts is the first 

 requisite in the large and important generalizations. 



A considerable part of the preface of fascicules III and IV are 

 taken up with digressions on the infinite power and wisdom of God 

 in the works of Creation ; "L'evidence de 1'intervention du Createur, 

 seul maitre de la puissance infinie, apparait, dans les plus petites 

 chases, comme le resultat necessaire de ['observation de la Creation 

 elle-meme, et la raison s'oppose a ce que la moindre restriction soit 

 admise en ce qui concerne 1'action creatrice du Tres-Haut. Seulement, 

 comme le rappelle Linne; Pauca Laec vidimus operam Dei, multa ob- 

 scundita sunt maiora his." He also has a good deal to say, in a strong 

 way, against the habit of publishing descriptions without figures ; "II 

 important, me semble-t-il, d'oser signaler a' 1'attention des Natural- 

 istes le cote mercantile de 1'operation," les descriptions sans figures 

 sont un perpetuel sujet de trouble et de doute." He concludes his long 

 preface to fascicule V with the rule : "Sans bonne figure a 1'appui 

 d'une description, pas de nonr valable ; des lors la priorite du nom ap- 

 parient au premier Iconographe plutot qu'au premier Description " 



In the fascicule V, 1911, are several important contributions. The 

 first is on the Relations of the Lycsenidae and Ants, by Harold Powell; 

 then the continuation of the comparison of the lepidopterous fauna of 

 France and Algeria. In his lengthy discussion of Lygacna transalpina, 

 we have some interesting and pleasing poetical digressions. Two 

 final short essays, by the author and Alpheraky are on the always in- 

 teresting theme of subspecies and morpha, which we are informed will 

 be further discussed at the Entomological Congress at Oxford in 1912, 

 as well as concerning the publication of descriptions without figures. 

 He is not in much sympathy with these hypothetical discussions. His 

 ideas can be seen from the following extract: "Dans ma collection de 

 Lepidopteres, plus d'un million de specimens ont etc classes et ranges 



