Vol. XXvii] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



Our method of publication was to bring out six quarto parts a year; 

 each part to contain twelve sheets made up of various subjects with 

 six colored plates, the plates and letterpress so numbered and paged 

 that the parts might ultimately be broken up and bound together in 

 their respective volumes when completed. In this way it was possible 

 to keep several subjects in progress at once, and the plan answered 

 well. We were, however, unable to adhere to the original scheme of 

 completing the work in 60 parts, owing to the ever increasing amount 

 of material received from our collectors an amount so great that 215 

 Parts of Zoology alone have been required, the dates of issue ex- 

 tending over a period of 36 years. Even now some families of in- 

 sects, the Crustacea, &c., have not been dealt with though this is 

 chiefly attributable to the fact that no experts on these subjects were 

 available. 



On arrival in England, the various consignments were opened, every 

 specimen labelled, with its exact locality, and the name of the collector 

 attached. The animals sent were then sorted into their respec- 

 tive orders and families and as occasion offered, handed over to spe- 

 cialists to be worked out. It was obviously impossible that we could 

 undertake every subject, but the birds and the butterflies we set aside 

 for our own share of the work. The names of the various authors 

 who kindly helped us will be a sufficient indication of our good fortune 

 in securing the services of so many eminent men all of whom joined 

 the enterprise with great spirit (p. 8). 



For several years after my return from Mexico [in 1888] , Salvin 

 and I continued diligently to work out the material on hand and the 

 ever-increasing amount sent over by our collectors. Salvin's failing 

 health finally obliged him to relax his efforts, and though he still came 

 to London as formerly, he was unable to take the same active part in 

 the work and the difficulty of concentrating his attention on any one 

 subject became increasingly great. He died suddenly at Hawks fold, 

 Fernhurst, Sussex, June 1st, 1898, leaving me alone to complete the 

 Biologia. 



The severance of a friendship such as ours had been for forty-four 

 years was a terrible blow to me, for we were more intimately con- 

 nected than most brothers, and, besides the personal loss, I missed his 

 knowledge and experience in all things connected with our book 

 (p. 10). 



Plates I and II, portraits of Dr. Goclman and of Salvin 

 respectively, illustrate this highly interesting personal portion 

 of the Introduction. 



Pages 13 to 43 are concerned with the "Physical Features, 

 etc., of the Area treated," based mainly on the observations of 



