XXXI, *20] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 235 



studying a group, and certainly honest painstaking effort should not be 

 called "guessing," unless the critic has a better interpretation to offer. 



The author's attitude toward trinomials is not that taken in most 

 present-day zoological works, and he has been led, by following a dog- 

 matic conception of possible but unproven intergradation, into associat- 

 ing as "varieties" a large number of forms which are considered as dis- 

 tinct species by more than a few workers in the Orthoptera. This has 

 been done, in a number of cases, without the study of sufficient material 

 to gain a personal conception of the constancy or inconstancy of the fea- 

 tures which are there denied specific weight. In many of his associations 

 of forms as "varieties" or what not we cannot but feel Prof. Blatchley 

 has acted without proper consideration of the facts known to exist, has 

 permitted a mental bias to govern many of his decisions. His attitude 

 toward geographic races (p. 7) shows a failure to grasp the true inward- 

 ness of original constancy as an index to racial recognition. 



The section treating of the external anatomy of a locust is relatively 

 full, but contains certain features worthy of note, one as an important 

 correction, as on page 14 it is stated the labial palpi are attached to the 

 "labrum." The slip for labium is, of course, evident to the initiated, 

 but the text figure accompanying might readily convey to the tyro the 

 same impression as the incorrect text. It is unfortunate that certain of 

 the anatomical figures, taken from Lugger, contain reference symbols 

 which are nowhere explained in the text before us, and it would have been 

 more in keeping with the general plan of the anatomical section if tin- 

 structure of the venation of the hind wings had been considered somewhat 

 in detail, as the venation arrangement is known to be important in the 

 classification of the Acrididae, to say nothing of certain of the other 

 families. 



In the "Descriptive Catalogue" we find the arrangement is under the 

 form of suborders, i. e., Dermaptoria, Cursoria, Gressoria and Saltatoria; 

 the first of these equals the Dermaptera of most present authors, the Cur- 

 soria comprise the Blattidae or cockroaches, the Gressoria are made up 

 of the Mantidae and Phasmidae, while the Saltatoria are composed of 

 the generally associated saltatorial families, the Acrididae, Tettigoniidae 

 and Gryllidae. Under each family the general method is to give a sum- 

 marized description of the physical form, special appendages, life history, 

 approximate number of known species and number known from America 

 north of Mexico, while the principal literature is cited and a key to the 

 subfamilies given. Under the subfamilies the treatment consists of 

 physical features, key to genera and other pertinent matter. The gen- 

 eric treatment is similarly made up of a summary of the features and a 

 key to the species where more than a single species is treated. The spe- 

 cific treatment consists of a description, with measurements, a general 

 statement of distribution within and outside of the territory covered, com- 

 ments on habits, often accompanied by a word sketch of the insect and 



