ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



[The Conductors of ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS solicit and will thankfully receive items 

 of news likely to interest its readers from any source. The author's name will be given 

 in each case, for the information of cataloguers and bibliographers.] 



To Contributors. All contributions will be considered and passed upon at out 

 earliest convenience, and, as far as may be, will be published according to date of recep- 

 tion. ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS has reached a circulation, both in numbers and circumfer- 

 ence, as to make it necessary to put " copy " into the hands of the printer, for each num- 

 ber, three weeks before date of issue. This should be remembered in sending special or 

 important matter for a certain issue. Twenty-five " extras," without change in form, 

 will be given free, when they are wanted ; and this should be so stated on the MS., along 

 with the number desired. The receipt of all papers will be acknowledged. ED. 



PHILADELPHIA, PA., MARCH, 1905. 



Oue of our best friends, an old NEWS subscriber, a well 

 known entomologist and an all round good fellow generally, 

 lately informed us that the NEWS index was very incomplete, 

 and that he had instructed his assistant to make a complete 

 index of the volumes. This criticism was like a Thunder- 

 bolt from a clear sky, as we were laboring under the impres- 

 sion that we always erred on the safe side in its preparation, 

 and that our index was a model of w 7 hat an index should be. 

 A good index is the outcome of common sense and judgment ; 

 a perfect index may be considered to be a repetition of the 

 entire contents, and a very bad index is the almost total 

 absence of any at all. The happy medium lies between these 

 two extremes. Take up last month's NEWS and look over its 

 pages with a view of indexing it, and you will notice many 

 things that are of no importance in an index, and if put in 

 would only impose a useless burden on the compiler, and en- 

 tail a useless expense on the Journal. Turn to page 33 for 

 example. The index might read Exotic Butterflies -someone 

 might want to know that they are in the collection of the 

 Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Someone wish- 

 ing to have specimens figured might like to know what plate 

 makers made them. Some would probably like their names 

 in the index. Someone wall be inquisitive about their habitat. 

 Should the names of the authors be repeated after the specific 

 names in the index ? Would it be necessary to reprint the 

 names in the index that are listed on page 35 ? How would 

 you index the article on page 39 ? Would you put more than 

 Paraguay, Orthoptera of, and the names of the new genus and 

 species ? Would you repeat all the other names in the article ? 

 How would you index the notes in Doings of Societies? 

 We think upon examination you will a^ree with us that it is 

 as above remarked, a question of judgment, and that the 

 XK.WS index is fairly complete. 



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