318 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Dec., '05 



of this article, lays emphasis on the incompleteness of his con- 

 tribution, there can be no doubt that the ' Biologia ' will for 

 all time be a, if not the, principal source of knowledge on 

 the subject of which it treats. It has therefore seemed to the 

 Editors of the NEWS desirable to present to our readers, and to 

 place on record in a more permanent way, some of the histori- 

 cal and other information contained on the temporary paper- 

 covers and prospectuses of the original parts in which the 

 work has been issued. In doing so the Editors are greatly 

 indebted to Mr. G. C. Champion, secretary of the ' Biologia.' 

 The} r are aware that much of what follows can be found in one 

 or another of the volumes cited, but they also do not forget that 

 the majority of the readers of the NEWS are prevented from 

 examining these tomes by distance from the larger libraries. 

 The necessarily high cost precludes most private persons from 

 possessing such a magnificent set of books. P. P. C.] 



The full title is " Biologia Centrali-Americana ; or, Contri- 

 butions to the Knowledge of the Fauna and Flora of Mexico 

 and Central America. Edited by F. Ducaue Godman and 



[until his death in 1898] Osbert Salvin London : 



Published for the Editor by R. H. Porter, 7 Princes Street, 

 [earlier 10 Chandos Street] Cavendish Square, W., and Dulau 

 &Co., Soho Square, W." 



The temporary covers of the earlier parts bear a prospectus ; 

 we quote from a cover of July, 1884 : 



" Under this title [Biol. Cent. -Am.] it is proposed to publish 

 a series of Quarto Volumes upon the Fauna and Flora of Mexico 

 and Central America i. e. the whole of Mexico from the val- 

 leys of the Rio Grande and Gila on the north ; the five Cen- 

 tral-American States of Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, Nic- 

 aragua, and Costa Rica ; British Honduras ; and the Colom- 

 bian State of Panama as far south as the Isthmus of Darien. 



" During the past twenty- two years [/. e. since 1857, see 

 below] the Editors have been collecting materials for such a 

 work as they now propose. They have themselves* visited 

 parts of the country, and spent several years there ; and dur- 

 ing the whole of the above period they have received collec- 



* Details are given in the Introductions to Vol. I of the Rhopalocera and Vol. i of the 

 Birds by F. D. Godman. EDS. NEWS. 



