76 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Melanopli it has heretofore been almost an impossibility for the spe- 

 cialist^let alone the tyro— to satisfy his conscience as to the status of 

 a specimen which he might have in hand. The available literature was 

 so scattered, and the different authors had seized upon so many different 

 characters as representing what appeared to them the most striking 

 structural features, that the whole mess was worse than a Chinese puzzle. 

 By seizing upon the variations of the abdominal appendages of the male 

 as the mcjst salient features showing specific rank, and by publishing 

 accurate drawings of two different views of the male abdomen of each of 

 the 207 species, Mr. Scudder has done much to render possible the ready 

 identification of each species — a task which otherwise would have been 

 very difficult, owing to the size of the group and the close similarity of 

 many of its members. Analytical keys to genera, and to species where 

 the genus is not monotypic, are also given, and add much to the value 

 of the work, as does also the full list of localities from which each 

 species has heretofore been taken. 



Taking into consideration its size and importance, the defects of the 

 " Revision " are very few. The one thing which the tyro will find most 

 lacking is a glossary of the technical terms. In a work of the kind these 

 are necessarily numerous, and though they may be very plain to the 

 author and to specialists, to the beginner they are often extremely 

 confusing. Even a figure of a typical locust with all the parts named 

 would have been a great aid. A tendency to multiply species can here 

 and there be noted, as on p. 138, where M. bivitattus is separated from 

 Al.femoratus only by the colour of the hind tibiae, which is an exceed- 

 ingly variable character. 



More might have been added along economical lines, but this is a 

 work for the future which the student of the group can now take up with 

 renewed energy. For before one can write of a species he must have a 

 name to handle it by ; something which in the case of many of the 

 members of this group has heretofore been lacking. Now, by using a 

 little care and accustoming himself to the technical terms, the student 

 can, by the aid of the " Revision," soon bring order out of chaos, and 

 label his Melanopli with correctness and dispatch. In conclusion, it 

 may be said that any one who will use the work will soon conclude that 

 the aim of the author, " to enlarge and systematize our knowledge of this 

 important group as a basis for future studies," has been well and 

 successfully accomplished. W. S. B. 



Mailed March 5th, i8<^8. 



