THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 219 



begins with a short chapter on the families of butterflies. This is a repro- 

 duction, slightly altered, of the table of classification which Mr. Scudder 

 has already published in the Can. Ent., xix., 201, in which he divides the 

 butterflies into Nymphalidce, Lycaenidce, Papilionidce and Hesperidce, an 

 arrangement virtually the same as that given by Bates and adopted by 

 Packard, in which the genera CEneis and Cercyonis are considered the 

 highest of the butterflies. 



At page 109 the systematic treatise begins with the Nymphalidce or 

 "Brush-footed butterflies." With this family, as with sub-families and genera 

 throughout the work, when possible analytical tables are given for their 

 arrangement, based upon the egg, the caterpillar at birth, the caterpillar 

 at maturity, the chrysalis and the imago. The first sub-family is the 

 Satyrince, including six genera, of which CEneis is described first. Under 

 each species we find first complete and careful technical descriptive 

 details of structure for all the known stages. These are printed in rather 

 smaller type .than the rest of the book, a fact which will considerably 



facilitate reference. Then follows a general description, giving any inter- 

 esting features in the distribution and habits of the perfect insect and 

 larva, the food plant, variations and enemies, and lastly a list of the points 

 upon which further information is needed. 



On page 127 appears the first of a series of essays, of which there are 

 to be over 70 distributed throughout the work, and to which the author 

 has applied the somewhat inelegant title of " Excursuses." These 

 discuss separately all the interesting problems which arise in the study of 

 butterflies (whether of distribution, structure, history, or relation to the 

 outer world), in themselves forming a complete treatise on the life of 

 these insects. These will be a charming feature of the work by means 

 of which a book, which must necessarily contain a large amount of 

 technical scientific description, will be made attractive to many who will 

 subscribe to it merely to possess the most extensive and beautiful book 

 which has ever appeared on the diurnal Lepidoptera of North America. 

 The scope of these may be inferred from the titles of those which occur 

 in the first part. 



1. The White Mountains of New Hampshire as a home tor butterflies. 



2. The clothing of caterpillars. 



3. The general changes in a butterfly's life and form. 



4. The eggs of butterflies. 



5. The modes of suspension of caterpillars. 



The species described in the first part are CEneis semidea and CE. jutta, 

 Cercyonis alope and C nephele, Enodia portlandia, Satyrodes eurydice, 

 Nconympha phocion and the beginning of the description of the genus 

 Cissia. 



