X A BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF 



Certain it is that it was the paper on the Carabirlse that called 

 forth the most extended notices. In the Transactions of the Ento- 

 mological Society of London for April, 1882, Mr. (now Dr.) David 

 Sharp reviewed and criticized it. As important discoveries and im- 

 provements in the classification made by Dr. Horn, Mr. Sharp con- 

 sidered the adoption of three subfamilies, viz., Carabinse, Harpalinse 

 and Pseudomorphinoe, instead of two, viz., Carabin?e and Harpalinse, 

 as had been heretofore done ; that the structure of the second coxal 

 cavities of Mormolyce is as in the Dytiscidse ; and the separation of 

 the Halij)lini and Pelobius from the Dytiscidse. On the other hand, 

 the placing of Mormolyce with the Harpalinse, in view of Dr. Horn's 

 own discovery, appeared to the reviewer very strange and indicated 

 that "the talented American" had not "the courage of his convic- 

 tions, or rather of his discovery," to isolate ''Mormolyce in his clas- 

 sification, as it is in nature." The opinion was expressed that the 

 number of tribes of the Carabidse would be much increased by more 

 extended studies of extra-North iVmerican forms, and that such 

 studies would also show the necessity of modifying Horn's statements 

 as to the structure of skeletal parts, as the method relied upon by 

 him— maceration in caustic potash — appeared to be "a very unsafe 

 proceeding." Finally, the reviewer dissented at length from the 

 statement that the structure of the Gyrinidse seems " to be so plainly 

 adephagous as to leave no room for doubt." The concluding para- 

 graph reads " I must not pass from the consideration of Dr. Horn's 

 paper without making some apology for the rather critical nature 

 of my remarks, but this is scarcely necessary, for we all know that 

 he is one of the most unprejudiced admirers of truth and accuracy, 

 and I an convinced that he will no more be likely to find fault with 

 me for discussing some of his conclusions than the lamented Chau- 

 doir would have been to disagree with him because of his criticisms; 

 but I cannot conclude without pointing out that, although we are 

 still far from possessing a perfect classification of the carnivorous 

 Coleoptera, yet Dr. Horn's paper shows that we are on the right 

 road for getting one ; and his contribution will undoubtedly prove 

 to be a considerable assistance to those who, like himself, will have 

 the courage and perseverance to aid research in this direction Such 

 a large amount of original observation as is recorded in the defini- 

 tions of the tribes and remarks on the subordinate groups and in the 

 six plates closely filled with drawings of the trophi, cannot but be 

 most useful to future systematists, and we may give our hearty thanks 

 to Dr. Horn for the work he has accomplished." 



