1 903 Compiling County Faunas — Insects 3 1 1 



literature, the extent of which is far greater than anyone who 

 has not tried to wade through it would conjecture ; it is being 

 constantly augmented by the publication of new works, and 

 shortly it will become a very serious task indeed for such a 

 compiler to run down his records in all the publications that 

 are issued. These are of three kinds : first, there are the 

 standard books, published in a lump, and disposed of 

 individually as soon as their perusal is completed ; secondly, 

 there are the standard periodicals, such as The Entomologists' 

 Annual (now discontinued), The Annals and Magazine of 

 Natural History, and The Entomologists' Monthly Magazine, 

 running through a great many yearly volumes ; and thirdly, 

 there are the periodical publications of the various more or 

 less important naturalists' societies, chief of which are recog- 

 nised the Transactions of the Entomological Society and of 

 the Linnean Society. The extraction of records from this 

 formidable array is a matter of time and patience not to 

 be shirked ; and one's patience is often further stretched 

 because doubt is sometimes left as to the synonymy of the 

 names you will there find printed with those in general use 

 nowadays. This incongruity can sometimes only be cleared 

 up by a visit to, and an examination of, the actual specimen 

 recorded when it is obtainable, which, through the death of 

 the recorder or dispersal of his collection, is rendered a 

 difficult, and often impossible, matter. 



The third and last method of adding to your catalogue 

 is too often entirely neglected by local compilers ; it is not 

 very prolific of fine results, but sometimes rare things are 

 dropped upon. It is simply the cultivation of the rustics. 

 You meet a keeper in a wood — a contingency usually to be 

 avoided ! — you cultivate him, and sometimes you find he has 

 picked up something curious, at which he would like you to 

 look. You go home with him, and he shows you a card- 

 board box containing a battered JEschna or Apatura^ which 

 had been hitherto unknown to occur in the district. Or 

 you see an ancient dame knitting in her porch, and gradu- 

 ally draw the information that her dear departed had set up 

 a primitive case of " flies," among which something nice not 

 infrequently is to be found. 



I don't believe there is an English — much less a British 



vol. 11. — no. 8. v 



