A snoiJT SKETCH OF ENTOMOLOGICAL SKRIAL LITEIIATURE IN BRITAIN. 61 



as British in Rennie's time. Of moths, when we see him write of 

 such things as y>^<>rt}ia festira, Anchnct'lis litura, Carcolrina )iior]ilinis, 

 Hijilroecia nictitaus, Apaniea basilinea, Grapliiplioia aui/nr as " rare," 

 *' scarce," or " very scarce," it makes us wonder whether, indeed, any- 

 thing at all is rare ? May it not be now as it was then — simply that 

 we do not know how to find or take them ? What a wonderful 

 knowledge in this respect "sugar" has revealed to us, and how many 

 Noctnid species would have remained " rare " or " very rare " had it 

 not been for the discovery, by the late Henry Doubleday, of this 

 means of capturing this group of insects. Another thought which 

 occurs to one now, in looking over this good old book, is that insects 

 are found, in a great measure, where they are looked for ! Species 

 after species, for pages together, especially among the Tincina, are 

 given as " London," "near London," etc., simply because no other 

 part of the country had been worked ; and, in reading our more recent 

 literature, the frequent mention of certain places sometimes induces us 

 to think these places are "good localities," when often the secret lies 

 in the one fact that some energetic collector has lived there, who has 

 looked for things and found them ; and probably future entomologists 

 will have to erase the words " rare " and " scarce," in many instances, 

 from the books now being written. But Rennie's was only a pocket 

 manual, without figures of any kind, and when Jardine's Naturalist's 

 Libra))/ appeared, with coloured plates, at a cheap price, it was quite 

 a joy to those who had begun to collect. This work, as you are aware, 

 consisted of 40 volumes on all branches of Zoology, two of which 

 were devoted to British butterflies and moths. We owe a great deal 

 to the energy of such men as Rennie and .Jardine for the introduction, 

 no doubt under many difficulties, of cheap books on this subject. 

 Jardine's volume on the butterflies, for instance, contained 34 beautiful 

 copper plates, hand-coloured, giving 176 figures and 246 pages of 

 letterpress for 5s., which will compare very favourably with our 

 present day productions. We are all glad of the enterprise of Messrs. 

 Lloyd, in recently bringing out a still cheaper edition of this work, in 

 which the volumes are only 2s. 6d. each, but the plates are not equal, 

 as, indeed, we cannot expect them to be, to those in the original 

 edition. 



In 1839, Mr. Wood published the hble.r l-'.ittdiiKdoiiicm. It con- 

 tains 1,944 figures, each beautifully coloured by himself, reduced where 

 necessary to a small size, but with a degree of accuracy that will 

 enable the entomologist to fix at once upon any particular species he 

 may wish to define. At that time there was no work that figured 

 even a quarter of the species known to inhabit this country. The 

 book, which consisted of 218 copies, was subscribed for by 137 gentle- 

 men and ladies, among whom are the well-known names of J. G. 

 Children, Rev. H. R. Crewe, J. Curtis, J. C. Dale, J. B. Hodgkinson, 

 J. F. Stephens, and Mr. Wailes. Of the Diurnals he figures 82, of 

 which 19 are either named varieties or doubtfully British. Of Hawk 

 moths there are 36 ; stout-bodied moths (including the Psychids), 44H ; 

 (ieometrids (including hook-tips), 309; Pyralids 83; Tortricids, 

 321; Tineids (including Kwhirca and ('^rtm6».s). 462 ; Pterophorids, 

 30 species. To the Diurni he adds three new species, none of which 

 are now included in the British list. In his list of doubtful species 

 he gives, in additon, 18, none of which are now included ; though he 

 mentions as doubtful among the stout-bodied moths I'nnris i/ldlndariac, 



