NOTES ON THE GENITAL ARMATURE. A REPLY. 11 



and the disadvantages of the vertical spread position, but my letter 

 was not acknowledged. I am now of course obliged to defend myself 

 and in doing so I must ask my critic to forgive me when I say that I 

 wholly and entirely differ from him in his view. For my own investi- 

 gations I make both profile and vertical preparations and in cases of 

 necessity I make opaque objects, when I want to see all the muscular 

 parts, either in spirit or in balsam, but for the edification of others 

 who know less than I do, I have no doubt whatever that the profile is 

 the view that ought to be shewn. It is the natural position, the onhj 

 position in which the various organs are to be seen co-ordinated 

 together as the insect uses them and as they lie together quiescent in 

 the natural condition. If it is necessary to show some of the more 

 inaccessible organs, they are much better shown by taking off' one of the 

 clasps and still showing them in profile. This is a question that I 

 have discussed with some of the most able continental insect morpho- 

 logists and it is a satisfaction, at least to me, to know that they agree 

 with me absolutely on the point. 



(iii.) Mr. Pierce says " I do most earnestly deprecate the employ- 

 ment of unrecognised names and descriptive phrases." As to 

 descriptive phrases my critic does not believe in descriptions at all. 

 He does not describe, he trusts to his figures and in these figures his 

 readers only see what he wants them to see. I consider a careful 

 description is necessary, and Avith a photograph accompanying them 

 no mistake need be made. I emphasise the word need as I have to 

 refer to this again. 



Now as to unrecognised names, it would have been better had he 

 said " names that I do not recognise " because he simply means that 

 he desires to insist on his own terminology being generally adopted. 

 Closiifi, for instance have been in use before Mr. Pierce had begun to 

 work and even before I had begun to work on this subject, and are 

 used regularly in most British periodicals. 



Valrae or ralres as used by Gosse are restricted to the Papilinuidae 

 and some I'ieridae, but as I am writing an article on the Teniiiiieu and 

 on the ]'(:ilres, I leave argument alone on these two words, as this 

 rejoinder would run to too great length, suffice it to say that I do use 

 the word 'tegumen' for what Dr. White so carefully described, c/c, the 

 dorsal part only of the organ that I subdivided with the name 'cingula' 

 or 'girdle' years ago. 



The Falces is again a name given by me some years ago, and I 

 think has considerable precedence to my critic's " gnathos." 



The Domiiw is too well-known a name to need comment. 



The Dorxol Bridi/e is a descriptive phrase that I should have 

 thought would have carried its own meaning even to a tyro. 



Curtain and Lateral (.'heeks are also descriptive phrases in precisely 

 the same category. 



The Fulcrioii I admit is a slip for the Furca named some years 

 ago by me. 



Most assuredly forwards and backwards have no reference to the 

 head of the insect. Does Mr. Pierce really intimate that he would 

 suggest that it is correct to say that the tedoeagus is emitted back- 

 wards ? ! It reminds me of the Turco-Grecian war, when the Greek 

 commander issued the notable order for his troops to advance to the 

 rear. 



