234 THE entomologist's record. 



the soil depends on the quantity of water in it ivJiich does not 

 drain through — in other words, on the quantity of evaporation 

 to be effected by the sun's rays, before they can commence 

 warming the soil. Side by side and equally well drained, a 

 dark clay absorbs more heat than white chalk. Mr. Dale's 

 statement above — " Consequently less sunshine," etc., ia again 

 difficult to understand. More rain does not always mean less 

 sunshine. Probably the most brilliant sunshine in the world 

 is found in India, and yet some parts of India register above 

 400 inches annual rainfall. In fact, Mr. Dale's notes are 

 scarcely worth serious criticism ; they offend against the most 

 elementary facts of geology and the most elementary laws of 

 physics. 



I think cold may therefore be looked upon as quite a -minor 

 factor in the production of melanic forms, even if it may not be 

 altogether neglected, for it is clear that the coldest areas 

 do not normally produce dark-coloured insects, and if cold 

 areas do not produce melanic forms in nature, I think it a 

 satisfactory deduction that experiments, based on temperature, 

 which appear to give results tending to show that a low 

 temperature does produce dark-coloured forms, should be 

 looked upon with grave suspicion unless all attendant circum- 

 stances have been fully taken into account. At present, I am 

 inclined to look beyond temperature for the explanation of 

 results, which appear to have been produced in experiments 

 based on temperature, and there is no doubt that, had the 

 experiments been carried out with a view of testing the in- 

 fluence of moisture, much more satisfactory results would have 

 been obtained. 



{To be continued) 



JglBLIOGRAPHY. 



Additions to the British List and Changes in Nomenclature. 



Lepidoptera. 



Aphyioceros vagans, n. sp. Tutt, Ent. Rec, 203 (introduced). 



At the meetings of the City of London Ent. Soc, Oct. 16 and Nov. 

 6, the following changes in the nomenclature of British Noctuids 

 were suggested by Mr. Tutt. Tceniocampa to include leucographa 

 and rubricosa ; Aliaiia fasciuncula to be reduced to strigilis var. ; 

 Mamestra abjeda to be placed in the adiista group of Hadena. It 



