298 THE entomologist's record. 



other orders, are surely more important ; already the lepidopterists 

 outnumber the students of all other orders, and not one out of a 

 hundred of those who commence collecting lepidoptera ever become 

 really scientific collectors; on the other hand, in the other orders, 

 with so much more unoccupied ground, a larger proportion of those 

 who do once start collecting pursue their studies to some definite 

 conclusion, but the actual number who commence collecting these 

 orders is small. It may be said that the difficulties of dealing with 

 this wider subject simply, and in a reasonable-sized booklet, would be 

 too great, but we have also lying on our table, another volume^ — 



"Directions for collecting and preserving insects," by Nathan 

 Banks, published by the Smithsonian Institution, and which, reduced 

 to the simple form that Mr. Henderson uses so efiectively, and 

 illustrated by British species, would do admirably for the purpose. 

 Mr. Banks' book is elementary but accurate, written by an entomo- 

 logist for young and budding entomologists, and as one reads on, one 

 does so with the knowledge that every word that is printed is that of 

 one who knows, and that the book is written because the writer has 

 really got something to say, and not really that he must w"rite even if 

 he has nothing to write about. But, in England, Mr. Banks would 

 have to go to the public with his work, and being accurate, and not, 

 in the generally accepted sense of the present superficially-educated 

 age, popular, one suspects he would not be able to find a publisher to 

 publish his book. It is, however, exactly the sort of book that the 

 intelligent Rugby boys want. 



It is nice amongst so much poor entomological literature submitted 

 to us recentlj^ to find such a piece of excellent grind as A deu-iiptive 

 cataloiiue of the Dobree collection of European Noctiiae, by Horace B. 

 Browne, M.A., and published for the Hull Museums' Committee by 

 A. Brown and Sons, Ltd., Hull, London, and York, at the price of Is. 

 The work is thorough from beginning to end, and reflects great credit 

 on the author, who, with such a training as the preparation of this 

 Catalogue has necessitated, must now be one of the best informed 

 entomologists in this country, at least so far as the European Noctuids 

 are concerned. "We heartily recommend everyone interested in our 

 British Noctuides, which, after all, form a large part of the collection, 

 to purchase this Catalogue, which is not only a Catalogue, but an 

 exceedingly full and informative text-book on the variation of the 

 superfamily. During a recent visit to Hull, we ourselves had the 

 pleasure of examining the Dobree collection, and can bear personal 

 witness to the care bestowed on it by Messrs. Shepherd, Stainforth, and 

 H. B. Browne. Its position so near the door and an outside wall, is 

 the only doubtful element. 



Entomology was not altogether absent from the recent Annual 

 Exhibition of the Royal Photographic Society. Among others w^as 

 some excellent work by Messrs. A. E. Tonge {Brijophila itiuralh and 

 eggs of lepidoptera), and Hugh Main {Syrphus balteatus), whilst 

 Mr. P. J. Barraud showed some promising work [Crbicola comma). 

 Dr. Duncanson's work (metamorphosis of dragonfly) is wanting in 

 detail, and Mr. Douglas English's entomological work falls below that 

 to which Messrs. Tonge and Main have accustomed us ; it is somewhat 

 stilted, the insects are not of natural size, and altogether very unsatisfy- 

 ino-, nor does it compare at all favourably with his treatment of 



