40 [February, 



For many years it lias been a laudable practice witb the Local Committees of 

 the British Association to publish a Natural History Hand-book for the particular 

 district in which such Meetings are held ; this has been carried out with very few 

 exceptions. When the Association met at Glasgow in 1876 a very respectable 

 Hand-book was issued. The present far eclipses it. It consists almost wholly of 

 Lists, with localities and remarks ; one is lost in amazement at the amount of work 

 indicated by these Lists, contributed by probably over sixty workers. We cannot 

 do more than allude to the Entomology. The Hymenoptera are compiled by 

 Mr. Dalglish (Terebrantia) and Mr. Malloch (Aculeata) ; Macro- Lepidoptera by 

 Mr. Dalglish ; Micro- Lepidoptera by Mr. King; Diptera by Mr. Grimshaw (the 

 Tipulida by Mr. Henderson) ; Coleoptera by Mr. Fergusson ; Trichoptera, Odonata, 

 Orthoptera, and Neuroptera-P/anipennia by Mr. King; Hemiptera-Heteroptera 

 by Mr. Murphy ; Homoptera by Mr. Taylor ; Collembola and Thysanura by Mr. 

 Boyd ; and the Arachnidce have received attention from Mr. Evans. All seem to 

 have been equally zealous in endeavouring to make what they undertook as com- 

 plete as possible. But some few groups are omitted, and occasionally it is hard to 

 say why. A numerical summary of the species under each Order or group would 

 have been of interest, and especially if made comparative with the Hand-book of 

 1876, for here and there the two publications do not seem to dovetail. We should 

 not forget to mention that a very elaborate bathy-orographical map of the district 

 is included, which in itself is always useful. 



Insect Life : Souvenirs of a Naturalist : by J. H. Fabre (translated 

 from the French). Pp. xii and 320, 8vo. London : Maemillan and Co., Limited. 

 New York : The Maemillan Company. 1901. 



Possibly two mistakes have been made in bringing the proposed English trans- 

 lation of M. Fabre's works before the public. The first is the title : in the original 

 French it stands ns " Souvenirs Entomologiques," and might have been rendered 

 as " Entomological Souvenirs." The second is the over-weighted title-page, from 

 which we learn, all in nearly the same type (1) that the work is by M. Fabre, (2) that 

 it has been translated by some one who prefers anonymity, (3) that a preface has 

 been written by Dr. Sharp, (4) that it has been edited by Mr. Merrifield, and 

 (5) that the (original) illustrations are by M. Prendergast Parker. But all this 

 cannot spoil a good book. There is much truth in the saying that " good wine 

 needs no bush," still it is only somewhat tardily that the merits of M. Fabre 

 have received recognition, even amongst his own countrymen. Too modest, 

 and possibly too poor, to seek a position amongst entomologists, he preferred to go on 

 making valuable observations, and publishing them from time to time in small 

 volumes (there are now seven, and this is the first) under the title of " Souvenirs." 

 They did not appeal to the systematist, and were neglected by the biologist, from 

 the form in which they were published and a certain amount of obscurity that 

 enveloped the author. The Entomological Society of London did itself honour 

 by electing him one of its Honorary Fellows last year. The great charm of the 

 author lies in his style and the transparent evidence of sincerity and conscien- 

 tiousness. It must now be nearly twenty years ago since we read, and hope we 

 comprehended, this first volume in the original Fi'ench. And here, en passant, just 

 a word of recommendation to those who can, or think they can, read the book in it 





