1872. 95 



male in Mr. P. C. T. Snellen's collection at Eotterclam, all sent over from Java. 

 Walker (l. c. p. 1348) makes mention of a specimen from Eio Janeiro in Mr. Fry's 

 collection.— C. Eitsema, Leyden : August lOi/i, 1872. 



Noies on a pa-per entitled 'Die schiveizerischcn Arten dor Bienen-gattung Antld- 

 dium,'* [issued^ by Walther Schmid, Oherfoerster. — "Heft" No. 9, vol. iii, of the 

 ' Mittheil. der. Sehvveiz. entomol. Ges.' contains a paper imder the above title, of 

 wliich Herr Walther Schmid is given as the author, and upon -vrhieh I wish to make 

 some observations. In these I will endeavour to shew Herr Schmid every favour, 

 so far as is consistent with the obligations dvie to the memory of the late Dr. Imhoff, 

 who laid the foundations of what I know in entomology, which may not be very 

 great, but still is sufficient to recognise the literary performance of the hand that 

 built it up, even when, as in the present instance, that performance appears to have 

 been " improved upon " by others. Hymenopterists in general, and the writer in 

 particidar, would be glad to know if Herr Walther Schmid has vised MSS. notes in 

 the handwriting of Dr. Imhoff, or if he is prepared to assert that the above paper 

 from beginning to end is his own original work. If no answer be forthcoming to 

 these two queries, people will draw their own conclusions. 



In the meantime, it is advisable to place the following facts on public record : — 



(1). Herr Schmid paid a visit to the house of Dr. L. Imhoff after this gentleman's 

 death, and obtained permission to look over such of his literary remains as 

 concerned entomology. 



(2). Herr Schmid had access to the types labelled and named by Dr. Imhoff, and 

 deposited in the Museum at Basle. 



(3). Herr Selimid, previously to the publication of the paper in question, has not 

 published a single scrap on entomology. 



Viewing the aforesaid paper in the light of these facts, what do we find ? — First 

 tokens of the most abstruse knowledge of a genus, the individual species of which are 

 not easy to determine ; and, secondly, plain signs that the veriest tyro in entomo- 

 logical matters has "had a finger in the pie." Tokens of special knowledge are also 

 displayed in parts of the introduction, while other parts, such as the enumeration of 

 the literature considted, shew an unskilled hand at every turn, unless, indeed, we 

 charitably call such slips as " Kirby, Monographje," "fabric?«s," "St. Feargeau," 

 etc., errors of the press. f But for one thing the printers cannot be made answerable, 

 namely, for the absence of all reference to the works of Nylander, Eossi, Jurine, and 

 Linne, and of omissions like these no man of Dr. Imhoff 's attainments could have 

 been guilty. These and similar defective portions I willingly admit as being Herr 

 Schmid's own doing, while, on the other hand, I emphatically ask who has written 

 pp. 451 — 462 ? I shall be glad to learn that these pages represent the original 

 thoughts and composition of Herr Schmid, and not, as I fancy, in part posthvmious 

 notes by Dr. Imlioff. 



On pp. 462 — 474 we have the descriptions of 14 species of Anthidium, and of 

 the allied Stelis nasuta, Latr. In reference to these descriptions, it will be well to 

 remember that they have probably been written out from the original types, as 



* cf. a companion paper by Dr. L. Imhoff : ' Die schweiz. Arten der Gattung Andrena, 

 Mittheil. Schweiz. ent. G.' ii, p. 33. — A. M. 



t The ' Mittheilungeii ' are, nevertheless, conspicuous for such mistakes. — Eds. 



