February, '13] REVIEWS 153 



Injurious Insects: How to Recognize and Control them. By Walter 

 C. O'Kane, 414 pages, 606 figures. The MacMillan Company, 

 New York. $2.00 Net. 



Professor O'Kane and his publishers are to be congratulated on producing an attract- 

 ive book which is bound to be useful to the common people who have no particular 

 knowledge of insect life. On the whole the subjects are well chosen, and particular 

 attention is paid to the appearance of the injury caused by each pest. This volume 

 differs notably from most works of its kind in two respects, viz.: (1) the insects are 

 arranged neither from the standpoint of their relationships, nor from that of their 

 chief food plants : (2) it is illustrated wholly by original photographs. As to the first 

 the author states in the preface that he hopes "to avoid as far as possible the dupli- 

 cation inevitable where one attempts to group pests according to their host plants." 

 The pests are grouped as follows: Attacking the roots of plants: boring in the stem 

 and branches : feeding on the outside of the stem : leaf feeders : attacking flowers and 

 fruit. 



Though this arrangement avoids duplication, it is often an advantage to have the 

 chief insect pests listed for each crop. 



As to the illustrations, the best ones are excellent and it is to be regretted that 

 this standard could not have prevailed throughout the book. The present writer 

 is fully aware of the difficulty of obtaining at the desired moment the material nec- 

 essary to show the life stages and work of insect pests. Yet in adhering strictly to 

 the rule of originality, the author has used a number of photographs which do not 

 make recognizable the insect in question. Had these been supplanted by the best 

 photographs to be obtained from other workers, the book might have presented a. 

 still better appearance, if less original. The present writer is not yet convinced 

 that photographs are in all cases preferable to good drawings especially to show 

 structural characters; but when used great care must be taken to have the material 

 in perfect condition and properlj^ prepared. For instance, the sawflies shown in 

 figures 419, 420, 422, and 426 have their wings crumpled and hardly add to the value 

 of the book, though they detract from its appearance. Some other figures show poor 

 material, and many good specimens had their wings, legs or antennae careles.sly set. 

 The small natural sized figure shown beside the enlarged one is distinctly preferable 

 to the usual hair line indicating size. 



Pages 1 to 51 are devoted to a brief account of the injury caused by insects, their 

 structure, senses, behavior, transformations, classification, natural enemies, how 

 they spread, and how they carry disease. Pages 55 to 104 treat of methods of con- 

 trolling insects, including mechanical means and the use of insecticides. The prin- 

 cipal types of pumps, nozzles and other accessories are figured and described. Pages 

 107 to 379 describe the injury to crops by the various species of insects. It is divided 

 into three chapters as follows: Insect Pests of Garden and Field Crops; Insect Pests 

 of Orchard and Small Fruits; and Insect Pests of the Household and Stored Products. 

 Insects attacking shade trees, except as they are pests of fruit trees are not included. 

 Pages 381 to 389 contain an alphabetical list of the scientific names of the insects 

 considered in the text; for each species, one reference is given where the reader may 

 find a more comprehensive or detailed account if desired. The pages of the text are 

 entirely free from references of this sort. A good index fills pages 391 to 414. 



Under the heading "House Ants," page 351, one could wish that so simple and 

 effective a remedy as naphthalene flakes scattered around the edges of the shelves 

 or corners of the room, had not been omitted. 



Notwithstanding these few criticisms, the book will doubtless fill a popular demand 

 and should be recommended. The book is well written, and the text and illustra- 

 tions are printed in such a manner as to give the volume an attractive appearance. 



W. E. B. 



