162 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



'* The insects themselves are of a very sluggish disposition, rarely 

 moving more than a few inches during the heat of the day," &c. 

 One hint may, however, be added to this item, and one that may 

 prove useful to the collector, but to state this necessitates taking 

 up the narrative of Mr. Eye's previous captures at Bristol, to 

 which Mr. Shipp refers. 



It was durmg the British Association meeting at Bristol in 

 1875, tbat a few entomologists, including the late H. W. Bates 

 and E. C. Eye, in company with E. McLachlan, A. Hudd, Stephen 

 Barton, and the writer, spent a pleasant day collecting in Leigh 

 Woods. On the morrow we all met by appointment to dine with 

 our friend Barton ; but Eye was late, and we waited like hungry 

 men. But when Eye appeared he produced, in exculpation, a 

 small bottle containing a series of specimens of this very rare 

 species which he had that morning discovered, and so graphically 

 did he describe the position in the woods of the old rotten stump 

 that had contained the find that I had no difficulty, on the 

 following day, in going direct to the same. It was acting on 

 Eye's instructions that I took the best part of my set, and am 

 able to give what was really his hint, and that is to spread out 

 handfuls of the old decayed wood in the sun, and smoke a 

 contemplative pipe in the vicinity. In periods varying from a 

 quarter to half an hour, I found that these bright-coloured little 

 beetles were sure to be seen. The successful experiment of 1875 

 will probably be equally efficacious in 1894. 



Pretoria, Transvaal, March 7th, 1894. 



Mk. w. bate son on variation.* 



The author of this work appears to be amongst the number 

 of those who think that the constant repetition of the words 

 "Variation" and "Selection" by biologists — in a manner that 

 reminds one somewhat of the Thibetan praying-machine— is not 

 a sufficiently definite explanation of the " origin of species," and 

 he apparently hopes to get some help from the introduction of 

 the term "discontinuity." Whether we are in this way to get 

 any assistance or not in our awkward efforts to understand that 

 which is certainly at present very obscure, if not entirely incom- 

 prehensible, we shall not here consider ,- indeed, had the work 

 consisted merely of speculative matter, we should not have 

 brought it to the notice of the readers of the 'Entomologist,' 

 even though the speculations were presented in a thoughtful and 

 graceful form, as is here the case. 



■'• ' Materials for the study of Variation, treated with special regard to dis- 

 continuity in the Origin of bpecies.' 8vo, pp. xvi. & 598. Macmillan & Co., 

 London. 1894. 



