$f INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



served above, was this : " Palpi quatuor, maxilla 

 cornea, compressa, s.tpe elongata." 



In his supplement to his Entomologia Systema^ 

 tica he omits the palpi, retaining only the last 

 member of the character, perhaps with the view of 

 rendering it less complex: but as the following 

 class, Odonata,is distinguished hy palpi duo, it seems 

 to me no improvement to drop a character which 

 certainly runs through the whole class, and which 

 affords a more constant distinction than that which 

 is retained. There appears to be no reference in 

 this character to that of the Synistata, although 

 both classes were originally united by our author. 

 The first circumstance noticed in it is the substance 

 of the maxilla or valimla. Maxilla cornea; this, 

 generally speaking, holds good only with respect to 

 the base of this part (d) ; the apex (e) is usually 

 either wholly coriaceous, or partly corium and 

 partly membrane. Nay, in nine of his genera (f), 

 Fabricius describes this part as entirely membra- 

 naceous, so little consistent is he with himself. 

 The term, by which he denotes the next circum- 

 stance he fixes upon to distinguish this class, com^ 

 pressa, should point out an obvious character, as it 

 supplies him with its name. Yet I do not see how 

 this term, if we understand it according to his own 



(d) Tab. 1. *. a. fig. 4. a. (e) Ibid. I; c. 



if) Viz. Cyjiips, Sirex, Iclineinnon , Evania, Tiphin, No' 

 mada. Gen. Ins. and Banchus, Ophiori, and Foenus. Suppl. 



definition^ 



