log 



reddish forms, and C. dissonans Warr./ and to various other 

 pairs of close allies. 



Perhaps, in referring to the thousands of such cases which 

 would occur to the coleopterist, I shall be told that I am beating 

 the air, and that M. Oberthür has no thought or intention that 

 his rule should apply be\'ond the ranks of the lepidopterists.* 

 As I am very strongly opposed to any divergence in the nomen- 

 clatorial laws of entomologists from those of zoology in general, 

 it follows a fortiori that I could not for a moment entertain the 

 idea of a law for lepidopterists alone ; but I am quite willing, 

 for the remainder of this paper, to confine m\' attention to the 

 lepidopterist's point of view. 



The only argument against " figures " (in M. OBP:RTHtJR's 

 sense) which I have 3'et seen brought into much prominence is 

 that of their expense. So M. OBERTHtJR himself,* Mr. G. Ï. 

 Bethune-Baker,* M. p. Dognin,^ and others. This is by no 

 means an unimportant argument, although, as Dr. Chapman 

 points out," photograph}- has done much to reduce its cogency. 

 Still, the delating of the working out of the large accumulations 

 of material with which modern travel and research are pro- 

 viding us, even until photographic illustrations of all could be 

 procured, would be a real hindrance to scientific progress. But 

 the question of "l'argent " is by no means the only, nor even 

 the chief argument against the disproportionate insistence on 

 " good figures." The expense of illustration could with time 

 and patience be met, the world's fauna could in the mean- 

 time be made known more slowly, and the S3'stematist, or 

 student of geographical distribution, could for a few genera- 

 tions longer take a back seat or be content to work on much 

 more meagre material, however tantahsing it might be to him 

 to know that there were thousands of species waiting in the 

 large collections which might have been available in his sur\ey 

 but that the}' remained zoological nonentities. But th*' real 



^ Novit. ZooL, iv., 51. 



^ Et. Lép. Comp., V. (i), p. xxxi. 



^ Ibid., pp. xxxi, xxxii, etc. 



* Ent. Record, xxiii., 271. 



'' Ann. Soc. Ent. Belg., hi., 136. 



•* Ent. Record., xxiii., 239. 

 22 



