24 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



includes the Sphingidae, Arctiadae, Lymantriadse, Nolidae, Chloe- 

 phoridae, Notodontidae, Lasiocampidae, Cymatophoridae, Saturnidae, 

 Endromidffi, Drepanulidae, and a large part of the Noctuidae. 



The coloured figures are hy three-colour process, the majority from 

 the insects themselves ; with some inequalities these are all of a very 

 satisfactory character, so that the tyro ought to have no difficulty in 

 naming his captures. They are certainly more true to nature than 

 most of the plates in " Barrett," costing about ten times the price, 

 and though the specimens are not so perfect or so well set as Mr. 

 Horace Knight shows them in the fifteen plates from his drawings, 

 nor so pleasing to an artist, they are equally good as illustrations 

 of the species ; everyone knows the excellence of Mr. Knight's 

 drawings. 



The " Butterflies " gave us an outline of the earlier stages in 

 nearly every instance ; this is carried out here only with the earlier 

 families, Sphingidae, Notodontidae, &c., only a few species being 

 selected for illustration in the Noctuae, &c. On the whole, these 

 black-and-white illustrations are good, but some eggs (as Arctiads, 

 with too fiat a base) are open to criticism, and the larva of A. caja 

 (which even Buckler refrained from attempting) is no better than 

 some other figures of it we have seen. Where nearly all are excel- 

 lent, it is perhaps merely personal taste that suggests pi. 33 (with 

 cucullina and carmelita) or pi. 36 {batis, ocularis, &c.) as especially 

 pleasing and good. 



The book cannot but be useful to any lepidopterist, but is especi- 

 ally addressed to nature lovers in general ; for either, we think, it 

 would have been better to have given the Latin names on the plates, 

 and to have added the reference to the page where it is described, 

 this being often at some distance from the plate, introducing a diffi- 

 culty that did not arise in the " Butterflies," where only sixty-eight 

 species were treated of, whilst here are three hundred and thirty-five. 

 As to the Latin names, it is extremely desirable these should come 

 first, since their scientific character has a quality that must appeal to 

 the most British neophyte, viz. it affords a key to immense stores of 

 recorded facts, any one of which he may wish to ascertain. We 

 much doubt the general prevalence of a preference for English over 

 Latin names, and whether there exists one individual who knows the 

 English names in this volume for fifty who know the Latin ones. 

 Unfortunately the book is so excellent and so cheap that this state 

 of affairs may be altered, and unquestionably to the discomfort of 

 those who continue the study and find they have to learn the Latin 

 names also. On p. 158 Mr. South tells us that D. russula has now 

 to be called sanio, a fact he regrets. Though we are sure it is un- 

 founded, a suspicion arises that, in exhibiting an occasional weakness 

 of the Latin names, he desires to recommend the name under which 

 he describes the species, " the Clouded Buff." 



We can find no other than very trivial points that are open to 

 criticism, unless we may include some dissatisfaction that, for our 

 individual benefit, so trustworthy and, within its limits, so complete 

 a work, with such excellent figures and so small a price, did not 

 appear some forty years ago. 



