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Book Notice. 
An Introduction to Entomology, By JoHN HENry Comstock, Ithaca, N. Y., 
1888. Published by the author. Part I, pp. I to VI and 1 to 234, ff. 201. 
This book, so far as it goes, fills one of the spaces so long left 
vacant by American writers. It presents in a form, suitable for use in 
the class-room, the essential parts of Insect Anatomy and even goes 
further, and lays the basis for an ability to continue independant and 
original observation. Not only to the student in the class-room is it 
valuable however—it had missed a large field of usefulness else—but 
also to the enterprising young man or boy with an intense longing to 
know something about general Insect structure, but without money to 
buy a library or access to any large Public Library. So far as it goes, 
it comprises Chapters on the Anatomy and Metamorphoses of Insects, 
the general or Ordinal Classification, and the Classification of the 
Thysanura, Pseudoneuroplera. Orthoptera, Physopoda, Hemiptera and 
Neuropiera. ‘\he general plan throughout is to give at once a tabular 
or synoptic statement of the classification, and then in a somewhat more 
elaborate manner to define all the divisions so far as within the scope 
of the work. These synoptic or tabular statements constitute one of 
the most useful and unique portions of the work, and in this alone Prof. 
Comstock’s book will be entitled to the highest commendation. It is 
really what it pretends to be,—au Introductory work, in which any one 
interested can obtain a knowledge of the general classification of Insects. 
The adoption of the more simple of the ordinal divisions, deserves com- 
mendation. ‘The more, as the minute and complex divisions of some 
of bur more modern Authors are sufficiently indicated. Taken as a 
whole, it is by far the most practical and generally useful work that has 
been published in America. But while thus emphatic and sincere in 
its praise, we cannot forbear to call attention to what we consider im- 
perfections which can perhaps be obviated in the other parts of the work. 
“The description of the anatomical details is somewhat unnecessarily 
dry ; the subject might have been made somewhat more interesting and 
attractive to the individual student. A more serious objection is to the 
illustrations : some of the original drawings are undeniably poor. In 
some, even those showing anatomical details, the artist, by close line 
shading, has made the drawing very obscure, where the simple outline 
would not only have answered the purpose better but would have printed 
more clearly. The lettering and numbering of details are often indistinct 
where the greatest clearness would seem to be indicated. Few of the 
original illustrations are of a really high character. While we are glad 
to see that Prof. Comstock has very largely restricted the use of the 
