April 1SS4.] 



PSYCHE. 



157 



they become like foi-ests themselves, the 

 trees indeed planted in rows, but those 

 of one kind so far apart and interspersed 

 with others, that the}' can only be found 

 bv a tedious search. 



I do not wish to seem to find fault 

 with these works. I recognize their 

 value for the piu'poses of their being. 

 I only say of them that they have not 

 certain characteristics which they do 

 not pretend to have. We have yet to 

 finil the bibliography that we need, per- 

 manent, complete, limited to bililio- 

 graphical simplicity and convenient of 

 reference. 



For the early literature there is no 

 need to attempt to improxe upon 

 Hagen's Bibliotheca entomologica.^ 

 ISIy lemarks apply to literature subse- 

 quent to that there recorded, including 

 such omissions from and corrections of 

 that work as occasion may present. 

 The time may come in which a sup))le- 

 ment to that work will be published, in 

 some similar form, supplanting all lesser 

 bibliographies, as that has supplanted all 

 earlier ones. Until that time the best 

 that we can do is to form a current 

 bibliography, upon a simple and uni- 

 form plan, adapted to serve all the 

 \aried purposes which are to be sought 

 in such a work. It may seem superflu- 

 ous for me to attempt to describe the 

 principles upon which I think such a 

 ^vork shoidd be constructed. 



You have granted me so great liberty 

 in the editorial management of Psyche 

 that I have been enabled, as improve- 

 ments in the form of the bibliographical 



iPsyche, Rec, no. 3306. 



record have been suggested, to put them 

 into practice. I am largely indebted to 

 mj' principal colaborer in the editorship 

 for many of these improvements. Many 

 changes have been made and probably 

 many others will be made, but the 

 essential features have so far remained 

 the same throughout. Hagen's Biblio- 

 theca served as a model in the beginning, 

 and except in detail little change has 

 been matle since. 



It is useless in a current bibliography 

 to preserve an)' classification of matter. 

 In the early volumes of Psyche the 

 attempt was niade to bring together the 

 whole contents of volumes in a continu- 

 ous record, but the disadvantages of the 

 plan were foimd to overbalance its ad- 

 vantages. In such a plan the whole 

 contents of a volume must be held back 

 imtil the volume is finished, and other 

 works which are connected •with the 

 former by cross-references must be post- 

 poned to them. This plan has few ad- 

 \'antages, moreover, as reference is rare- 

 ly made to the contents of works by 

 volumes. In later volumes of Psyche 

 little or no attempt has been made at the 

 classification of matter. 



The whole problem of classifica- 

 tion is solved b)' the publication of 

 the record in form suitable for the con- 

 struction of card catalogs. The only 

 feature of the work which is marred by 

 the card catalog arrangement is the se- 

 quence of the current numeros used for 

 the purposes of the index. 



Some persons will choose to arrange 

 their card catalogs by subjects, and 

 others in chronological order, but I have 



