48 THE ENTOMOLOiilST. 



in the case of Thecla pruni, T. quercus, T. rubi, Sphinx con- 

 volvidi, ligustri, &c. ; or, again, where the insect's range is not 

 wide, after the particular locality in which it is found. But it 

 should only be our very last resource to call a species after an 

 individual. It is true that in what may be described as pre- 

 scientific days names were given which were drawn from ancient 

 mythology, e.g., Argynnis selene, A. latona, Lyccena davus, 

 L. corydon, L. avion, &c. ; but such names, though apparently 

 meaningless, have, to my ear, at any rate, a classical ring about 

 them which makes them acceptable, but which such names as 

 E. curzoni or P. spilleri altogether lack. Would it not be best, 

 if the discoverer of a new species were denied the absolute 

 right to give the name, but might only suggest it, and the name 

 to be adopted by English entomologists be definitely fixed by 

 some authoritative scientific association, which would take care 

 that improper names were never recognised ? Probably the 

 London Society, or the editorial staff of the ' Entomologist,' 

 would be the proper body to regulate all new cases of nomen- 

 clature.— A. Chitty ; Balliol College, Oxford, and 33, Queen's- 

 Gate Gardens, S.W,, December, 1884. 



Exchanging.— The Eev. Gilbert H. Eaynor, speaking of 

 marked lists, advocates placing a mark against our desiderata, 

 leaving blank those species we do not require. Assuming, for the 

 sake of argument, that the British species number 2000, if we 

 adopt the plan of marking off those we are not wanting, by the 

 time our collection is complete, clearly we shall have made 2000 

 marks. Let us now look at the other side. The Keverend 

 gentleman takes an extreme case when the desiderata are but 

 2 per cent. I will take the other extreme, and suppose an 

 entomologist possessing full series of 1001 species commences to 

 exchange. To complete his list he will have made 999 marks, 

 and 999 erasures or other marks, a proceeding which would at 

 least be no more speedy than the making of 2000 marks, to 

 say nothing of the appearance of the list. After all, in pre- 

 paring a list for exchange, it is not the mechanical act of 

 marking which takes the time, but the consideration required 

 to mark off the right species, and I have always found the 

 pen to keep pace with the mind in this matter. Some people 

 use a list with the species numbered consecutively, such as 

 Staudinger's ; one's duplicates or desiderata are then quoted 



