48 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



II. and III., upon the " Zoological Position and Natural 

 History of the Cockroach " ; IV. and V., upon the " Outer 

 Skeleton, Muscles, &c." ; VI., VII., and VIII., the "Nervous, 

 Digestive, and Respiratory Organs " ; IX. and X., upon " Repro- 

 duction and Development " ; and Chapter XI. is upon the 

 " Cockroach of the Past," written by Mr. S. II. Scudder, of the 

 United States Geological Survey. The appendix is divided into 

 the " Parasites of the Cockroach " and the " Sense of Smell in 

 Insects"; both collations. 



Of these chapters peril aps the general reader will find most 

 interesting Chap. III., the " Natural History " ; and Chap. X., 

 on the " Development of the Cockroach," which latter is by 

 M. Joseph Musbaum, Magister of Zoology, Warsaw. 



As examples of the gossipj^ portion of the work we may quote 

 page 20, Food and Habits: — 



"As to the food of Cockroaches, we can hardly except any animal 

 or vegetable substance from the long list of their depredations, — 

 bark, leaves, the pith of living cycads, paper, woollen clothes, sugar, 

 cheese, bread, blacking, oil, lemons, ink, flesh, fish, leather, the dead 

 bodies of other cockroaches, their own cast- skins, and emj^ty egg- 

 capsules, — all are greedily consumed. Cucumber, too, they will eat, 

 though it disagrees with them horribly." 



Again, on page 26, Parasites : — 



"We have a long list of parasites which infest the Cockroach. 

 There is a conferva, an amoeba, several infusoria, nematoid worms (one 

 of which migrates to and fro between the rat and cockroach), a mite, 

 as well as hymenopterous and coleopterous insects. The cockroach 

 has a still longer array of foes, which include monkeys, hedgehogs, 

 polecats, cats, rats, birds, chama^leons, frogs, and wasps ; but no 

 single friend, unless those are reckoned friends which are the foes of 

 its foes." 



And lastly, on page 27, Uses, we find : — 



" Of the uses to which Cockroaches have been put we have little 

 to say. They constitute a popular remedy for dropsy in Russia ; and 

 both cockroach-tea and cockroach-pills are known in medical practice 

 at Philadelphia. Salted cockroaches are said to have an agreeable 

 flavour, which is apparent in certain popular sauces " ! 



The authority is not given for the latter statement by the 

 authors. 



The work will be found useful to all entomologists ; and we 

 shall look forward with interest for the issue of other volumes of 

 the ' Studies in Comparative Anatomy ' series. — J. T. C. 



