THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



No. VI. 



APRIL, MDCCCXLI. 



Price 6d. 



Art. XI. — Analytical Notice of ^ The Canadian Naturalist^ a 

 series of Conversations on the Natural History of Lower Ca- 

 nada.'' By P. H. GossE. London : Van Voorst. 



Every volume that treats of the Natural History of the Canadas, or 

 indeed the northern portion of the North American continent, is va- 

 luable to the zoologist as serving to throw some light on the highly 

 interestmg question of the parallelism of species inhabiting the old 

 and new worlds. In Mr. Gosse's amusing volume we find constant 

 mention of the names of insects, familiar as household words to the 

 ears of the English entomologist ; as for instance, Acheta campestris, 

 Ammophila sabulosa. Apis centuncularis, Biston hirtarius, Boreus hy- 

 emalis, Byrrhus varius, Calyptra libatrix, Cheimatobia vulgaris, Chry- 

 sis cyanea, Cynthia Cardui, Gastrus Equi, Gomphus vulgatissimus, 

 Gyrinus aeneus, Hemerobius Perla, Ips 4-punctata, Lampyris nocti- 

 luca, Lycaena Phlaeas, Megachile Willughbiella, Meloe Proscara- 

 baeus, CEstrus Bovis and Ovis, Orgyia antiqua, Phlogophora meticu- 

 losa, Phyllodecta vitellina, Plusia Gamma, Pcederus riparius, Sirex 

 Juvencus, Smerinthus ocellatus, Vanessa Antiopa and Xerene albicil- 

 lata : and these form a very considerable portion of the insects of 

 which the author has occasion to speak. Thus we find that many of 

 our well-known insects are common to the new and old continents.* 

 It is not, however, Mr. Gosse's object to enforce this conclusion, it is 

 simply the result of my own analysis of his recorded observations. 



The work is written as a dialogue between father and son, the au- 

 thor thinking that " many little trifles might be thus touched, which 

 could be noticed in no other form, but which, nevertheless, all help to 

 make up a true picture. Thus too we may ramble from one subject 

 to another, often by a transition more abrupt than could be permitted 

 in a systematic discourse." The work is adorned with illustrations of 



* It must be distinctly understood that I arrive at this conclusion, supposing that 

 Mr. Gosse has named his species correctly, on which subject no evidence is before me. 



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