Discovcriiif: Proiii('tlir;i cocoons where they swing from the bare twigs 



Quick Key to a Knowledge of 

 Common Insects' 



A REVIEW OF THE FIRST GENUINE FIELD BOOK PUBLISHED ON THE 

 FAMILIES OF INSECTS OF THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES 2 



By WILLIAM M O R T O X W HEELER 



Dean of the Bussev Institution, Harvard University 



WHEX this charming little 

 vohune, which fits the hand 

 and the pocket so comfort- 

 ahly, was sent me by the publisher, it 

 set me to thinking rather enthusiasti- 

 cally about the recent splendid progress 

 of American entomology and somewhat 

 regretfully about the state of the sci- 

 ence when forty years ago I first be- 

 came interested in the insects of my 

 native state, Wisconsin. In those days 

 what would I not have given to have 

 possessed such a volume? But, of 

 course, such a work could not have 

 been written at a time when American 

 entomologv was, if not in its infancy, 



at any rate in its childhood. Where 

 now the public library shelves devoted 

 to entomology are loaded with beauti- 

 fully illustrated works on our moths, 

 butterflies, beetles, flies, and spiders, 

 there was then only a meager array of 

 European volumes, with Packard's 

 Guide and Harris' Injects Injurious to 

 Vegetation, and the two latter works — 

 especially Packard's Guide — seemed 

 never to contain any information one 

 happened to be seeking. Perhaps there 

 were compensations in being compelled 

 to rely on one's own efforts, but I re- 

 member often repeating to myself an 

 aphorism of Goethe, learned from one 



' Tlie .JOTRXAL expresses gratitude to G. P. Putnam's Sons for tlieir courtesy in allowing vise of the 

 eight color plates which follow the review. 



- Fifid Book of Insects, with Special liefprencp to those oi Xnrtltenstern I'ttited States, .Aimiii;/ to 

 Answer Common Questions, by Frank K. T^utz. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London, 1918. 



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