Ixxii 



No. 75 of the ' Linnaean Journal') ; Mr. Herbert Goss's papers on 

 Fossil Entomology (in the Entomologist's Monthly Magazme) ; 

 the observations by Mr. J. E, Fletcher and Mr. P. Cameron (in 

 the same periodical), confirmatory of Dr. Adler's disputed state- 

 ments as to alternation of generations in the Cympidce ; and the 

 valuable review of the present state of our knowledge of the 

 senses of insects in the ' Mittheilungen des Miincher Entomo- 

 logischen Vereins' (1878, p. 1), by Dr. Forel, — the mass of printed 

 matter of the 3'ear relates to purely systematic Entomology, to 

 genera, species and varieties, and their technical characters. 

 After glancing over a large number of the publications of 1878, 

 and examining in detail some of the principal papers, I think I am 

 not wrong in making the observation that there is a growing 

 tendency in describers to confine themselves to their trade of 

 mere description, and to neglect those general remarks on distri- 

 bution, natural affinities, and even classification which we used 

 formerly to see very generally at the head of descriptive papers. 

 A describer now generally gives us nothing but his diagnoses and 

 descriptions, the size, sex and locality of his specimens, and 

 appears then satisfied : he has secured what he calls his "types," 

 which he and his fellow-specialists then value so much more 

 highly than undescribed specimens. We have not even had so 

 much this year of those discussions which used to occupy so large 

 a space on nomenclature, and the results of work done in 

 searching for reasons for changing names — or changmg them back 

 again. I have met, however, with two or three papers on this 

 subject, and in regard to them I am tempted, in passing, to make 

 a quotation. In one of these papers, after reading over logical 

 arguments adduced for altering many names that have been in 

 universal use, in some cases for eighty years, I came at last to a 

 species about which the author says — " II n'y a pas de motifs 

 pour changer ce nom ;" " there are no reasons for changing this 

 name!" This was something to be thankful for ; he would be 

 glad to find an excuse for changing the name, but could not : 

 I quote the expression, as it seems to throw light on the spirit 

 which animates this class of workers in our science. 



But reverting to the prevailing exclusively descriptive character 

 of the Entomological literature of the day, I think a reason for it 

 may probably be found in the constantly increasing magnitude of 

 the task of the describer or the general collector— a task imposed 



