(em) 
which may be added specimens of 36 species which have been 
compared with types, making a total of 140 species in this 
genus which might be passed round to every museum in 
Europe that cared to see them. This would be a good 
foundation for any one interested in the genus to work upon ; 
for even if he had a species which was not in the series, it 
would be a help to know what it was not. Of course there 
are in the Museum a great many more species of this genus, 
which I have no doubt are correctly named, and these might 
be included in the series, provided it was understood that they 
had not the same name-value. This would give each specimen 
the chance of having its name confirmed if it came into 
the hands of the person who possessed the type of that 
species. 
If each author who possessed (say) three specimens of a new 
species which he had described would send one to the central 
depot, and these (when there was a sufficient number of them 
to make it worth while) were sent round to all the museums 
in turn, the curators would gain a far greater knowledge of the 
fresh discoveries than they would by reading any amount of 
literature. 
I can imagine that if this scheme were successful, it would 
also strike at the root of many of our difficulties as to nomen- 
clature. Every worker at Systematic Entomology feels the 
great inconvenience of the constant changes in the names of 
_ species, and perhaps the practical economic entomologist feels 
it even more so. 
Some maintain that the only remedy lies in the strict 
observance of the law of priority, and spend much time and 
trouble in hunting up old names, because they feel that there 
ean never be a settled nomenclature until these old names are 
unearthed; but just when ‘you think you have really the 
oldest name for a species, some book comes to light that was 
never thought of, and the name has to be altered again. For 
the last fifty years names have been constantly changed, and 
there does not seem to be any immediate prospect of a settle- 
ment. One of our commonest British insects, which is found 
all over Europe, is in every catalogue under a certain name, 
and has borne that name for a hundred years or more, but 
PROC. ENT. SOC. LOND., v. 1907. H 
