83 



• observations that this branch of Palaeontology had received 

 literally no attention whatever prior to 1839. Reference is made 

 to fossil insects as long ago as 1700 in Scheuchzer's " Herbarium 

 diluvianum," and Linnaeus gave the name of *' Eiitomolithes " to 

 those petrifications which presented traces or remains of Insects ; 

 then, in 1726, a book, by Beriuger and Hueber, containing 

 reference to this subject appeared ; this was followed in 1729 

 by Bromell's " Lithographia Suecana;" in 1742 by the "Historia 

 Succinorum" of Sendelius, and in 1779 by Schroter's "Lexicon.'' 



Nothing more worth noticing then appeared on this subject 

 for about 50 years, when, in 1829, M. Marcel de Serres produced 

 a very important work on the fossil invertebrates of the Tertiary- 

 formations of the South of France, In the same year (1829) 

 a valuable contribution to our knowledge of this branch of 

 Science was made by the late Mr. John Curtis, in a paper on 

 the " Tertiary [formations of Aix," by Murchison and Lyell, 

 The next book worth mentioning, which treated of this subject, 

 was Bronn's "Lethoea Geognostica," published in 1835. 



One of the most valuable works on this branch of Science, 

 and which has perhaps more than any other directed the attention 

 of geologists to its interest and importance, i? Professor Heer's 

 " Die Insecten fauna der Tertiargebilde von (Eningen und von 

 Radoboj in Croatien," published in 1847. Professor Heer has 

 done more for this branch of Science than any other Palaeonto- 

 logist, and has been justly styled by Signor Massalongo " the 

 Cuvier of fossil Entomology." 



Amongst the names of English investigators of, and writers 

 on this subject, the most prominent is that of the Eev. P. B. 

 Brodie, M.A.,r.G.S., who in 1845 produced the only book on fossil 

 insects which has appeared in this country. Several papers on 

 the subject have also been written by the Eev. F. W. Hope, 

 F.RS., Professor Westwood, F.L.S., Dr. Mantell, Dr. Henry 

 Woodward, F.R.S., Mr. Vernon WooUaston, F.L.S., Mr. Arthur 

 •Gardiner Butler, and others. 



