1910] Recent Literature 37 
RECENT LITERATURE. 
InprAN Insect Lire. By H. Maxwell-Lefroy, Entomologist, Im- 
perial Department of Agriculture for India, Assisted by F. M. Howlett. 
Thacker, Spink & Co., Calcutta & Simla. 1909. 
Although this book was primarily intended for the struggling 
student of entomology in India, it contains much of interest and value 
to workers throughout the World and American entomologists will 
find it worthy of a careful reading. Nearly 800 pages, 84 plates 
principally in color, and 536 figures compose the volume of goodly 
royal octavo size which is very well printed. 
The subject matter treats specifically of the insects of the “ Plains” 
or tropical India, an area embracing all the southern part of India 
except on mountains rising above 2000 feet, which contour line also 
limits it on the north in the foot-hills of the Himalayas from subtropical 
India which is not dealt with in the present work. It appears that 
insects are much less numerous in tropical than in subtropical India, 
due to the absence of the moist forested slopes and varied types of 
vegetation which occur on the hills of the latter. 
Throughout the volume special stress is laid upon economically 
important insects many of which are close counterparts of related 
species known to western entomologists and numerous species are 
discussed which will quite probably enter our own country in the 
future. Among these are particularly various forms destructive to 
rice, cotton, corn, cane, tea, ete. A very commendable feature is the 
illustration of the complete life history of many species. 
Interspersed among the systematic enumeration of families with 
their more prominent Indian representatives, are short discussions 
of topics of more general biological interest, making on the whole a 
very readable book in spite of its large size and necessarily taxonomic 
character. The author is certainly to be admired by his more fortu- 
nate American co-workers for having presented in very well arranged 
form a summary of the entomology of a country like India where the 
entomologist must still be a pioneer in his chosen field. 
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