1 



Mr. Frederick Smith. The Proceedings of the Linnean Society, 

 on the contrary, have contained much entomological matter. 

 Mr. Pickard- Cambridge and Mr. Blackwall have papers on the 

 Spiders of Ceylon and Italy; Mr. Pascoe describes a large 

 number of new and remarkable forms of Curculionid£e ; while 

 Mr. Kirby's Essay on the Generic Nomenclature of Butterflies 

 exposes a state of confusion in that group similar to that which 

 Mr. Crotch has shown to exist in the Coleoptera, and suggests 

 somewhat similar remedies for them. Mr. Murray's paper, which 

 fills the last zoological part of the Proceedings, will be noticed 

 further on. 



The appearance of a general work on Entomology in the 

 English language is so comparatively rare an event, that Dr. 

 Packard's ' Guide to the Study of Insects,' published at Salem, 

 Massachusetts, deserves more than a passing notice. A careful 

 examination of this handsome and profusely illustrated volume 

 shows it to be in many respects so good as to make us sincerely 

 wish it Avere somewhat better ; because, there is hardly demand 

 enough for such works to render it probable that one of the same 

 character will appear for some years to come, and it may therefore 

 indefinitely delay the production of such a complete Introduction 

 to Entomology as we stand greatly in need of. The most radical 

 defect of the work is, perhaps, that it is essentially composed for 

 American readers. Almost all the illustrations are drawn from 

 North American species, whenever such are to be found ; while 

 the minor groups and species characteristic of Europe are but 

 seldom mentioned. Now this appears to be bad policy. A work 

 which has involved so much labour, and which is so generally 

 attractive and useful, should be cosmopoHtan as regards English- 

 speaking people. It should be illustrated by full reference to all 

 groups of any importance occurring in Europe, North America 

 and Australia, and thus be made equally useful in the three great 

 homes of the English language. The next defect of the work is 

 the very subordinate part assigned to the subject of geographical 

 distribution. The three and a half pages under this heading, in 

 the introductory portion of the work, refer almost entirely to the 

 American continent, while under the separate orders, families, or 

 genera, the subject is hardl}^ touched on. The last defect I shall 

 allude to is in the matter of classification. The orders, or as Dr. 

 Packard terms them the sub -orders of insects, are treated under a 



