268 Bibliographical Notice. 



BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE. 



Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Vhalainaz in the British Museum. 

 Volume I. (pp. xxi & 559) and Plates (i.-xvii.). Catalogue of 

 the Syntomidse in the Collection of the British Museum. By 

 Sir George F. Hampson, Bart. London : printed by order of 

 the Trustees. 1898. 8vo. 



The Trustees of the British Museum are to be congratulated on 

 their boldness in resolving to attempt a monumental work in ento- 

 mology, on the Moths of the world — a group which, though very 

 incompletely known or collected at present, probably numbers at 

 least five or six times as many species as the whole of the Birds, 

 the Museum Catalogue of which has just been completed in twenty- 

 seven thick octavo volumes, exclusive of Supplement and Index. 

 The Bird Catalogue is the work of eleven different authors, and 

 the effort to describe a far larger group may well be beyond the 

 powers of one entomologist ; but Sir George Hampson is a young 

 and energetic man, and, what is of even far greater importance, it 

 is evident that he has very wisely been given a perfectly free hand, 

 and every encouragement by the authorities of the Museum. Con- 

 sequently he commences his arduous task under the most favourable 

 auspices, and great things may be expected of him. 



The plan of the work is similar in the main to the author's useful 

 ' Moths of India,' from which many of the illustrations, especially 

 those in the Introduction, are copied ; but in one respect we notice 

 a change for the better. The author is well known to be what is 

 called, in entomological slang, " a lumper " ; and in some cases 

 many nominal species are sunk under one. In the present work an 

 attempt has been made to show which names are regarded as abso- 

 lute synonyms, and which represent actual variations of greater or 

 less importance ; and although we think this should have beep done 

 more fully, yet this feature marks a decided improvement on the 

 ' Moths of India,' in which very few indications of this kind were 

 given. 



The Introduction to the present work commences with general 

 information respecting Lepidoptera ; and it is very convenient in a 

 work of this kiud to have careful diagrams of such features as wing- 

 neuration always available for ready reference. We should almost 

 be inclined to recommend that such diagrams should be reproduced 

 in each volume. 



• Then follow remarks on the phylogeny of Lepidoptera, illustrated 

 by tables, but expressed, as is frequently the case with writers who 

 attempt to trace out schemes of evolution, which must, after all, be 

 largely tentative and conjectural, in rather too dogmatic a manner 

 for our taste. 



In Geographical Distribution the author admits four principal 

 zones, viz. : — Northern Temperate, the Tropical Zone of the Old 

 World, the Neotropical, and, finally, the Australian Region. 



