396 Bibliograpldcal Notices. 



Btaj'-at-home naturalist will find equally helpful studies in the 

 essays on domesticated animals. But these are by no means the 

 only subjects treated of in this volume. Extinct animals, armour- 

 clad whales, monkey finger-prints, frogs and toads, and scorpions 

 are amongst the other subjects noticed, and all alike are of ex- 

 treme interest. 



The book is well printed, tastefully got up, and well illustrated, 

 there being no less than sixteen full-page plates, the most remark- 

 able of which is a photograph showing girafltes in covert. The 

 volume would make a handsome gift-book. 



Catalogue of the Lepidoptera PhaJo'/ncn in the British Museum. 

 Volume IV. Catalogue of the Noctuidfe in the Collection of the 

 British Museum. By Sir George F. Hampson, Bart. London : 

 Printed by Order of the Trustees, 1903. 8vo. Pp. xx, 689. 

 Plates Iv.-lxxvii. 



"We congratulate Sir George Hampson and the authorities of the 

 British Museum on the publication of the fourth volume of the 

 great Catalogue of the Moths of the world, which has been appearing 

 at intervals during the last six years. With Volume IV. the great 

 family of Noctuidce is commenced, with one of the largest and most 

 important of the subfamilies, the Agrotince, of which no less (han 

 1126 species are described, by far the larger proportion of which 

 have only been made known within the last few years. To the 

 entomologists of the present day, the wonderful increase in our 

 knowledge of insects and the large collections now in existence 

 appear marvellous. So did Hewitson's collection of Exotic Butter- 

 flies to the older generation of naturalists who were his contem- 

 poraries ; but hundreds of the most beautiful butterflies in the world, 

 which are now to be found iu every first-rate collection, were either 

 unique and unattainable, or undiscovered in his time, and he did not 

 live to see them. Our knowledge of motlis has also very largely 

 increased, though it cannot be supposed to be so forward as in the 

 case of butterflies, for three reasons :' firstly, because they are much 

 more numerous ; secondly, because many of them are less brightly 

 coloured, and thus less attractive, and are therefore less assiduously 

 collected ; and, thirdly, because many are nocturnal insects and are 

 therefore really more difficult to collect. But nothing is more likely 

 to encourage and extend the knowledge of moths than comprehensive 

 and well-illustrated works like Sir George Hampson's. 



In addition to the coloured plates, there are 125 text illustrations, 

 representing structural details. Many larvae are described, those of 

 North- American species by Dr. Harrison G. Dyar ; but there are no 

 illustrations of larvae, which the character of the book would perhaps 

 hardly admit of. Very full tables of species are given under genera, 

 or, in the case of the larger genera, under sections ; and we are glad 

 to notice that when a number of generic names are included under 

 a more comprehensive one (as in the case of Euxoa, Hiibn., ]). 153) 



