NA TURE 



THURSDAY, NOVEMBER ii, 1897. 



MIMICRY IN BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS} 

 Researches on Mimicry on the Basis of a Naitiral 

 Classification of the Papilionidce. Part ii. Researches 

 on Mimicry. By the late Dr. Erich Haase, Director of 

 the Royal Siamese Museum in Bangkok. Translated 

 by C. M. Child, Ph.D. Pp. 154, and 8 coloured plates. 

 (Stuttgart : Ernin Nagele. London : Bailliere, Tindall, 

 and Co.x, 1896.) 



II. 

 ^X ^^E have now to inquire as to the treatment accorded 

 » * to Haase's work by publisher, translator, and 

 editor. 



The eight coloured plates are perhaps the most satis- 

 factory feature of the work as it appears in this country. 

 The English translation is limited to Part ii. of Haase's 

 complete memoir, of which the plates still retain the 

 numbering, viz. 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14. In spite of 

 this, there are frequent references in the text to the other 

 plates (1?.^'^. Plate i.) without the slightest indication that 

 the plate in question is not to be found. This is all the 

 more tantalising inasmuch as some of the most interest- 

 ing figures, viz. those of Papilio merope and its allies 

 have their place in the omitted plates. 



References to the parts which are not translated appear 

 in the irritating form of "Part i., pages — — ," the exact 

 page of the German original being given in the margin, 

 or, as on p. 35, withheld altogether. 



The quality of type and paper leave nothing to be 

 desired, and it is very unfortunate that these great ad- 

 vantages should be rendered of little avail for the want 

 of an intelligent proof-reader, to say nothing of an editor. 

 The names of authorities quoted are frequently mis- 

 spelt : thus, Jenner Weir appears as J. Wier on p. 12, 

 while on p. 20 it is rendered J. Weis ; de Saussure is de 

 Saussare (p. 6) ; Grose-Smith is rendered by Grosse- 

 Smith (p. 84) ; Mansel Weale by Wheale (pp. 45 and 

 104) ; J. W. Slater by J. W. Sclater (p. 95) ; while in the 

 footnote of the same page the name appears as F. M. 

 Sclater. Mr. A. G. Butler and the present writer are let 

 off comparatively easily with the initials A. E. B. (p. 33) 

 and E. G. P. (p. 20). 



Even more misleading are the frequent mistakes in 

 scientific names, such as candata for caudata (p. 32), 

 Eiiplorce for Eiiploecp (p. 25), Argynns for Argynnis 

 (p. 119), Decopeia for Deiopeia (p. 98), biconitis for 

 bicornis (p. 147), C hey some lid for Chrysomelid (p. 137), 

 Glancopid for Glaucopid (p. 73), &c. Then avian is 

 rendered by arian (p. 126), while genus becomes ganus 

 (P- '37)- The words Pierinas and Pieridae are both used ; 

 but the combination of these into Pieridinje (p. 64) is, I 

 believe, peculiar to this volume. A conspicuous and im- 

 portant position is no guarantee against the most absurd 

 errors. In the heavily-printed headings of important 

 sections of the work, Coleoptera appears as Colcoptera 

 (p. 18), Mimetic as Numetic (p. 19), and Hypolimnas 

 as Hypolinopas (p. 29). 



After this it is hardly necessary to allude to the innu- 

 merable blunders in ordinary words which are scattered 

 thickly throughout the work. Some of these mistakes 



1 Continued from p. 4. 



NO. 1463, VOL. 57 J 



are, however, worthy of quotation merely to illustrate 

 some of the curious forms which printers' errors may 

 assume. Thus we meet with "altoogether to slight" (p. 

 137), while "exclusively "becomes "exclusive by " (p. 119) ; 

 in " a bee " the words are transposed and fused, becom- 

 ing "beea"(p. 72). In many cases the wrong letter 

 makes a different word, which may sometimes be mis- 

 taken for that which was intended. Thus " ledges " 

 becomes "lodges" (p. 7), "wavy" becomes "wary" (p. 

 148), "than" becomes "then." It is an interestmg 

 speculation to attempt to determinethe intended word in 

 the passage which tells us that the Jamaican Aristolochia 

 grandiflora emits such an unpleasant smell that " even 

 pigs she from eating it " (p. 97). 



Errors of punctuation also occur, sometimes producing 

 the most ludicrous effect, sometimes merely serving to 

 confuse the reader. The Zygasnidae are described as 

 possessing " large legs beset with numerous spines and 

 short antennas " (p. 73). A good example of the difficulties 

 introduced by want of style and want of correct punctua- 

 tion is to be found in a sentence on p. 123: "This 

 similarity among inedible species is, as first pointed out 

 by Fritz Miiller and Wallace, mutually advantageous 

 to the participants in the resemblance for the type of the 

 immune forms becomes in this way more distinct, being 

 expressed in iew forms." The reference number is so 

 displaced on p. 98, that " Indian Danaids " appear in the 

 footnote as " this sluggish little Bombycid," and it be- 

 comes a matter of conjecture as to the insect which' is 

 really intended — probably Deiopeia. On p. 14 centrali 

 is hyphened with Biologia instead of with americana. 



The names of species are generally printed in italics, 

 but curious exceptions occur. Thus on p. 127 the generic 

 name of a species is printed in ordinary type, the specific 

 in italics, an arrangement which is reversed with another 

 species on p. 55 ; while on page 58, half of the word 

 Passiflorae is printed in one way and half in the other. 



We have now to judge how far the translator has given 

 us a fair idea of the immense amount of labour which the 

 author bestowed upon his w^ork. The two chief and 

 essential qualifications for a translator are (i) the know- 

 ledge of the two languages, and especially of that into 

 which the work is being rendered ; (2) knowledge of 

 the subject-matter, without which the most skilled linguist 

 must come hopelessly to grief. 



The knowledge of English possessed by the translator 

 of Haase's work may be inferred from the frequency 

 with which a sentence is preceded by an unnecessary 

 and inexplicable "thus," by the use of the word "mo- 

 mentarily" where we should say "temporarily" (ii4N 

 of "irrelevant" for "unrelated to" (136), of "aside 

 from" for "besides." On p. 105 it is suggested that the 

 " secondary shading of the wings " of certain butterflies 

 may be " a reaction of the morbidly sensitive organism 

 against the physical and chemical influences of the 

 hotter climate." On p. 100, pupae are said to be protected 

 " by often very artistic cocoons " 



All those who see much of children at Christmas-time 

 will have had occasion to notice the printed directions 

 accompanying toys which bear a familiar legend. It 

 will often be observed that these directions remain as a 

 constant source of amusement long after the toys them- 

 1 selves have come to their natural end in the dustbin. 



C 



