July 19, 1888] 



NATURE 



267 



Madagascar and Abyssinia, where females and males 

 are alike. 



The plates, on which a selection of the less known 

 species are depicted, are chromolithographs, and are 

 rather uneven in quality, as is usually the case in 

 drawings of butterflies by this process. Some of the 

 figures are admirable, while others, such as the Lycaenidae, 

 are not at all satisfactory. Notwithstanding this defect, 

 we can safely say that Mr. Trimen's "South African 

 Butterflies" is the best-planned and best-executed work 

 of its kind that has yet appeared. It cannot fail to 

 promote an accurate study of the Lepidoptera of the 

 country of which it treats ; and it may serve as a model 

 for entomologists to follow when writing of the butterflies 

 in other portions of the world. 



Mr. F. Moore's book on new Indian Lepidoptera, the 

 third and concluding part of which is before us, is a work 

 of a very different character from Mr. Trimen's, and con- 

 sists of descriptions of new species from the collection of 

 the late Mr. W. S. Atkinson. Mr. Moore has long been 

 engaged on work of this kind, and every year issues 

 scores of descriptions of Lepidoptera, chiefly Heterocera, 

 of India. His former position as Assistant Curator to 

 the Indian Museum placed him in communication with 

 a number of correspondents, who have helped him to 

 gather together probably the most important collection 

 of Indian Lepidoptera in existence. Without such a 

 collection no work like the present could be undertaken. 

 We confess, however, to a feeling of despair as to the 

 future of the subject treated of when we glance at 

 the descriptions before us. They are descriptions of 

 the barest kind, scarcely relieved by a few comparisons, 

 and with hardly a note to break the tedious monotony of 

 the frequent repetition of the same characters over and 

 over again. Whether future workers will be able to 

 determine species by them without reference to the types 

 is more than we can say, but we do not envy them the 

 task of trying the experiment. And here we note with 

 regret that the types of these species are not to be found 

 in our National Collection, but in the possession of Dr. 

 Staudinger, of Dresden, and some of them in Mr. Moore's 

 own cabinets. This might have been otherwise had more 

 interest been shown by our home authorities in the 

 productions of our great dependency. 



On the title-page of this part it is stated that members of 

 the families Pyralidae,Crambidae, Geometridas, Tortricidae, 

 Tineidae are treated of, but in the body of the work new 

 species are referred to no less than twenty-three other 

 families of Heterocera. In the present state of the classi- 

 fication of Heterocera such an oversight is hardly to be 

 wondered at. No serious attempt has been made for 

 many years to place the classification of the moths on 

 a sound and definite basis. The old systems are to a 

 great extent obsolete, and the more recent attempts to 

 modify them, by their halting and spasmodic character, 

 have increased rather than lessened the confusion. 



Mr. Moore has introduced a number of new generic, 

 names into this work, but he seldom gives any clue 

 to the relationship of the proposed new genus. On 

 p. 283 he commences descriptions of some " additional 

 species " by introducing five new generic names for 

 sections of the great genus Papilio. Whether this 

 genus should be divided into many or left as a large 



aggregate of species is a disputed point, but we have 

 no hesitation in condemning the plan here adopted of 

 thrusting these names upon us in this piecemeal fashion. 

 To anyone who will give the whole subject a careful 

 examination and work out the diagnostic characters of 

 the groups of this wonderful genus we are prepared to 

 give a patient and respectful hearing ; but to name sec- 

 tions here and there, with brief descriptions which are 

 anything but diagnostic, is a practice to be deprecated. 



Three coloured plates accompany this part, on which 

 eighty-seven species are depicted. These are carefully 

 drawn and nicely coloured, and form a substantial 

 addition to the book. 



We note that the first sheet of this part bears the date 

 of September 5, 1887, but the title-page that of 1888. 

 The meaning of this is not obvious, as the former is 

 valueless in face of the later date of the title-page and 

 wrapper. 



FACTORS IN LIFE. 

 Factors in Life. By H. G. Seeley, F.R. S. "People's 



Library Series." (London : Society for Promoting 



Christian Knowledge, 1888.) 

 r FHE book before us is one of the useful series of 

 J- household guide books, published by the Society 

 for Promoting Christian Knowledge and intended to 

 instruct the people in some of the more important laws 

 of health. There are so many guide books on this 

 subject at the present time that Prof. Seeley has, we 

 feel sure, found it a difficulty of no slight kind to put 

 before his readers the material he had in hand, so as to 

 feel that he was supplying anything that by its novelty 

 could be considered acceptable. Happily the enormous 

 importance of his theme has come to his aid, and has 

 enabled him to bring forth an essay which makes up 

 in earnestness whatever it may, by very necessity, want 

 in originality ; for health is like truth — it can never be 

 confirmed enough, nor have too many able expositors. 



The factors in life treated of by our author are 

 health, food, and education. Health he defines, very 

 tersely, as " the condition of life in which the body 

 produces more energy than is lost in performing our 

 work"; and then he proceeds to indicate the various 

 methods, habits, and practices by which it can be secured 

 by the individual and by the community at large. With 

 much prudence the Professor dwells on the obstacles that 

 lie in the way of health from the expense that attends 

 their application. He illustrates this uncommonly well 

 in regard to cleanliness. " The difficulty," he says, " of 

 securing the universal practice of the habit is chiefly a 

 matter of expense. There are few pleasures more costly 

 than perfect cleanliness, since it implies labour in every 

 detail." Here, too, he enforces what all practical sani- 

 tarians have foreseen, that such labour can never be 

 satisfactory unless the woman of the house, the wife, can 

 direct and take part in it, " because servants can in no 

 other way become of the same flesh and blood as their 

 employers. Personal cleanliness to ; be of any value 

 must extend to all members of a household. It is 

 as important for the servants as for the mistress, for 

 they are often exposed to greater chances of infection, 

 and have greater capacity for diffusing disease. If the 



