356 Linnaan Society ; — 



Zoology, — and we hope his disciples may be numerous, — Mr. Kingsley 

 has given a description of the dredge and dredging, and of the mode 

 of forming an aquarium, the former extracted from Mr. Gosse's 

 • Devonshire Coast.' 



We regret, however, to see such a faulty list of works recommended 

 to the beginner in Zoology as that with which Mr. Kingsley con- 

 cludes. Several of our best English works, even on Marine Zoology, 

 such as Forbes's British Starfishes, and the British MoUusca of Forbes 

 and Hanley, are entirely omitted ; and we are told that " for Ornitho- 

 logy, there is no book after all like dear old Bewick" ! — a statement 

 that will be ratber surprising to the possessors of Yarrell's * British 

 Birds,' a work which is not even mentioned. 



We are also sorry to see that Mr. Kingsley has fallen into the 

 common cant of talking about " closet and book naturalists," " big- 

 word mongers," "synonym makers," and the like. This practice, 

 which has become almost universal amongst our popular writers, 

 arises, as a general rule, from their knowing little or nothing of the 

 real nature of the things which they take upon themselves to censure, 

 and if they were called upon to lay down rules by which the evils 

 they cry out about might liave been avoided, we suspect they would 

 find themselves somewhat at a loss. These writers either don't 

 know, or won't say, that it is the abuse of these things that is inju- 

 rious and absurd, and their readers are of course unable to make 

 the distinction. For this very reason, however, these tirades do all 

 the more harm, as they beget in the mind of the beginner a feeling 

 of contempt for the only means by which he can be sure of obtaining 

 mformation. 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



LINN/EAN SOCIETY. 



May 1, 1855.— Thomas Bell, Esq., President, in the Chair. 



Read a paper entitled, " Notes on the White Secretion of the 

 Ftata limbata, and on its relation to the Insect White Wax of China." 

 By Dr. Charles AJurchison, formerly of the Bengal Medical Service. 



The author's observations were drawn from an insect which he 

 had found in the month of A\)x\\ 1854, in the jungles in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Rangoon, specimens of wliich were exhibited to the 

 Society. This insect was observed adhering in clusters to the 

 leaves and twigs of various s])ecies of plants in the jungles, impart- 

 ing to them a beautifid snow-white ajipearance. On endeavouring 

 to secure one of the leaves with the adhering insects, a number of 

 perfect heraijiterous insects furnished with four wings, and a little 

 larger than a common house-fly, were observed to spring by sudden 

 jerks in various directions, leaving the white matter still adhering to 

 the leaf. On close inspection, this white matter was found to 

 consist of a number of insect-cases, each furnished with six legs, 



