358 



NATURE 



\Avgust 14, 1879 



so easily, other so-called elements, and especially those 

 which, like bromine and iodine, are closely related to 

 chlorine, will not long resist the attacks to which they will 

 now be subjected ; indeed, the Messrs. Mayer already state 

 in their paper that the behaviour of iodine is similar to 

 that of chlorine. 



In concluding this notice I cannot refrain from stating 

 that to my knowledge Mr. Lockycr has for several months 

 past been engaged in the spectroscopic investigation of 

 the non-metals, and that he has repeatedly assured me 

 that the views he has already published with regard to 

 the metals are equally applicable to the non-metals. He 

 has shown me, moreover, that with the spark at a par- 

 ticular tension the red line of oxygen is one of the most 

 prominent lines in the spectrum of chlorine, the freedom 

 from which of admixed air and moisture is attested by 

 the absence of the characteristic nitrogen and hydrogen 

 lines. Mr. Lockyer regards this as confirmatory of the 

 Meyers' discovery. Henry E. Armstrong 



SCIENCE IN THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC 



Description physique de la R^picblique Argentine j d'apres 

 des Observations personelles et ^trangires. Par le Dr. 

 H. Burmeister, Directeur du Museo Publico de Budnos. 

 Ayres. Tome Cinquiime : Ldpidopteres, i" Partie, con- 

 tenant les Diurnes, Crdpusculaires et Bombycoides. 

 (Budnos-Ayres, Paris, et Halle, 1878, 8vo. ; Atlas de 

 xxiv.^ Planches, 1879, 4to.) 



IN commencing a notice of this work it is impossible to 

 avoid an expression of admiration for the persistent 

 energy displayed by its septuagenarian author. Half a 

 century has elapsed since his " inaugural dissertation " 

 (on an entomological subject) was read at Halle, and 

 during this time a continuous flow of valuable works and 

 articles has appeared from his pen, not only in the long 

 period of his professorship at Halle but also since he be- 

 came permanently located in Buenos Ayres. Now, at an 

 age when most men who have attained it have lapsed into 

 " the sere and yellow leaf," so far as laborious work is 

 concerned, we find him undertaking a gigantic enter- 

 prise, of which entomology is only a portion. All those 

 who have had occasion to consult his former works will 

 heartily acquiesce in the hope that he may live to com- 

 plete this. 



Without doubt the most valuable features of the volume 

 under consideration consist in the numerous direct ob- 

 servations by the author and his son, on the structure and 

 life-histories of the insects treated upon, from living sub- 

 jects, in contradistinction to what may be termed mere 

 museum work. In one respect disappointment will be 

 felt. It might have been expected that an author of such 

 vast experience, and with such admirable opportunities, 

 would have been explicit in expression of opinion on those 

 important subjects of philosophical inquiry that now 

 occupy the attention of all entomologists, and for which 

 South America furnishes such notable materials. 



On the question of mimicry he appears to be absolutely 

 silent, contenting himself by occasional remarks on the 

 fact of resemblances, but without comment. On the 

 theory of evolution he is scarcely more explicit, and the 

 only remarks that bear, even indirectly, on this subject 



' Of these only sixteen have as yet appeared. 



are those that appear in the " Avertissement " to the 

 description of the plates, where he says : — 



" I am unable to share the views of those specialists 

 who augment the number of species indefinitely by slight 

 variations ; on the contrary, I am a partisan of the 

 opinion, well founded on experience, that each species, 

 although from a scientific point of view fixed and up to a 

 certain point invariable, is forced to modify itself under 

 different external influences of climate and food, and that 

 these influences may, to a certain extent, alter some of the 

 subordinate specific qualities. This faculty will be greater 

 in proportion as the territory over which the species is 

 spread may be more vast, and one will only find altogether 

 invariable, those local species that have never quitted their 

 place of origin. From this restricted point of view I am a 

 partisan of the theory of the variabiUty of species." 



From this it will naturally be understood that our 

 author is no advocate for the reckless creation of " spe- 

 cies " now so alarmingly put in practice, to apparently 

 little other purpose than the gratification of the vanity of 

 those species-makers who wish to see their names at- 

 tached to an endless list of synonyms. That the author 

 is right in his reductions in the case of those species 

 inhabiting the region immediately under his observation, 

 possibly few only will dispute, and, above all, not those who 

 know the exactitude of his critical powers in this respect ; 

 but other reductions concerning forms from the more 

 northern parts of the South American Continent may be 

 open to question, unless on the standpoint taken as to 

 the value of the term " species." 



The existence in the southern portion of the vast con- 

 tinent of South America of certain genera belonging to 

 the nearctic fauna, has not escaped the author's notice. 

 He alludes to the subject more than once, even in connec- 

 tion with the purely Argentine fauna, but without further 

 comment. 



The introductory anatomical portion is, as might have 

 been expected, of the utmost value, and may be studied 

 with advantage by students of Lepidoptera generally. 

 Exception might probably be taken to too great import- 

 ance being attached to the covering of scales as an 

 attribute of the order. Instances (p. i) might have been 

 cited of the existence of "scales" in other orders, such 

 as the well-known Podiira and Thysanti'ra, many Curat- 

 lionida, some Trichoptera, certain forms of Psocidce, &c., 

 if not on the trunk itself, at any rate on the wings and 

 other appendages.' An entire chapter is devoted to the 

 structure of the scales, and the conclusion arrived at is 

 that the well-known longitudinal striations exist only on 

 the upper surface ; if the writer mistake not, microsco- 

 pists have arrived at the same conclusion from an ex- 

 amination of that favourite "test-object," the " Podura- 

 scale." 



As in all his works, the author shows himself a rigid 

 advocate for "purity of nomenclature," and does not 

 hesitate to adopt the spelling he considers the more cor- 

 rect. On the question of priority we read (p. no): "The 

 strict observance of priority of nomenclature appears to 

 me an exaggeration of scientific law ; I prefer names 

 given by masters, such as Linnd, Fabricius, Latreille, 

 &c., to those of simply collectors, as Cramer, Drury 

 Donovan, &c., following the axiom au nierite la couronne." 

 Regarding these words from a sentimental point of view, 



' The neuropterous genus, Cotiiopteryx, cited by the author (p- x, foot- 

 note), has no scales ; the coveting is apparently a waxy secretion, soluble in 

 ether. 



