154 



NATURE 



[April 7, 1910 



to the manner in which the worlc has been produced 

 by the publishers, it is a satisfactory and remarkably 

 cheap publication, but the illustration of the head of 

 Cysticcrcus bovis on p. 112 is quite unworthy of the 

 book, and more information should be given on the 

 important subject of the inspection of canned food. 



A NEW CATALOGUE OF HEMIPTERA. 



Catalogue of the Hemiptera [Heteroptera), with 

 Biological and Anatomical References, Lists of 

 Food-Plants and Parasites, <2»-c. Prefaced by a 

 Discussion on Nomenclature, and an Analytical 

 Table of Families. Vol. i., Cimicidaj. By G. W. 

 Kirkaldy. Pp. xl+392. (Berlin : Felix L. Dames, 

 1909.) 



NOW that the study of entomology has become so 

 widely extended, and of so much more import- 

 ance, both medically and agriculturally, than was even 

 suspected a few years ago, the publication of cata- 

 logues of the various orders and families of insects at 

 frequent intervals has become an absolute necessity, 

 for monographs and catalogues have become as indis- 

 pensable to the study of any group of natural objects 

 as are grammars and dictionaries to the study of a 

 language. Often when a catalogue is published in 

 several volumes, the stimulus to the study of the 

 groups with which they deal is so great that the 

 earlier ones are practically almost out of date before 

 the later ones can be issued. . 



The last catalogue of the Hemiptera Heteroptera, 

 by Lethierry and Severin, was not completed, though 

 three volumes were published in 1893, 1894, and 1896, 

 and therefore a new and complete catalogue was much 

 wanted. Mr. Kirkaldy expected to complete it in 

 six or seven volumes, of which this is the first. The 

 second volume is stated to be in the press, and the 

 third in active preparation. 



Some years ago, the energetic author (who was a 

 Scotchman) left the British Islands and went out to 

 Honolulu, where he broke his leg, and it was probably 

 this accident which gave him sufficient leisure to carry 

 out so long and tedious a work as the present cata- 

 logue. We much regret that since the present volume 

 was placed in our hands for review, we have received 

 news of the death of the author at San Francisco, 

 whither he had proceeded for an operation, which has 

 terminated fatally. 



Although we may not agree with all the author's 

 dicta respecting nomenclature, his remarks on this 

 difficult and intricate subject will be read with 

 interest by students of other branches of zoology than 

 that immediately concerned. There is also much in- 

 formation given respecting the bibliography, deter- 

 mination of types, and classification of the insects 

 with which the author deals ; and a table is given of 

 the twenty-six families into which he divides the 

 Heteroptera, of which only the first, Cimicidae, is 

 included in the present volume. The Cimicidae are 

 divided into ten subfamilies, as follows : — Cimicinae 

 ( = Asopinae), Pentatominae, Phyllocephalinae, Phlceinae, 

 Dinidorinae, C3rtocorinae, Scutellerinae, Aphylinae, 

 Coptosominae ( = PlataspincE), and Tesseratominae. 

 NO. 21 10, VOL. 83] 



Four more families were intended to be included in 

 vol. ii., and three more in vol. iii. 



In addition to full references to genera and species 

 (the latter arranged in alphabetical order under each 

 genus), references are given to biological, anatomical, 

 and general notes, and to descriptions of metamor- 

 phoses ; lists of food-plants, parasites, predators, prey, 

 &c., are added. Fossil species are included. The 

 range is also given at unusual length, and tables are 

 added giving the number of species of each genus 

 found in the various geographical regions and sub- 

 regions. 



On the whole, this is an unusually comprehensive 

 catalogue, and we hope that it will be possible to 

 make arrangements for its completion, notwithstand- 

 ing the untimely death of the author. W. F. K. 



OUR BOOK SHELF. 

 British Wild Flowers tn their Natural Colours and 



Form. By the Rev. Prof. G. Henslow. Pp. 



xii + 318; with more than 200 coloured illustrations 



by Miss Grace Layton. (London : S.P.C.K., 1910.) 



Price 8s. 

 Flowers of the Field. By the late Rev. C. A. Johns- 



Entirely rewritten and revised by Prof. G. S. 



Boulger. 32nd edition. Pp. Iii + 926. (London : 



S.P.C.K., 1910.) Price ys. 6d. 

 It appears that the publishers of Anne Pratt's "Wild 

 Flowers," issued many jears ago in two small 

 volumes, have deemed it advisable to arrange a com- 

 plete revision, which has resulted in the thick octavo 

 v^olume forming the subject of this notice. The new 

 title suggests that the illustrations, about 200 in 

 number, are regarded as the leading feature of the 

 book, but the descriptive text will be found no less 

 attractive and well adapted for the less professional 

 student of flowers for whom the book is chiefly in- 

 tended. Apart from the fact that the Royal Horti- 

 cultural Society awarded a silver flora medal to the 

 artist, Miss Layton, it would be gathered from 

 observation that the original drawings were correct 

 and graceful representations of the wild flowers, but 

 several of the reproductions are not very satisfactory 

 in the matter of colour; to get the best effect, the 

 plates should be examined by artificial light. 



With regard to the subject-matter, so far as the 

 plants described in the earlier work have been re-illus- 

 trated, the author has incorporated much of the 

 original material ; beyond that, he has drawn on his 

 extensive store of botanical knowledge for the text to 

 accompany the figures of plants now introduced, and 

 for the additional space consequent upon the increased 

 size of the book. The information supplied refers to 

 the characters of the selected and allied plants, and to 

 the etymology of their names ; also medicinal or 

 economic uses and striking morphological features 

 are noted. There are some discrepancies in the details 

 regarding cultivated plants. Thus, the tree from 

 which gamboge is obtained now passes as Garcinia 

 morella; the pistillate plant of Garrya has been intro- 

 duced into this country and cultivated at Kew for 

 som.e years ; further, there is reason to hope that the 

 cultivation of indigo in India will not go under, as 

 some users of the dye find it superior to the synthetic 

 article. 



Two more important features should be noticed; 

 these are the inclusion of a synopsis of the families 

 represented and the arrangement which follows the 

 sequence of Bentham and Hooker; the glossary of 

 technical terms will also be useful. It will be found 

 that the reconstructed work is fuller and more scien- 



