March 15, 1894] 



NA rURE 



459 



much new light uptm them. The contrast between the 

 handsome and comparatively fair Reshiats and the ill- 

 favoured and artificially deformed Buma and Marie 

 people is singularly marked, although the tribes reside 

 near each other. The Bunia- Marie women wear lip 

 ornaments, clo-ely resembling those of the Botocudo and 

 other savages of the Amazon basin. Dwelling on the 

 west side of Lake Rudolf, the Turkana tribes set some of 

 the most curious fashions in hair-dressing that even the 

 African mind has devised. 



For some time to come this district, first entered by 

 Count Teleki and Lieut, von Hohnel, will be the b.ise for 

 new explormg journeys of high importance; but it is diffi- 

 cult of acct-ss, and all those who have tried to follow in 

 the footsteps of the pioneers, have so far been obliged to 

 turn back unsuccessful. H. R. M. 



THE BEETLES OF NEW ZEALAND} 



''piMES have changed since the founders of entomology 



* considered it sufficient to use the words " in Indiis," 

 when they were unacquainted with the locality of an 

 insect they were describing ; nor would it be possible now 

 to publish a volume of " Insects of India," like Donovan's, 

 issued no longer ago than the beginning of the present 

 century, in which many of the species represented on 

 the plates are conspicuous South American or African 

 butterrties. At present it is hardly considered lawful to 

 describe an insect without an exact locality, and the 

 number of specie^ has increased to an extent of which 

 the older entomologists never dreamed. We cannot at 

 present be acquainted with 'much fewer than 300,000 

 species of insects from all parts of the globe, and yet 

 none but a lew, even among entomologists themselves, 

 have any conception of how much yet remains to be done 

 before our knowledge of the insects of the world can be 

 considered anything like complete ; and some entomo- 

 logists of great experience now mention ten millions as 

 a mere guess at the approximate number of existing 

 species. 



But our knowledge of the insects of various countries 

 is now being largely extended by the publication of local 

 monographs of different groups of insects, mostly, but 

 not always, relating to the Lepidoptera. These mono- 

 graphs are of the greatest value as a basis for future 

 research, and are especially important in the case of 

 islands lor several reasons. 



Firstly, an island has a restricted area, and hence its 

 fauna forms a compact whole ; nor can there usually arise 

 much difficulty in ascertaining what species are really 

 indigenous. 



Secondly, from the restricted area of islands, and the 

 facilities they offer for colonisation and cultivation, the 

 bulk of the native fauna and llora is peculiarly liable to be 

 exterminated, not merely from the advance of cultivation, 

 with its usual accompaniments of clearing of forests and 

 drainage of marshes, but from the irruption of powerful 

 competitors in the shape of dominan-, if not almost 

 cosmopolitan species from abroad. 



Thirdly, many insular species, especially in the case of 

 oceariic islands, are endemic, being p:culiar to the 

 locality, and found nowhere else in the world, and are 

 thus liable to be lost to science for ever. Nor are we yet 

 in a position to estimate the value of such species. It is 

 even not impossible that in some cases, at least, they may 

 be the last remnants of the productions of some long- 

 vanished continent, and they may some day prove of 

 service in helping us to map out the rough features of 

 the former geography of the world. 



• " New Zealand Institute. Manual of the New Zealand Coleoptera." 

 By Captain Thomas Hroun Parts v., vi., vii. Published by the Board 

 of Govern Ts Wellington, New Zealand. (Government Printing Office : 

 Samuel Co^tall i?93.) 



NO. 1 272, VOL. 49] 



The volume before us, although issued as parts v., vi., 

 and vii. of Captain Broun's " Manual of New Zealand 

 Coleop/era," is really a supplement to the well-known and 

 extremely useful work published by the Geological Survey 

 and Museum Department between iSSoand 1886. These 

 parts, issued as i.-iv., comprised 973 pages, and in- 

 cluded descriptions of 1756 species. The present supple- 

 ment continues the pagination to 1504 pages, and 

 includes descriptions of 836 new species, thus raising the 

 number of New Zealand beetles to 2592 ; and Captain 

 Broun considers that over 700 species still remain un- 

 described. It will therefore be seen that, notwithstanding 

 the extremely insular character ot the New Zealand fauna, 

 there is every reason to believe that the number of species 

 of Coleoptera will ultimately far exceed that of our British 

 beetles, which are not now considered to amount to quite 

 3000 species. 



Dr. Hector, the Director of the Colonial Museum, 

 Wellington, remarks, in his preface to Capt. Broun's 

 work : 



" Of the present additions, 660 have been described by 

 Captain Broun, 172 by Dr. David Sharp, four by Mr. 

 Matthews, and one by M. Fauvel ; and in order to 

 place these species in proper systemat^^ic position. Captain 

 Broun has found it necessary to establish several new 

 genera." 



It is impossible to ciiticise a work like this, consisting 

 almost entirely of technical descriptions of genera and 

 species. A very few corrections to the former parts of 

 the work are prefixed to this volume, in addition to a 

 not very formidable list of errata. It is obvious that there 

 could be no room in a book of this kind for more than a 

 few of the most important comments which might be 

 made on the earlier portions. 



There is a good systematic index at the beginning of 

 the volume, and we do not think that as there is no 

 synonymy, the absence of an alphabetical index is of 

 any importance. But we should have liked to have 

 seen an index of localities, for although the places 

 mentioned may be, and probably are, fam.iliar to 

 New Zealand coloni-ts, yet other coieopterists may 

 wish to know, at least, in which island each insect was 

 taken ; and in the case of mountain species, the approxi- 

 mate altitude, if known, should be recorded. We cannot 

 have too much or too exact infor nation on matters of 

 this kind. W. F. Kirby. 



NOTE.^. 



The preliminary arrangements for the seventh International 

 Congress of Hygiene and Demography, to be held at Budapest 

 from the ist to the gih of next Sepn-mher, are well advanced, 

 as many as 440 papers having alr.aily been promised. Most 

 of these treat of hygienij suh)jects, but 78 papers are devoted to 

 demography. The Congress will be opened by the Archduke 

 Karl Ludwig. 



The Government has decided to plaiie the direction of the 

 Customs and Inland Revenue Lahoraiones under one adminis- 

 trative chief, to be styled the Principal Chemist of the Govern- 

 ment Laboratories. The Prmcipil C tie . list will aLo receive 

 references from the Board of Ai^riculture, the Local Government 

 Board, and other Government departments. The appointment, 

 which is in the gift of the Trea>ury, ha- been offered to, and has 

 been accepted by, Prof. Thorpe, F. R. S., whj thereby vacates 

 the Chair of Chemistry in the Royal College of Science, which 

 he has held since 1885. 



Dr. Arthur W. Bishop, late Assistant Professor at the 

 Ileriot-Watt College, Edirjhurgh, has been appointed, by the 

 Secretary of State for India, Prolessor ol Chemistry in his High- 

 ness the Maharajah of Travancore's College at Trivandrum, 

 Travancore. 



