94 , THE AMERICAN MONTHLY [April, 



Newton Natural History Society. — W. D. Grier, Reporter. 



January §., i8gi . — Mr. Frank A. Bates, of Boston, delivered a lec- 

 ture on " The Wing Anatomy of Rhopalocera." He prefaced his lec- 

 ture with a brief account of the life-history of a butterfly, tracing it from 

 the c^g to the imago, or perfect insect, capable of reproducing its kind. 

 He then described the general anatomy of the wing and its development, 

 and the many colored scales with which it is covered. Mr. Bates stated 

 that in the course of his investigations on the subject (during which he 

 examined a large number of butterflies) , he observed that the scales in- 

 creased in development toward a complex form as they neared the centre 

 of vibration and decreased as they receded from it. 



He also described the gradual change from hair to scale, observed in 

 the body and wing of the insect, and the difference in shape between 

 scales from different butterflies and from different parts of the same but- 

 terfly. 



He descril)ed the peculiar " battledore " scale of the common cabbage 

 butterfly {P. rapce)^ which he said he only found upon a limited area 

 near the disc, upon the upper surface of the anterior wings, and also a 

 scale from a Japanese butterfly, which was chiefly remarkable from its 

 large size and peculiar striation. The paper was well illustrated with 

 the lantern and views, some of which were drawn upon glass by the 

 lecturer. There was also an exhibition of lantern views of the White 

 Mountains and Antilles, and some miscellaneous slides of insect anatomy, 

 etc. 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



Open Sesame. By Blanche Wilder Bellamy and Maud Wilder Good- 

 win. Ginn & Co., Boston, 1891, 12°, pp. 361, 3 plates. 



The Open Sesame is a collection of well-chosen selections represent- 

 ing many phases of literature, dramatic and narrative, epic and lyric, 

 political and domestic. 



Such books as the present series, of which this is the third number, 

 have their place in the field of literature, and accomplish much good. 



Placing before the youthful mind the cream of poetry and eloquence, 

 they inspire a love for literature and invigorate the memory by storing 

 it with the pleasing facts of history. 



The present volume, which is especially arranged for students over 

 fourteen years old, is one of the best books of its class we have yet seen. 



Insecta. By Alpheus Hyatt and J. M. Ames. D. C. Heath & Co., 

 Boston, 1890. 300 pp., 223 figures. 



This guide is a series of replies to questions which have arisen in 

 the minds of its authors while teaching, and many of the answers are 

 given as quotations from other observers. Entomology is a science of 

 observation by no means exhausted. Indeed, the accumulations of ex- 

 perience do not yet amount to certainty, and the authors recognize that 

 their definitions and conclusions may be subject to correction. 



The guide begins with a discussion of Insecta in general, and pro- 

 ceeds to the method of classification adopted by the authors, giving 

 sixteen distinct orders. Some teachers may be loath to accept the in- 



