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kext, “20| ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS 235 
studying a group, and certainly honest painstaking effort should not be 
called ‘‘guessing,’”’ unless the critic has a better interpretation to offer. 
The author’s attitude toward trinomials is not that taken in most 
present-day zoological works, and he has been led, by following a dog- 
matic conception of possible but unproven intergradation, into associat- 
ing as ‘‘varieties’’ a large number of forms which are considered as dis- 
tinct species by more than a few workers in the Orthoptera. This has 
been done, in a number of cases, without the study of sufficient material 
to gain a personal conception of the constancy or inconstancy of the fea- 
tures which are there denied specific weight. In many of his associations 
of forms as “varieties” or what not we cannot but feel Prof. Blatchley 
has acted without proper consideration of the facts known to exist, has 
permitted a mental bias to govern many of his decisions. His attitude 
toward geographic races (p. 7) shows a failure to grasp the true inward- 
ness of original constancy as an index to racial recognition. 
The section treating of the external anatomy of a locust is relatively 
full, but contains certain features worthy of note, one as an important 
correction, as on page 14 it is stated the labial palpi are attached to the 
‘Jabrum.”” The slip for labium is, of course, evident to the initiated, 
but the text figure accompanying might readily convey to the tyro the 
same impression as the incorrect text. It is unfortunate that certain of 
the anatomical figures, taken from Lugger, contain reference symbols 
which are nowhere explained in the text before us, and it would have been 
more in keeping with the general plan of the anatomical section if the 
structure of the venation of the hind wings had been considered somewhat 
in detail, as the venation arrangement is known to be important in the 
classification of the Acrididae, to say nothing of certain of the other 
families. 
In the ‘Descriptive Catalogue” we find the arrangement is under the 
form of suborders, i. e., Dermaptoria, Cursoria, Gressoria and Saltatoria; 
the first of these equals the Dermaptera of most present authors, the Cur- 
soria comprise the Blattidae or cockroaches, the Gressoria are made up 
of the Mantidae and Phasmidae, while the Saltatoria are composed of 
the generally associated saltatorial families, the Acrididae, Tettigoniidae 
and Gryllidae. Under each family the general method is to give a sum- 
marized description of the physical form, special appendages, life history, 
approximate number of known species and number known from America 
north of Mexico, while the principal literature is cited and a key to the 
subfamilies given. Under the subfamilies the treatment consists of 
physical features, key to genera and other pertinent matter. The gen- 
eric treatment is similarly made up of a summary of the features and a 
key to the species where more than a single species is treated. The spe- 
cific treatment consists of a description, with measurements, a general 
statement of distribution within and outside of the territory covered, com- 
ments on habits, often accompanied by a word sketch of the insect and 
