Jan. 25, 1872] 



NATURE 



239 



Dr. Giinther and M. E. von Martens are the only two of 

 the ori;4inaI Recorders who take part in the production ol 

 this volume. Prof. Newton's section is taken by Messrs. 

 Sharpe and Dresser ; the Insecta are recorded by Messrs. 

 Rye, Kirby, Verrall, M'LachUn, and Scott ; the Arachnida 

 and Myriapoda are noticed by Mr. Cimbndge ; and the 

 Worms and concluding orders by Mr. E. R. Lankesterand 

 Prof. Traquair. The editor stands up bravely in his 

 preface for his staff, and we think he has a very good 

 right to be proud of the work done by his assistants ; 

 though we somewhat fail to perceive " the new and per- 

 haps improved modes of treatment " that he refers to. 



In proceeding to offer a few friendly criticisms on this 

 work, we would in the first place remark that both editor 

 and Recorders deserve not only the thanks of the Associa- 

 tion, but of all zoologists, for the excellent way in which 

 they have accomplished their very difficult tasks, and that 

 we trust that one and all of them will consider our com- 

 ments as meant for suggestions, and not for fault-finding. 



The two most novel features in the volume are '' The 

 List of Abbreviated Titles of Journals quoted," and " An 

 Index to the Genera and Sub-genera Recorded as New.'' 

 As to the List, until we looked over it, we confess that we 

 had an idea that there was some law that guided one in 

 abbreviating the title of a journal. The reader may, per- 

 chance, have looked over that corner of the journals of 

 some of the Continental societies in which are recorded 

 the various works sent to them in exchange ; and if so he 

 must have smiled to have seen the oftentimes funny at- 

 tempts made to abbreviate the titles of the British socie- 

 ties. We promise him that, if ever he smiled on such 

 occasions, he will smile still more when he just reads 

 through the " concise forms of citation " given in the 

 " Record," pp. 7 — 11 ; and he will, we think, exhaust his 

 patience before he finds out on what principle these 

 concise forms have been chosen. " Ibis " stands for " The 

 Ibis;" while "J. P.O." stands for '' Journal fiir Ornitho- 

 logie." " P.L.S." stands, not for " Philip Lutley Sclater," 

 as for a moment, in our innocence, we thought, but for 

 "Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society." 

 While the " Journal of the Linnean Society " is very 

 likely to be quoted in the future pages of the " Record," 

 we fancy the " Proceedings " of the society — at least since 

 1S67— will never more be referred to. Of course, any 

 symbol might serve to indicate the journal of a society ; 

 but it is rather hard to compel a reader or a consulter of 

 the " Record " to learn off some five pages of such before 

 he can get along. The other novelty supplies a very 

 great need, and one that we believe was often urged on 

 the editor of the first series. The list of names of Genera 

 and Subgenera occupies in all but five pages, and we 

 would suggest that a litcle additional space would, in future 

 years, be well spent in indicating where, when, and by 

 whom any of these names had been used before. In the 

 present instance a symbol is affixed to some of the names, 

 indicating that the name to which it is affi.xed has been 

 used before. But the list has not been properly, or even 

 very carefully, scrutinised for this purpose. On just 

 reading it over, and without referring to such valuable 

 indices as those published each year by the Zoological 

 Society of London, or without pausing at names as 

 familiar as household words to a botanist, we quote the 

 following : — .Argyritis, Hein. ; Brachyleptus, Mots. ; Cad- 



mus, Theob. ; Ceratophora, Hein. ; Chelaria, Hein. ; Dor- 

 villia, Kent ; Euchiria, Boisd. ; Eurypus, Semp. ; Euteles, 

 Hein- ; Gonia, Hein.; Helleria, Czern. ; Lamprotes, Hein. ; 

 Lucina, Wlk. ; Pephricus, Pasc. ; Perideris, Fieb. ; Plica- 

 tflla, Sdt. ; Poecilia, Hein ; Psammobates, Giinth. ; Rhi- 

 nosia, Hein. ; Thysanodes, Ramb. ; Trichocyclus, Giinth. ; 

 Trinella, Gray ; Zetobora, Wlk. ; as names all in previous 

 use, not to say that a query might well be affixed to such 

 as Cephalobares, Camb., as being no near to Cephalo- 

 barus, Schonk ; and if Ceratonia, Rond , is pronounced to 

 resemble too closely Ceratomia, Harr., which, however, 

 we do not quite see, then is there not greater danger of 

 Euplecta, Semp., being confounded with Euolectus, Kirby.' 

 It is quite possible that some of these names may, though 

 once used, have since fallen into disuse ; and it is very 

 probable that others in the list, unnoticed by us, may 

 have been in use before. To be certain about this would 

 take more time than is at our disposal ; but we feel quite 

 sure enough has been said to induce the editor to extend 

 this valuable portion of the " Record," and to make it 

 more exact in the next volume. 



May we venture also to say that to certain zoologists 

 who are in some measure ignorant of the mysteries of 

 the Bird Regions, however important from an educa- 

 tional point of view the present arrangement of this part 

 of the Record may be, it would be more generally us'iful 

 if the titles of papers were all thrown into one series This 

 would at all events avoid the trouble of cross references, 

 which savour too much of a library catalogue. When we 

 come to the Mollusca, we find a novel practice which, as 

 far as we can find, is not attempted among the Birds, and 

 which we could not fancy being adopted by the Recorder 

 of the other Vertebrates — viz., of not giving the pages on 

 which the descriptions of new species are to be found. 

 This is certainly a most mistaken economy of space, and 

 very materially detracts from the value of these portions 

 of the Record, for one great use of the Record is to entble 

 one to quote an exact reference to a species the history of 

 which one may be quite familiar with, and yet not have 

 the volume containing that history at hand. There 

 is, however, no uniformity in the master in the present 

 Record, and the Recorders that sin most in this result 

 are those of the Mollusca, Crustacea, Arachnids, and 

 among the Insecta, the Recorders of the Lepidoptera and 

 of the Diptera. 



We have been very much struck by the excellent way in 

 which the Records of the Arachnida and Insecta have 

 been executed, save that they too often quote from re- 

 prints. Mr. Cambridge and Mr. Rye's portions are 

 quite models of such work. While we acknowledge the 

 thoroughness of the work to be found in the Record 

 of the Neuroptera and Orthoptera, we regret to see the 

 criticisms on Mr. Walker's Catalogues, on p. 451. It is, 

 we take it, not the province of a Recorder to indulge in 

 such criticism, however well deserved it might be ; and 

 there are many who will remember how damaging such 

 kind of remarks, made by a certain genile entomologist, 

 were to the Insect portion of Leuckart's " Bericht." 



In his Record of the Vermes, Mr. Ray Lankester has 

 neither done himself nor his subject justice. His moie 

 of arrangement is novel and without precedent ; but he 

 has forgotten to give the number of pages to which each 

 memoir extends, and, stranger still, he overlooks quoting 



