2o6 Reviews and Book Notices, 



by some very third-rate sketches, one of which, entitled ' Daisies are — 

 daisies' tempts us to add ' except when illustrated in Mr. Westell's book.' 

 The volume is dedicated to ' the Dowager Countess of Lytton as a token of 

 affection and regard,' and to her he says : ' A look — and lo, our natures 

 meet ! A word — our minds make one reply ! A touch — our hearts have 

 but one beat ! ' Our sympathies go with the Dowager Countess of 

 Lytton, though it must be nice to know that her heart ' beats as one ' 

 with that of an 'author ' with ' literary attainments,' such as W. P. 

 Westell. Thank heaven her heart has not to keep time with the beating 

 of his drum or the blowing of his trumpet. 



An Elementary Textbook of Entomology, by Dean E. Dwight Sanderson 

 and L. M. Pearis. New York : John Wiley, and Sons, Inc. ; London : 

 Chapman and Hall, Ltd., price, 7/-. This is one of the American Technical 

 Series of Books, and as the Introduction tells us, is intended as a textbook 

 for Secondary Schools. It is a good book, and the first thought that strikes 

 us on going through it is, that if there is a sufficient demand among Sec- 

 ondary Schools to make such a book pay. Entomological Science in 

 American schools is far ahead of what it is in England. Any student, 

 having studied this book thoroughly, could not fail to be possessed with 

 an excellent ground knowledge of entomological science generally, and 

 with any inclination in that direction could pass on at once to a deeper 

 study of any special branch of the subject. We know of no entomological 

 textbook in our English schools at all comparable to it, though botanical 

 students do perhaps fare better. The publishers evidently contemplate 

 a demand for the book in the United Kingdom, so is it too much to hope 

 that our Educational authority will sometime wake up to the necessity 

 for a far better groundwork in natural history science than they have 

 hitherto had any idea of ? From a hygienic point of view alone it would 

 be worth while, as no study takes one so much into the open air, and 

 induces such recreative thought, as does that of natural history science. 

 The book is divided into two pa,rts of almost equal size, the first treating 

 of ' General Entomology,' the other of ' Economic Entomology.' In the 

 first we have simple but clear and concise accounts of the Structure and 

 Development of Insects, followed by separate chapters on each of the 

 orders contained in Class Insecta, written in an interesting and fascinating 

 way for students, and in which accuracy has evidently been made a 

 special feature. We do not care for the arrangement of the various 

 orders in their relation to each other, as it differs from generally accepted 

 English notions, but that is a matter of sentiment and we are by no 

 means at one on the matter at home. The table for the separation 

 of the Orders is very good. A statement at the beginning of the 

 chapter on Coleoptera was a surprise to us. We read that ' En- 

 tomologists have, almost since the beginning of the science, shown a 

 decided preference for the beetles.' This may be because the American 

 beetles are often so much larger and showier than British species, but 

 here the lepidopterists have certainly always largely preponderated in 

 numbers over the coleopterists. The second part, ' Economic Entomo- 

 logy * contains six chapters devoted to ' Insects affecting Man and Domestic 

 Animals,' ' Insects affecting Man and Stored Food Products,' ' Field Crop 

 Insects,' 'Garden Insects,' 'Orchard Insects,' 'Insect Control.' These 

 contain the life histories of the numerous insect enemies of Man, Domestic 

 Animals and Plants, with the necessary information to prevent their 

 attacks ; and when attack has already been made, the remedies to be applied 

 to get effectually rid of it. If every young farmer and horticulturalist 

 had to make a study of this course alone, it is impossible to estimate the 

 enormous saving which would be effected, especially in grain crops, and 

 very largely also in cattle and vegetables. We are told that the Cattle 

 Tick alone is responsible for the loss of over 63 milUon dollars annually 

 in the Southern States, and that the Hessian Fly reduces the wheat crop 

 10 per cent, every year, and that 25 to 50 per cent, is frequently lost in 



Naturalist, 



