230 Oeological Society. 



Elementary Text-Boole of Entomology. By W. F. Kirby. 

 London : Sonnenschein and Co., 1885. 

 The title of this book is somewliat misleading, -which was probably 

 not the author's fault, as his object was to furnish " a portable 

 Hand-book, freely illustrated, in which a number of the most typical 

 and remarkable insects of all parts of the world should be popularly 

 described and figured." To this end not less than eighty -seven platea 

 of woodcuts containing 650 figures, of which more than half are 

 devoted to Lepidoptera, are given. Woodcuts are not well adapted 

 for portraying insects ; but, on the whole, the species are fairly 

 recognizable, a few, like Batocera rubus, Truxalis nasuta, Calepteryx 

 virgo, and two or three others, excepted. Most of the insects figured 

 are common in collections ; and this is an advantage as enabling the 

 beginner to name his species, always a great desideratum. 



Mr. Kirby has given short descriptions of most of the families, 

 and often of some of the species, as well as of their habits and 

 economy ; considering the necessarily limited character of the work, 

 this has been exceedingly well done. 



As to the relationship of the CoUembola and Thysanura, we should 

 prefer to follow Sir J. Lubbock, who has made them a special study, 

 and regard them not as " true insects " rather than as Neuroptera. 

 The Mallophaga also would be better placed with the Hemiptera, as 

 Gerstacker, Claus, and others have placed them. But may we ask 

 why he has invariably commenced the specific names with a capital ? 



It is, we think, very unfortunate that Mr. Kirby should have 

 reverted to the old name of Locustidse for the G-ryllidse, and that 

 he should have adopted AcJieta for the classical Gryllus. The for- 

 mer name, a section of the genus Gryllus of Linnaeus (by whom it 

 was first used, and not by Pabricius), should, by the law of priority, 

 revert to the mole-cricket {Oryllotalpa). It is perhaps quite as 

 unfortunate that he, in following the vicious practice of the Munich 

 Catalogue, which pays no attention to names previously used, pro- 

 vided that they are not used for Coleoptera, should have adopted the 

 generic name of the kangaroo for the harlequin beetle that forms 

 his frontispiece. 



Mr. Kirby's volume will be very useful to those who only require 

 a general idea of insect-forms ; to the traveller, who cannot carry 

 many books with him, it will give a clue to the systematic position 

 of almost any insect he may acquire. 



PROCEEDINGS OE LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 

 April 29, 1885.— Prof. T. G. Bonney, D.Sc, LL.D., E.R.S., 

 President, in the Chair. 



The following communication was read : — 



" On the Structure of the Ambulacra of some Eossil Genera 

 and Species of Regular Echinoidea." By Prof. P. Martin Duncan, 

 M.B. (Loud.), E.R.S., V.P. Linn..Soc., F.G.S. 



After noticing the general knowledge which exists about the 



