June-0ct.,i92i Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological SocietylOi 



BOOKS. 



Catalogue of the Coleoptera of America, North of Mexico. 

 By Charles W. Leng. (Published by John D. Sherman, Jr., 

 Mount Vernon, N. Y., 1920.) One volume, large octavo, of 

 X -j- 470 pp., with one chart. 



It is a great pleasure to have the privilege of introducing to the 

 readers of this Bulletin the eagerly expected catalogue of North 

 American beetles written by Mr. Charles W. Leng, for many 

 years one of the most active members of the Brooklyn Entomo- 

 logical Society. Only those who have attempted work along 

 similar lines can fully appreciate the tremendous amount of pains- 

 taking labor which Mr. Leng must have devoted to listing some 

 30,000 references scattered in upward of 4,000 papers published 

 in Europe as well as in this country. Furthermore, it takes a 

 specialist of long experience to find his way so skillfully in the 

 almost inextricable maze of synonymy. Considering that in 

 coleopterology, perhaps more than in any other branch of ento- 

 mology, the descriptive mania seems to have had unchecked sway, 

 we are not surprised to read in the Preface that " No attempt has 

 been made to determine the validity of the numerous specific 

 names proposed by recent authors." 



The aims and preferences of the various students in this field 

 are so diversified that any one courageous enough to tackle the 

 subject could not well be expected to satisfy more than a portion 

 of them. The collector, the taxonomist, the student of phylogeny 

 and geographic distribution, the ecologist, the economic entomolo- 

 gist — each has his own point of view, which he only too readily 

 considers paramount. But Mr. Leng has been particularly suc- 

 cessful in appealing to all and was fortunate in enlisting the help 

 and criticism of the leading North American coleopterists whose 

 names appear in the Preface. Perhaps I may be permitted to 

 make special mention here of the untiring assistance which the 

 author received from Mr. Andrew J. Mutchler, of the American 

 Museum of Natural History. A number of specialists assisted 

 in drawing up the lists of certain families : Mr. A. B. Wolcott, 

 the Cleridae; Messrs. A. S. Nicolay and W. J. Chamberlin, the 



