.May 6, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



441 



In his presidential address (printed in 

 Science for January 21 last) before the 

 Zoological Section of the American Associa- 

 tion for the Advancement of Science at its 

 Chicago meeting Professor W. M. Wheeler 

 discussed the subject of organization in re- 

 search as it appears to a biologist, and pointed 

 out some of the dangers attending post-war 

 efforts in this direction. He mentioned the 

 array of instincts, emotions, and interests on 

 ■which the activities of the investigator de- 

 pend and the great diversity of mental apti- 

 tude which necessarily accompanies the genius 

 for different types of research. Professor 

 Wheeler claims that any organization dealing 

 with research should refrain carefully from 

 interfering in any degree with the free ex- 

 pression of the individual's exceptional apti- 

 tudes in his own way. In these days when 

 the amateur in scientific research is passing 

 we need to beware of fettering in any way by 

 government or other interference the activities 

 of the professional scientific man. — Nature. 



SCIENTIFIC BOOKS . 



Catalogue of the Coleoptera of America North 

 of Mexico. By Charles W. Leng. Pub- 

 lished by John D. Sherman, Jr., Mount 

 Vernon, N. Y., 1920. Pp. 470; large octavo. 

 I don't know how many collectors and stu- 

 dents of Coleoptera there may be in the 

 United States — certainly not so many as in 

 several of the Eiu-opean countries, and they 

 are probably not as numerous as the collectors 

 of Lepidoptera. But their numbers will surely 

 increase, and the labors of the present stu- 

 dents will be greatly facilitated by the appear- 

 ance of Mr. Leng^s long-expected and thor- 

 oughly admirable catalogue. 



A good, up-to-date catalogue is a tremen- 

 dous help and stimulus. The Coleoptera of 

 North America have not been comprehen- 

 sively listed since the American Entomolog- 

 ical Society published Henshaw's list in 1885, 

 more than 35 years ago, and in the mean- 

 time large groui>s have been comprehensively 

 monographed, the scheme of classification has 

 been modified in important particulars, and 



tlie names of genera and families have been 

 changed, while the number of described spe- 

 cies has increased from a little over nine 

 thousand to a little less than nineteen thou- 

 sand. 



As a result of the publication of this cata- 

 logue, the American Coleopterists for the first 

 time in many years know for the moment just 

 where they stand. And what a joy it must 

 be to them! And what a relief it is to all 

 general entomologists! I can imagine the 

 veteran, Samuel Henshaw, himself, sitting in 

 the Directoi-'s Office of the M. C. Z. at Cam- 

 bridge, heaving a deep sigh of satisfaction 

 and saying to himself, " Good ! My New 

 England conscience is at rest. What I looked 

 forward to years ago is done, and excellently 

 done." 



There are catalogues and catalogues. The 

 best ones are more than mere lists, but none 

 the less are based absolutely on the literature 

 and do not reflect too much the individual 

 views of the specialist author. Such is the 

 great synonymical Catalogue of the Coleop- 

 tera of the World by Gemminger & Harold, 

 and such is the present catalogue of which we 

 write. Its publication is an event! It is a 

 great big stepping stone! 



One like the writer, who knows the Coleop- 

 tera only in a general way, is first of all im- 

 pressed by the excellent make-up of the cata- 

 logue. It is printed upon excellent paper; 

 and it can be obtained from the publishers in 

 a vei-y good binding. The topography is of a 

 high character. These, however, while worthy 

 of especial note, are only adjuncts to the main 

 appreciation. 



One who is not familiar with the enormous 

 amount of work which has been done by clever 

 men of many countries, will not in the least 

 appreciate the difiioulties which Mr. Leng had 

 to encounter. Our conception of the general 

 classification of the Coleoptera has undergone 

 fundamental changes from the LeConte and 

 Horn classification of 1883. Many new char- 

 acters have been used by subsequent writers, 

 and advanced schemes of classification, based 

 upon these new elements, have been proposed 

 by Lameere in Belgium, Kolbe and Gangl- 



