Bibliography. 387 



dable array of scientific names and terms which it presents to the beginner ; and 

 some men of mean and contracted minds have made themselves merry at the 

 expense of naturalists, and have sought to bring the writings of the latter into 

 contempt, because of the scientific language and names they were obliged to em- 

 ploy. Entomology, or the science that treats of insects, abounds in such names 

 more than any other branch of natural history ; for the diff'erent kinds of insects 

 very far outnumber the species in every class of the animal, vegetable, and min- 

 eral kingdoms. It is owing to this excessive number of species, and to the small 

 size, and unobtrusive character of many insects, that comparatively very few have 

 received any common names, cither in our own or in other modern tongues ; and 

 hence most of those that have been described in works of natural history, are 

 known only by the scientific names. The latter have the advantage over other 

 names in being intelligible to all well-educated persons in all parts of the world; 

 while the common names of animals and plants in our own and other modern 

 languages are very limited in their application, and moreover are often misapplied. 

 For example, the name weevil is given, in this country, to at least six different kinds 

 of insects, two of which are moths, two are flies, and two are beetles. Moreover, 

 since nearly four thousand species of weevils have actually been scientifically 

 named and described ; when mention is made of ' the weevil,' it may well be a 

 subject of doubt to which of these four thousand species the speaker or writer 

 intends to refer; whereas if the scientific name of the species in question were 

 made known, this doubt would at once be removed. To give to each of these 

 weevils a short, appropriate, significant, and purely English name, would be very 

 difficult, if not impossible; and there would be great danger of overburdening the 

 memory with such a number of names ; but by means of the ingenious and simple 

 method of nomenclature invented by Linnaeus, these weevils are all arranged un- 

 der three hundred and fifty five generical or sir-names, requiring in addition only 

 a small number of different words like christian names, to indicate the various 

 species or kinds." 



To give an analysis of the work is scarcely practicable. From the 

 nature of the case it cannot be expected to be perfect, for the study of 

 this branch of science has been little prosecuted in this country ; and 

 the united and long-continued labors of many persons are needed to 

 explore so wide a range. But we confidently recommend Dr. Harris's 

 work as a most comprehensive synopsis of what has hitherto been done 

 in this department by others, enriched with large contributions resulting 

 from his personal labors. The style of the treatise is characterized by 

 simplicity and good sense. 



To the mere scientific entomologist, the book will be very accepta- 

 ble on account of the many new species which it describes, and the 

 many valuable facts and suggestions with which it is interspersed. We 

 hope it will give an impulse to the study of insects among us, and in- 

 duce many more to assist in reaping the large harvest which lies before 

 American entomologists. 



We wish that the author had given figures of the insects which he 

 has described ; for as every one knows, an animal is recognized, es- 

 pecially by the unscientific, much more readily by a drawing than by 

 a description. But from a hint in the prefatory letter, we are led to 



