744 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XV. No. 384. 



ical equipment that has been concomitant 

 with the transition from primitive to civilized 

 conditions. It is equally certain that many 

 of the current notions as to the likenesses and 

 differences of 'Naturvolker' and 'Cultur- 

 volker' rest upon presuppositions rather than 

 upon proper observation. Such researches as 

 this of Mr. Eivers bear the possibility of 

 clarifying our views as to these interesting- 

 relations. Joseph Jastrow. 

 Madison, Wisconsin. 



Monograph of the Coccidoe of the British Isles. 

 By Egbert Newstead. London, Eay So- 

 ciety, 1901.* Vol. I. Pp. 220, Pis. A-E, 

 and I.-XXXIV. 



This is the first comprehensive work on the 

 British Coccidae and is the result of over ten 

 years' study by the author, who is the fore- 

 most authority on scale insects in England. 

 The term 'British' is permitted to have a 

 very elastic meaning, since all species found 

 living in Britain are included — even those on 

 hothouse plants and on fruits in the market. 

 Thus, the Diaspis of cacti is duly given a 

 place, though nobody would think of treating 

 the cacti themselves as members of the British 

 flora. Indeed, of the thirty-eight species dis- 

 cussed in the volume, only six are genuine 

 natives of the country. This peculiar inter- 

 pretation of the term 'British' is wholly justi- 

 fiable when we consider the fact that many of 

 the most injurious coccids are those which 

 have been introduced, and indeed those most 

 commonly met with are found in hothouses on 

 imported plants. If Mr. Newstead had con- 

 fined his researches to the indigenous species, 

 his volume would have been of comparatively 

 small practical value to the British coccidolo- 

 gist or horticulturist; and as the mode of oc- 

 currence of each is precisely stated there need 

 be no confusion. Of the thirty-eight species, 

 no less than thirty-one have also been taken 

 in America, so it will readily be seen that the 

 work is of much importance to us in this 

 country. Every species is carefully described, 

 and there are beautiful colored plates of most, 

 as well as line drawings illustrating the 

 minute structural characters. Biological facts 

 * It may be useful to state that the actual date 

 of publication was the middle of December, 1901. 



of the greatest interest are recorded. The 

 genus Aulacaspis, of the present writer, is ac- 

 cepted, but defined by entirely new characters. 

 It results from this that it includes a quite 

 different series of species from those hitherto 

 referred to it, except, of course, that the type 

 species (A. rosce) remains as before. I find, 

 upon renewed study, that this new interpreta- 

 tion is apparently correct, and it marks a con- 

 siderable advance in classification. Aulacaspis 

 is now seen to be an Old World genus, while 

 Diaspis is mainly American. 



The common mussel-scale of the orange is 

 referred to Mytilaspis pinnceformis, but I 

 think incorrectly. The insect of this name 

 occurs on orchids, while that of the orange 

 {M. ieckii) has never been seen by me on 

 these plants, though it might be common on 

 orange trees with plenty of orchids growing 

 near, as is the case in Jamaica. We have to 

 do, perhaps, with a case of 'physiological 

 species,' and there is an opportunity for some 

 one to try experiments in transferring the 

 coccids from one plant to another. 



Altogether, the work is a very admirable 

 one. The only serious fault I find is that the 

 author hasnot taken sufficientpains to examine 

 the literature of his subject. Thus, he often 

 quotes Cooley's paper on Chionaspis, and yet 

 failed to learn from it that the so-called C. 

 salicis of this country is not identical with the 

 European species. The statements about the 

 exotic distribution of the species are fre- 

 quently incomplete, and sometimes inaccurate. 

 In several cases, names are cited in the 

 synonymy which were never printed in the 

 places cited; thus Leonardi wrote Aspidioius 

 (Selenaspis) articulatus, but Newstead cites 

 it Selenaspis articulatus, treating the sub- 

 genus as a genus in the synonymy, though he 

 himself regards it as only a subgenus. 



t. d. a. cockerell. 



East Las Vegas, N. M. 



SOCIETIES ATHD ACADEMIES. 



NEW YORK academy OF SCIENCES. 

 SECTION OF GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 



The regular meeting of the Section was 

 held Monday evening, March 17, with Dr. A. 



