108 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Out Door Studies : a Reading Book of Nature Study, by James G. Needham ; 1 vol. 

 pp. SO. New York, Cincinnati, Chicago : American Book Company. 



These are a series of stories of animal life, written in a charmingly interesting way> 

 and designed to lead on a youthful reader to observe for himself the wonders of nature 

 that are everywhere open to his view. It begins with an account of the common wild 

 Sna*/-Dragon or " butter and eggs," and tells how the peculiar structure of the flower is 

 designed for the visits of the bumblebees who come for the nectar and carry off the 

 pollen as well. The next chapters are on Chipmunks ; Galls and their makers ; the 

 Golden-rod and its visitors and tenants ; Crows and their Doings ; Dragon- Flies which, 

 as our readers may remember, have been special objects of the author's studies ; Eye- 

 spots on insects which aid in the protection of their owners ; and Ant-lions. Any boy or 

 girl, who takes up the book and dives a little way into its pages, will surely read on with 

 delight and when the little volume is closed, be anxious to sally forth and see if he (or 

 she) cannot find some similar marvels of nature and learn their meaning, while admiring 

 their beauty. 



The book is one of a series designed for the use of school-children who are about to 

 enter the High Schools. It is beautifully illustrated with about ninety wood-cuts, the 

 work of Mrs. Needham, the author's wife, and is provided with an index, and a list of 

 the scientific names of the animals and plants referred to in the text. 



C. J. S. B. 



The Pterophorid^ of North AMERiCA.by C H. Fernald, A.M., Ph.D., Revised Edition. 

 July 30th, 1898. Boston: Wright & Potter Printing Co., 18 Post Office Square, 

 1 vol , 8vo, 84 pp., 9 plates. 

 Any one who has a copy of Professor Fernald's manual of the Orambidse of North 

 America will hardly need to be told that this later work is exactly what every student or 

 collector of the Micro-depidoptera wants, and that the way is now made easy for him 

 when he wishes to identify his Piume-moths and learn all that is thus far known about 

 the North American species. It is characterized by its author's well- known accuracy and 

 conciseness of statement, and is a complete monograph of the family as far as this con- 

 tinent is concerned. It begins with an historical account of the family in the writings of 

 European Entomologists and the more recent publications in America. This is followed 

 by short chapters on the structure, habits, early stages and systematic position of the 

 Plume-moths. The body of the work is taken up with descriptions of the genera and 

 species, including very useful synopses in each case. Three of the plates illustrate the 

 external anatomy and the structure of the wings, the remainder depict the genitalia of 

 the species. We miss, however, the exquisite coloured plates that so beautifully illus- 

 trated the Crambidse. We need not say more than that this is a full and entirely 

 satisfactory work on the Pterophoridse and that it maintains the high standard of 

 excellence that we now expect in the author's scientific productions. 



C. J. S. B. 



Agriculture, by C. C. James, 200 pp., George N. Morang, publisher, Toronto, 1898. 



It has been the lot of few authors to accomplish satisfactorily what in their pref ac e 

 they state to have been their object as Prof. James has in preparing the 200 page 

 Manual of Agriculture which has lately been given to the farmers of Canada. The 

 author has had special opportunities, which he has made the most of, of learning not only 

 what was needed by the intelligent farmers of the Dominion, but what was the best way 

 of presenting this information to them. Both as Professor of Chemistry at the Ontario 

 Agricultural College and as Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Prof. James has been 

 brought into close contact with the leading and rising farmers of Ontario. The new 

 Manual will fill a decided want, which is none the less from the fact that this want may 

 not have been noticed by some until their attention was drawn to it by seeing how well 

 it has been filled. 



