Notices of New Books. 4447 



thrown a flood of light on every part of his subject. Hence it is with 

 sincere pleasure that we recommend the ' Geodephaga Britannica ' to 

 our readers, as a work that must take its place beside those classics 

 of British Entomology, Haworth's Lepidoptera, Kirby's Bees, and 

 Shuckard's Fossorial Hymenoptera. 



Having said thus much, it seems desirable to add a few critical re- 

 marks, in order to prove to our readers and the author, first, that we 

 are really acquainted with the work we are praising ; and, secondly, to 

 point out little matters that we think susceptible of improvement. 



The greatest fault in the book we consider to be the want of uni- 

 formity in the commencement of the detailed English descriptions : 

 we have a penchant, perhaps amounting to a weakness, for those 

 little aids which adherence to a formal plan always affords : we would 

 not dictate to an author that he should treat colour, or sculpture, 

 or size, as of paramount importance, but we would, if we could, con- 

 fine him to something like order in this respect. Now, Mr. Dawson's 

 definitions appear in this respect to be without order : we do not as- 

 sert, or even hint, that there is no order, or that the descriptions them- 

 selves are insufficient, but that, on the very threshold of the definitions, 

 colour, form, size and diagnosis are perplexingly mingled. Of course 

 we must illustrate this; and we might possibly do so with some 

 humour, and certainly with some effect, were we to select extreme ex- 

 amples from different parts of the book ; but a more ingenuous, though 

 less illustrative, course, is to take a dozen consecutive species in the 

 same genus, and quoting each definition as far as the first comma : 

 here they are : — 



" Anchomenus laevis. Head and thorax greenish brass, 



rt A. viduus. Larger than laevis, 



" A. mcestus. This species is rather smaller than viduus, 



"A. atratus. The form of this species is intermediate between 

 those of mcestus and fuliginosus, 



" A. fuliginosus. Head black, 



" A. gracilis. This species is much more delicately formed than 

 the preceding and differs in several particulars, 



" A. scitulus. Shining black, 



" A. micans. Oblong ovate, 



" A. piceus. Head and thorax black, 



" A. pelidnus. Elongate, 



" A. Thoreyi. Head black or pitchy black, 



* A. quadripunctatus. This rare and remarkable species is smaller 

 than any of the preceding," — pp. 88 — 95. 



