886 Recent Literature. [ November, 
The special student of butterflies, and the general student of 
Lepidoptera, will doubtless find fault with some statements and 
conclusions in the book. The author divides the butterflies into 
four “ families,’ which we should regard as sub-families ; he splits 
up: genera to what seems to us to be a most extreme degree, and 
quite unnecessary in a book designed for popular use, where only 
the leading groups need to be emphasized, and the subordinate 
groups may be suppressed ; why should the old name Papilio be 
given to what every one knows by the name of Vanessa antiopa, 
and the genus Papi/zo cut up into a genus for nearly each species; 
the rule of priority is an excellent one, but in rare cases, and 
especially such as this, need not be relentlessly followed. The 
old genus Hesperia has been also remorselessly subdivided. If 
this was done in the lower families of moths, as it could be on 
the same grounds, it would result in a burdensome and useless 
list of generic names. Is it not better to indicate such subdi- 
visions rather by numbers than names; and cannot the system- 
atist leave a little margin for the movements of nature in what at 
best is a direful straight jacket ? We deplore the present extreme 
tendency to analytical views in classification; and believe that the 
results of catholic, extended study over different orders and 
classes of animals, and especially of variations in species and 
genera, induces more conservative and synthetical methods. 
mong minor points which we should indicate, is the account 
of the development of the embryo on p. 11, which does not seem 
to us to be either clear or exact; on p. 14 in his account of the 
mouth-parts of the caterpillar, the author needlessly bewilders 
the student by speaking of the “ astonishing number of moveable 
organs,” when there are primarily but three pairs of such organs, 
it seems to us that this portion is less clear and simple than the 
succeeding chapters. It has been pretty well shown by embry- 
ologists that there are four segments in the head of winged 
insects corresponding to the four pairs of jointed appendages, v!z., 
the antennze, mandibles, and first and second maxilla. Where 
are we to look for more? This is the view which has been pre- 
