586 The American Naturahst. [ June, 
Scudder’s Tertiary Insects.—One of the most notable of 
recent entomological publications is Mr. S. H. Scudder’s ‘‘ Tertiary 
Insects of North America,’’ which forms the last monograph published 
by the United States Geological Survey,—a quarto volume containing ~ 
734 pages and 28 plates. - According to the author’sssummary, the 
monograph contains descriptions of 1 species of Myriapoda, 34 of 
Arachnida, 66 of Neuroptera, 30 of Orthoptera, 266 of Hemiptera, 
112 of Coleoptera, 79 of Diptera, 1 of Lepidoptera, and 23 of 
Hymenoptera, making 612 species in all. Mr. Scudder states that 
for the lower orders ‘‘ these numbers are slightly in excess of those 
obtained from the European Tertiaries, if the rich amber fauna of the 
Baltic is excluded ; for the corresponding number for the European 
species from the rocks would be approximately as follows: Myriapoda, 
1; Arachnida, 24 (recently, however, nearly doubled) ; Neuroptera, 
59; Orthoptera, 36; and Hemiptera, 218; a total of 338 species, 
against 397 for the American rocks. There is no doubt that this 
excess would be found even greater in the higher orders by the 
material already many years in hand; and the extent of insect-bear- 
ing rocks of the west, which as yet have been touched only here and 
there, isso immeasurably greater than that of similar European strata 
that only the lack of students in this field of American paleontology 
can prevent our deposits from assuming a commanding position in the 
world.” 
Packard’s Forest Insects.—The long-expected Fifth Report of 
the U. S. Entomological Commission has lately been issued. It con- r 
sists of an enlarged and revised edition of Bulletin No. 7 of the Com- 
mission, treating of ‘Insects Injurious to Forest and Shade Trees.” 
The author, Prof. A. S. Packard, is to be congratulated upon the com- — 
pletion of the report upon which-he has been at work so long. It ` 
will prove extremely useful to entomologists aş well as lovers of trees 
and forests. The volume contains forty plates, twelve of which ae 
colored, and nearly a thousand pages of letter-press. “‘ It is hoped,” 
‘says Dr. Packard, in his preface, “ that the work in its present form » 
may serve asa convenient synopsis, a starting point for future more 
detailed work, as well as a hand-book of reference for the use of future 
observers.. . . A volume could be written on the insects living On- 
any single kind of tree, and hereafter it may be expected that he 
insect population of the oak, elm, poplar, pine, and other trees will z 
treated of monographically. Certainly there could be no more inter- 
esting and profitable work for the young entomologist. ”’ 
