79 



Insects Injurious to Fruits. By W. Saunders. Philadelphia : Lippincott, 1883, 8vo. 

 Illustrated with 440 woodcuts, pp. 436. Dedicated to the Fruit Growers of 

 America. 



No one will deny that this book supplies a long-felt want, and supplies it well. The 

 author's long and well-known experience as a fruit grower and entomologist, gives just 

 the qualification necessary for such work. He knows exactly what fruit growers want, 

 and in which way and manner the needed information should be given to be useful and at 

 the same time pleasing. Therefore the plan of this book is simple and to the point ; the 

 treatment of the enemies plain and sufficient, without tedious length ; the remedies re- 

 commended backed by experience, and such as can be used by everyone. All this seems 

 very simple and easy just as if everybody could do it. Often, I suppose, will it be said, 

 Why was this book not published long ago ? It is so eminently practical ! But it 

 is much easier to give long detailed descriptions than short ones, specially adapted to 

 certain purposes. It is much easier to enumerate a number of proposed remedies than 

 to select just the right one. After all, we should not forget that during late years the 

 busy and prominent students of economic entomology have advanced this department of 

 the science in a manner never equalled before this time. 



The plan of the book is as follows : Twenty different fruits — all eatable without pre- 

 paration (except quince and olive) — are treated in so many chapters. The insects injuri- 

 ous to them are arranged as attacking root, trunk, branches, leaves, fruit, always followed 

 by the enemies of those enemies — the beneficial insects. The species are profusely illus- 

 trated with excellent, often superior, woodcuts ; the well-known cuts of Mr. C. Y. Biley 

 are largely represented, and rather dangerous for all others. 



The plain and judicious manner in which remedies are recommended is a decided 

 and prominent feature of the book. There are no ambiguous, no large-mouthed sen- 

 tences, no humbug about millions lost by such an enemy, or millions saved by such a 

 remedy. There is nothing but plain truth, said in the most unpretentious words. I 

 think every scientific student is deeply obliged to the author for his happy innovation. 



Of course the author has, besides his own large experience, used all the rich and 

 splendid discoveries and observations published by other scientists. The absence of 

 quotation marks is entirely justified, as they belong to the history of the natural history, but 

 not to a practical book intended for fruit growers. Scientific students know where such 

 facts are published, and the author has in the preface fully satisfied all economic entomo- 

 logists with his acknowledgments. It is obvious that in a book treating of the history of 

 so many species, omissions and sometimes errors cannot be entirely avoided. Since the 

 book is issued and the errors are insignificant, we may safely leave them to be corrected 

 by the author himself. Bene meruit I 



Dr. H. a. Hagen, Cambridge, Mass. 



The Food Belations of the Carabid^ and Coccinellid^. By S. A. Forbes. From 

 Bulletin No. 6, 111. State Lab. of Nat. Hist., Normal, 111., Jan., 1883, 8vo, pp. 31. 



Through the kindness of the author, we have been favoured with a copy of the 

 above paper, which embodies the results of a very laborious series of microscopic examina- 

 tions of the contents of the alimentary canal of insects belonging to the Carabidse and 

 Coccinellidse. In the Carabidse the results of the dissection and study of 175 specimens 

 are given, representing thirty-eight species and twenty genera. Of the Coccinellidse, the 

 results of the dissection of thirty-nine specimens are given, accompanied by carefully 

 compiled tables presenting the evidence in the most convenient and' accessible forms. 

 Prof. Forbes' experiments show clearly that the opinions hitherto held by entomo- 

 logists as to the food of these insects are in many respects incorrect. While it is shown 

 that the insects belonging to the genus Calosoma live almost exclusively on animal food, 

 those of Chloenius and Galerita to the extent of nine-tenths, and those of Pterostichus 

 three-fourths ; the species of Harpalus take only about twelve per cent, of animal food, 

 Anisodactylus twenty-one per cent., Araara and Amphasia twenty-three per cent., and 



