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JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 



[Vol. 8 



can hardly be emphasized too strongly. Next to that, we may well 

 dwell upon the preliminary signs of insect outbreaks in an effort to 

 accustom agriculturists to correctly interpret local conditions, espe- 

 cially in relation to unusual depredations. The usual, annual pests 

 are as a rule fairly well controlled. There is relatively greater loss 

 from insects which occasionally become very destructive, largely be- 

 cause someone fails to appreciate the significance of the preliminary 

 signs. The entomologist cannot hope to be in all sections of his ter- 

 ritory. He usually can have some type of fairly competent observers 

 in important localities and such parties, if possible, should be well 

 posted along these lines, and promptly report all suspicious develop- 

 ments. 



Reviews 



The House-Fly, Musca domestica Linn., Its Structure, Habits, Devel- 

 opment, Relation to Disease and Control, by C. Gordon Hewitt. 

 University Press, Cambridge, 1914, pp. i-xv, 1-382, figs. 104. 



This exhaustive and valuable study of one insect is the outcome of investigations 

 continued over a series of years and is "primarily intended for the use of entomolo- 

 gists, medical men, health officers and others similarly engaged or interested in the 

 subject." It is a detailed anatomical, biological and ecological study of an insect, 

 duly correlated with the investigations of others, for the purpose of establishing a sub- 

 stantial basis for practical control work. A portion has been published earlier, but, as 

 pointed out by the author, the advances of recent years have been so great as to ne- 

 cessitate the rewriting of the entire work. Aside from the very full account of the 

 house-fly, other species occurring in houses are briefly noticed and their characters in 

 both larval and adult stages given. The pathogenic phase, a most important subject, 

 is considered in detail and occupies about 100 pages; chapters in this part dealing 

 with the dissemination of pathogenic organisms by flies, the carriage of typhoid 

 fever, the relation of flies to summer diarrhoea of infants, the dissemination of other 

 diseases, etc. The most approved control methods are summarized in chapter 26. 

 The author's personal knowledge of both Enghsh and Canadian conditions enables 

 him td discuss the matter from an unusually broad standpoint. The illustrations are 

 excellent, the colored figures being particularly good. 



A bibliography of 37 pages indicates the ground which must have been covered in 

 the preparation of this work, not to mention the original studies of the author. 

 Both scientist and layman are indebted to this investigator for placing the information 

 regarding this most dangerous insect in such convincing and convenient form. The 

 volume is indispensable to aU desiring detailed information — a prerequisite to the suc- 

 cessful control of this pest. 



Handbook of Medical Entomology, by Wm. A. Riley and 0. A. 

 JoHANSSEN. Comstock Publishing Company, Ithaca, N. Y., 

 1915, pp. i-x, 1-348, figs. 174. 



The developments in medical entomology have been so rapid and the subject 

 is of such vital importance, as to amply justify the preparation of this volume, a 

 work designed to "afford a general survey of the field, and primarily to put the 



