394 



THE YOUNG 



NATURALIST. 



price. The plates we are about to 

 issue will commence an Illustrated 

 Catalogue of British Insects^ ^v]lich, if 

 it meet with the encouragement we 

 anticipate^ will be continued until they 

 have all been figured. For this work 

 we have long been collecting material, 

 but it was not easy to decide how to 

 commence it. We will now endeavour 

 to explain to our readers how we pro- 

 pose to meet those difficulties. Our 

 first thought was to figure the species 

 in the sequence in which they follow 

 in the generally accepted catalogue of 

 the order. But with some orders there 

 is no such catalogue, and with others 

 there are doubts and difficulties respect- 

 ing various species that we felt would 

 be better avoided by us, who write and 

 figure specially for beginners. It might 

 also be that it was not possible to pro- 

 cure an authentic specimen of particu- 

 lar species, and thus the regular 

 sequence of the order must either be 

 broken or the plaies on which such 

 iasects should appear postponed until 

 examples could be procured. To avoid 

 these difficulties we have decided to 

 figure without regard to any particular 

 sequence, but just as we procure the 

 specimens. Thus, those we figure to 

 begin with, wiU be those already ob- 

 tained, and most of them will be 

 comparatively common. This will be 

 an advantage to beginners, as they will 

 be the species they are most likely 



to meet with, and they will not there- 

 fore have to wait for years to learn 

 what their earliest captures are. But 

 to enable those who wish to arrange 

 their figures in scientific order, each 

 plate will be marked off by faint lines 

 into portions of uniform size, and one 

 figure given in each : the plates can 

 thus be cut up by these lines and 

 re-mounted in such order as the pos- 

 sessor prefers. Each plate will be 

 confined to insects of one order, and 

 as few as possible to examples of one 

 group of that order. Thus the plates 

 of Coleoptera will not only be all of 

 Coleoj)teraf but the Geodejpliaga will 

 be given together, and other groups in 

 the same way, as far as such arrange- 

 ments can be carried out with ad- 

 vantage. 



We are aware that our projected 

 undertaking is a very great one and 

 that it would have been better in abler 

 hands ; but it is much wanted, and as 

 no one else seems likely to attempt it, 

 or even part of it, we can only ask the 

 best help and support of our readers 

 and the kind consideration of our 

 critics. If we only succeed in making 

 a commencement, it will be better than 

 nothing. 



Plate 1 will consist of GeodepJiaga, 

 and will be issued on 1st December. 

 Subscriptions may be forwarded now, 

 or the parts may be procured through 

 the booksellers. 



