i22 THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



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Entomological Society, " To inquire whether or not the Society ought 

 to support the movement in the Entomological Nomenclature to 

 change generic names hitherto in use, for older names or for quite 

 new ones." The decision at which this committee arrived is certainly 

 a great step towards settling the vexed question of nomenclature. 

 " The committee is unanimously of opinion that the ever-swelling tide 

 of synonymy must indeed be considered as a real calamity for science ; 

 that the nomenclature ought to possess the greatest possible degree 

 of stability, in order to prevent confusion of genera and species ; and 

 that, therefore, a priori, generally adopted names should not be changed with- 

 out important reasons." The Committee further states " that the year 

 1 75 1 ought to be taken as the commencement of the systematic 

 literature," and adduces reasons for recommending this date. 



That the Netherlands Society also unanimously approved the 

 conclusions of the report is scarcely to be wondered at, and, judging 

 from our own experience of entomological nomenclature, their action u 

 I doubt not, will be hailed with delight by the practical entomologists 

 of this country, who may now hope for a final settlement of the matter, 

 more especially as the Society suggests that it could be brought under 

 discussion at the Zoological Congress, which will be held this summer 

 in Paris ; and it only remains for our representative Societies to use 

 their utmost endeavours to bring about so desirable a result. 



II. THE BRITISH LIST. 



A short time ago whilst turning over some old volumes of the 

 Intelligencer and perusing the columns relating to correspondence, I 

 came across a statement therein to this effect that " no complete list 

 of the British coleoptera" existed at the commencement of 1858; but 

 it is very evident that at this period considerable progress must have 

 been made towards one, as during the following April Mr. G. R. 

 Waterhouse published the first portion of his " Catalogue of British 

 Coleoptera," containing the large groups Geodephaga, Hydradephaga, 

 and Brachelytra ; the remaining portion being duly presented to the 

 entomological public later on. As this was the first attempt at any- 

 thing of the kind, Mr. Waterhouse may be said to have cleared the 

 way, laid the foundation, and collected the materials for those lists 

 which since that time have succeeded each other with periodical 

 regularity. 



In May, 1861, a " Pocket Catalogue" was issued, also by the same 

 author ; this one, in point of fact, was revised and abridged from the 

 larger edition, Mr. Waterhouse stating in his preface that " synonyms 



