THE ENTOMOLOGISTS 
WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
No. 177.] SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, I860. 
JOURNALS. 
Jn the ‘Zoologist’ for 1847, p. 1865, 
the late James Francis Stephens gave 
us a “ Plan for an Entomological 
Journal .” Mr. Stephens remarked — 
“ Most of the journals hitherto pro- 
posed presuppose the journalist to pos- 
sess a slight knowledge of Entomology ; 
but the plan I suggest is unencumbered 
with any such supposition, and has the 
additional advantage of enabling the 
possessor instantly to refer to the cap- 
ture, &c., of every individual example 
in his collection at any future period, 
notwithstanding the same may have 
been removed upon re-arranging ‘ many 
a time and oft;’ and a small book of 
a few leaves will serve for many years. 
Not so a journal of names ; such a one 
I commenced in 1810, and have carried 
on to the present time, 1847 ! — very 
irregularly in parts, it must be con- 
fessed, owing to the enormous quantity 
of entries, sometimes more than 3000 
in a month ! — till the number recorded 
has extended to between 30,000 and 
40,000, — a sad expenditure of time and 
labour, and from its extent compara- 
tively useless.” 
There is something very sad and 
touching in this : in the evening of 
[Price Id. 
life, the most active entomologist of 
his day admits that for thirty-seven 
years he has been pursuing a wrong 
plan — “a sad expenditure of labour, 
and comparatively useless.” 
One would have thought such a 
warning from such a quarter would 
have received more attention than it 
has done. 
The plan which Mr. Stephens pro- 
posed was that every insect captured 
at the same time and place, under 
similar circumstances, should bear the 
same number. 
“ According to the plan proposed, 
I assume the student takes up his 
subject in the beginning of July, and 
makes his first excursion on the 7th, 
on which day he captures some scores, 
or even hundreds, of specimens. Let 
him at starting be amply provided 
with boxes, to enable him readily to 
subdivide his captures, which he finds 
it convenient to do as instanced, into 
nine sections, and on removing them 
from his setting-boards, then attach a 
corresponding number to every indi- 
vidual specimen, all taken from Fungi 
bearing No. 2, and so forth. It then 
becomes evident, on any future inspec- 
tion of his collection, upon observing 
No. 1 attached to a specimen, and 
referring to his journal, that it was 
Y 
