THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S 
WEEKLY INTELLIGENCER. 
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1860. [Price Id. 
JOURNALS. 
We spoke last week of the plan 
recommended, in the pages of the 
‘Zoologist’ for 1847, by the late James 
Francis Stephens, for recording cap- 
tures and attaching a label to each 
individual specimen. 
When that suggestion was made it 
immediately recommended itself to our 
adoption; but we cogitated seriously 
whether we could not ourselves im- 
prove upon the plan : we had then for 
years past kept a journal on the old 
fashioned plan of entering the names 
of our captures, when we knew them, 
or entering simply “Noctua?” or “Py- 
ralis ?” if we obtained some species 
which, at the time of entering it in 
our journal, we were unable to identify 
specifically. Such a journal, though 
often erroneous (as, in our early days, 
we miscalled our captures fearfully), 
was pleasant to refer to ; the names 
of the insects recalled to us all the 
joyous memories of the past connected 
with them. 
Now, if we adopted the Stephensian 
plan pure et simple , we should have 
figures, dates and localities, but no 
names of species; this we did not like; 
we felt we should prefer a named 
journal, even though it involved more 
labour. 
Besides, according to Mr. Stephens’ 
idea, we could not calculate before- 
hand how many of each number we 
should require ; we might want twenty 
of No. 1 and fifty of No. 4, and only 
one of No. 2 and one of No. 3; in 
this way we could not prepare our 
labels beforehand — a serious drawback, 
in our view of the proposal, as we 
always like to be in advance of our 
work, and to have it ready long before 
it is wanted. 
Under these circumstances it oc- 
curred to us to devote a separate 
number to each specimen ; then we 
could have numbers 1 — 3000 ready 
before the opening of the campaign, 
and we entered a similar series of 
numbers in our journal. 
The result has certainly been a 
voluminous journal, but a most com- 
plete reference to each specimen, and 
all novelties or species which puzzled 
us at the time of capture, have their 
names written in subsequently, when 
ascertained. 
We doubt much whether any journal 
can be devised which will be a real 
improvement on this. Dr. Wallace ap- 
pears to want a catalogue raisonnk of 
his cabinet,— a praiseworthy resolution, 
z 
