200 f^P"'- 
soon recover, — like those of a patient after the extraction of a carious tootli,^-and 
acquiesce in a better state of things for the future. Much space would be required 
to treat this subject at large, but a few points may be made in illustration. The 
ill-used letter H might be easily reinstated in such words as Ahrostola, Arma, 
Arpactus, Omalus, Ormocems, &c., and, above all, in Yponomeuta, Ypsipetes, Ypsolopha. 
Printers' errors, which are numerous, might be rectified ; as Acalius for Accelius (the 
confusion of ce and ce is very common), Smiera for Smicra, Leucospis for Leucopsis, 
and Cephalonomia for Cephalonomcpa, — the last in spite of a note by the author 
indicating the real spelling. So also we have Argyrotoza for Argyrotoxa, Rogas for 
Bhogas, Krceophus for Arnopus, Oxyrhachis for Oxyrrhachis, Eysarcoris for 
£'7isar[co]coris, and a thousand more. The above are only a few types of large 
classes of common mistakes, copied from book to book, and now become inveterate 
eye-sores. A few are occasionally hounded out, but the mass remains. The recti- 
fication of compounds would generally involve the creation of a new word in each 
case, and has long been past praying for. One monstrous class of vocables deserves 
especially to be denounced ; type of the class, — Temnostethus. This barbarism 
includes a verb in the first person singular ; or, in other words, the substitute for 
the pronoun ego actually enters into the compound, the inventor of which only 
desired to employ the root " cut," apart from any such accessories as time, mood, 
or person. Tmetostetlius is not easy to be pronounced, but Stethotomus might have 
served.* Lastly, a vicious practice has been imported from the Continent, and is 
daily gaining ground. It is that of making genera which end in -toma, -oma, or 
SOMA, neuter, instead of feminine. Tliis extraordinary and illogical vagary seema 
founded on some confused notion that all Greek words ending in -oma must be 
neuter, because soma, "body," is so. In a catalogue of Hemiptera we find 
AcANTHOSOMA hxTnorrhoidale, deniatum, lituratiim, &c. It seems necessary to 
point out that the gender of the different nouns forming a compound can have no 
influence on the gender of the compound when formed. The latter depends for 
gender upon its own termination, and nothing more.f Acanthosoma is feminine by 
the form of the word, irrespective of the gender of Acantha or Soma ; to make it 
neuter, is to misunderstand the use of words. It would not be more ludicrous to 
argue that a carriage must be feminine because it has a lady inside. Nevertheless, 
a German illuminato has gravely propounded this rule, and by way of correction, aa 
a legitimate principle in nomenclature. — T. A. Marshall, Milford, Ma/rch, 1868. 
Note on Oelechia costella.— Mr. Stainton, in his most interesting instructions 
how to find the larva of this species (p. 115), all^j^ding to certain small larvae noticed 
by him in the month of October, observes " they could scarcely attain the perfect 
state before December." That the imago is to be bred during the month of 
December I can positively assert from actual observation. On the 16th of 
September last I collected four of the larva3; about the 14th or 16th of 
* Among the advertisements of the " Field" newspaper is one referrine to the Neurasthenippon- 
BKELE8TER1Z0; wliich, from collateial evidence, appears to be a lotion for horses' legs. It ig 
melancholy and huniiliating to reflect that many names in entomology emulate the terseness and 
perspicuity of this word Yet the would be-classical horse-breaker probably intended a joke (having 
ideas of his own upon joculai ity) ; while the authors of similar entomological names must be presumed 
be quile serious.— T. A. M. 
And is, moreover, supposed to be Latin, whatever its derivation.— Eds. 
