Sketches of British Insects. By Rev. W. Houghton, MA., F.L.S.
(Groombridge and Sons.)—Entomology has an advantage over other departments of zoology, independently of the intrinsic interest of the
subject, that it may be practically studied in every locality, and speci- mens are, for the most part, easily procurable and readily preserved. This book will be found a very interesting introduction 'to the subject. The style is pleasing and attractive, interspersed here and there with apt references, testifying to the observation of poets, both ancient and modern. The most competent authorities have been consulted, many new facts are recorded, and several superstitious beliefs in the power of some insects to harm are exploded. The introduction treats of the relation of the insect-world to the great subdivision to which it belongs, and of the general type of the class. We should bare liked a little fuller account of the blood-circulation, otherwise it is an admirably written description. Then follow particulars of the different orders, the principal British varieties belonging to them, and an account of their habits, in many cases enriched by the writer's own observations. The book is fairly illustrated by well-executed woodcuts, and the six coloured plates, of the most attractive examples of each order, are fine examples of chromolithography.
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