ages. He was a keen observer with very wide interests
and had an obviously excellent background in natural
history. It is somehow a bit disconcerting to read his
comments on our destruction of natural resources and at
the same time to realize that he was cognizant of it in
the mid-1700's.
There is much of interest to an entomologist in these
volumes, particularly if he happens to like historical accounts, but I cannot recommend the books without some
reservations.
Now and then they are difficult to read
for various reasons. The volumes really comprise a daily
journal or diary covering a period from August 5, 1748
tKalm's departure from Europe) until about mid-January
1751. He traveled and collected in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and eastern Canada and
()btained immortality through the genus Kalmia (mountain laurel). He was a member of the Swedish Royal
Academy of Sciences and a pupil of Linnaeus; thus he
normally uses the then new binomial nomenclature system of Linnaeus, but he sometimes simply lapses into a
Latin phrase of several words, in pre-Linnaean manner.
He usually tells us what the Swedish settler and the
English settler called the plant or animal and then adds:
Dr. Linnaeus calls it so and so. Also the books were
wdtten SOOnafter the calendar was changed from Julian
to (;regorian. causing confusion in places. The original
manuscript was in Swedish. In large part, Dover's edition is based on the translation by John Reinhold Forstl~r, checked against the original by the editor, Adolph
B. Benson. Some parts were not in the original Swedish
edition and were translated by Benson and Edith M. L.
Carlborg. The two volumes contain many footnotes of
l'xplanatory materials, some by Forster and some by Benson. Also, the text sometimes contains explanatory notes,
hut they are not always enclosed in brackets, as is proper.
For example, the device used to indicate editorial com11ll'nt on pag-e 191 is italics: Malaria is an italicized para~raph heading-, though Kalm undoubtedly did not Know
this word. I do not know how often this device was used.
.I\:alm's interests were very broad, and I was bored by
llis descriptions of various church buildings and services,
hut I enjoyed his account of the Franklin stove.
I found the books readable and of interest, and I hope
many members of ESA will agree with me. I must
compliment Dover Publications for making this old account available to us. I wish they would also reprint
Blatchley's
Coleoptera,
Heteroptera,
and Orthoptera.
Such an effort by a publisher is probably the only way
most of us could ever obtain Blatchley's books.
JOHN A. FLUNO
Entomology Research Division
Agr. Res. Servo
USDA, Beltsville, Maryland
REVISION DER INDO-AuSTRALISCHEN OPIINAE (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), by Max Fischer. 1966. Series
Entomologica, vol. 1. Published by Dr. W. Junk. The
Hague, The Netherlands. VI
167 p., 97 text illustrations. $12.50 (45.00 dutch guilders).
+
This book is the first volume of the new publication
"Series Entomologica," edited by E. Schimitschek. The
editor states on the dust jacket that this series is intended to " ...
open possibilities for the publication of
larger,
summarizing
and original
works from all
branches ... " of entomology. "Special attention will be
given to the treatment of entomophagous insects, thereby
disclosing valuable knowledge for biological control and
ecological regulation."
In this first volume of the series, Max Fischer, Natural
History Museum, Vienna, presents a taxonomic study of
the Indo-Australien
Opiinae, a group of Braconidae
which are parasites on dipterous larvae. This study is an
expansion of 2 previous papers, published in 1963, by Dr.
Fischer for his geographical region (Die orientalischen
und australischen Arten der Gattung Opius. Acta ent.
Mus. Nat. Pragae 35 :197-242, and Das Genus Austroopills. Mitt Zool. Mus. Ber. 39 :173-86). A key is
given to the 18 genera of the Opiinae, followed by keys
Here are some quotations, to give the flavor of these
volumes: "...
Houseflies ...
were observed in this
('()\ll1try about one hundred and fifty years ago ...
All
till' Indians assert the same thing and are of the opinion
that the common flies first came over here with the
Europeans and their ships ... " "Mosquitoes ...
either
follow the hay which is made near the town [New York]
in the
low meadows
saturated
with
salt
water,
or
they
to the 107 species
~u:rompany the cattle at night when they are brought
110me ...
the skin is sometimes so covered with little
swellings from their stings that people are ashamed to
appear in public." Speaking of malaria (which he calls
"h~ver" and "ague"), Kalm said: "Several of the most
prominent inhabitants [of New York] ...
were of the
opinion that it was occasioned by the vapors arising
from stagnant fresh water . . . provinces situated on the
seashore could not be so much affected by it." "... bees
were not in North America before the arrival of the
Europeans ... " Kalm says the Indians called honey bees
"English flies." as they had no name for them in their
own language. He records what I believe to be a brood
of J1[agicicada septclldecim (L.) emerging around May
22, 1749, in Philadelphia.
Apparently he encountered
another brood in August 1750 when he visited Niagara
Falls; he said they drowned out the noise of the falls.
There would have been a Brood X in 1749, but I cannot
identify his 1750 brood.
of the 8 genera
occurring
in the Indo-
Australian Region. Two new genera and 65 new species
are described. Each new taxon is given a complete description, many with accompanying illustrations.
Only
literature citations for original descriptions and subsequent references are listed under each previously described species.
Dr. Fischer has made extensive studies of the Opiinae
of the World, and this book should be a useful addition
to our knowledge of these important parasites. The book
is printed on a good quality paper, the printing is clear,
the binding is adequate, and the dust jacket, with its
colored insect illustrations, is attractive.
However, the
reviewer feels that this book is over priced for its size.
PAUL M. MARSH
Entomology Research Division, A.R.s.
U.S. Department of Agriwltllre
Washington, D. C.
Apparently the term "punkies" for ClIlicoidcs came
from their Dutch name PUllchills; Kalm used Linnaeus'
name of Culex pulicaris, now considered a synonym of
Culicoidcs sordidc/lus (Zetterstedt).
ANNUAL REVIEWOF PHYTOPATHOLOGY.
Volume 2, edited
by J. G. Horsfall and K. F. Baker. Annual Reviews,
Inc. Palo Alto, Calif. 423 p. 1964. $8.50 U.S.A., $9.00
elsewhere.
Kalm's principal goals were to find plants suitable for
introduction
into Sweden and to examine the lot of
Swedish settlers. Nevertheless, he was a good observer
of everything he saw. In reading these books, one is impressed with his conservationist attitude. He did not like
much of what he saw in agricultural practices of that day
in North America and saw a decline in harvests. He also
saw a disappearance of wildlife and foresaw water short-
The Editorial Committee notes that this second volume
is pointed toward a better understanding of the whole
field of plant pathology. To obtain a structure to be used
from year to year, the Committee proposes that review
articles be grouped in 15 sections as follows:
1, Prefactory, chapter; 2, Historical aspects; 3, Appraisal of disease; 4. Pathogens; 5, Morphology and
73