The Canadian Entomologist, Vol. XII., No. 2, February 1880

VariousProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.0

Word count: 47K words
Chapters: 5

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Canadian Entomologist, Vol. XII., No. 2, February 1880 by VariousAuthor: Various,Language: English, Class: QL: Science: Zoology, Release Date: Oct 30, 2018

Editor's review

This is a public electronic reprint of the February 1880 issue of The Canadian Entomologist, Volume XII, No. 2, a single issue of an early professional entomology journal. Its value lies not in systematic textbook-style knowledge organization but in presenting the research scene of late nineteenth-century North American entomology: taxonomic descriptions, collection records, observation notes, and scholarly correspondence in their original form, allowing readers to directly experience the writing style and problem consciousness of natural history at that time. For those studying the history of science, the history of print journals, or early entomological taxonomic literature, this issue can be used as primary material; for ordinary nature enthusiasts, it is more a historical archive requiring patient browsing than an introductory reader. It is recommended to read with questions such as "What did scholars care about then, how did they describe specimens, how did they debate classification?" — the gains will be greater than reading page by page.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Researchers in insect taxonomy and natural history who need original texts from early journals
Readers in the history of science and print publishing history, concerned with the form of nineteenth-century academic journals
Experienced nature enthusiasts who can read old-style English academic writing for reference purposes

Not a good fit for

Readers looking for modern insect identification guides or practical pest control manuals
Beginners who find English reading difficult and hope for light popular science
Students and beginners who need a systematic, course-like knowledge structure

Reading tips

First read the table of contents and the opening paragraphs of each piece to determine which entries relate to your research questions, then read those parts closely.
When encountering old taxonomic names or place names, consult modern equivalents and keep comparative notes.
Treat it as historical material rather than a textbook; record the descriptive methods and points of debate of the time for later comparative research.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this issue suitable for learning modern insect classification?

It is not suitable as a modern taxonomy textbook. It reflects the classification framework and descriptive habits around 1880, and many names and groupings differ from today's. A more appropriate use is as material for the history of science: observe how scholars then described specimens and discussed classification, then compare with modern literature to understand the changes.

What if old-style English academic articles are difficult to read?

You can start with short observation records and correspondence entries, skipping dense taxonomic descriptions; prepare a glossary and note recurring morphological terms and place names. Do not force your way through incomprehensible passages; first grasp the problem and conclusion of each piece, then return to read key sentences closely.

Does this e-book have a modern introduction or annotations?

According to the provided information, this is a public electronic text published by Project Gutenberg, with no indication of a modern introduction or detailed annotations. Readers need to supplement background knowledge themselves, especially information on nineteenth-century North American entomologists and institutions; reading alongside relevant history-of-science materials is recommended.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Various Author

Various is not a real person but a collective attribution used in book cataloging and databases for works with multiple authors, commonly applied to anthologies, compilations, or publications with too many contributors to list individually. On this Chinese book site, this attribution covers as many as 3,387 titles, spanning encyclopedic entries, historical documents, and trial records. Representative works include several volumes of the 11th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica and the record of the trial of the major war criminals before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. Available public information is limited: nationality, birth and death dates, and common categories are not clearly recorded, making it difficult to summarize a unified writing style or personal biography. Readers should understand it as a cataloging convention rather than a single author.