THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA 
41 
ington, with whom (between 1856 and 1861) I took frequent walks 
in the environs of that city. He taught me to distinguish the 
numerous species of oaks occurring in the United States, and 
procured me many new galls and other vegetable deformations. 
My first paper on American galls (14, 1862) was published in the 
Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia , at that 
time a young Society, which had been founded only the year before 
(compare the following Chapter V). 
Y A CONTRIBUTION TO THE HISTORY OF THE ENTOMO¬ 
LOGICAL SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA 
Residing, as I did, in Washington (up to 1862), I had the oppor¬ 
tunity of witnessing the origin and the first beginnings of the 
Society. To me, a European, these beginnings afforded such a 
remarkable insight into American energy and enterprise that I am 
glad to give a short account of them. 
There was no entomological society in existence in the United 
States in 1861. A number of friends of entomology in Philadel¬ 
phia started the idea of forming such an association, and this un¬ 
dertaking soon found a sympathetic response from other parts of 
the country. Numerous written communications, donations, and 
specimens began to flow in after the first meeting of the new asso¬ 
ciation on the 11th of March, 1861. The Proceedings of the 
Society, Vol. I, p. 2-6, contain the account of our first four meet¬ 
ings. The want of funds which impeded at first the progress of 
the Society was relieved by Dr. Thomas B. W i 1 s o n , “ one of 
the earliest and most devoted members ” who, “ from the very com¬ 
mencement of this Society,” gave it a “ firm and unwavering sup¬ 
port, by contributing to its Library and Cabinet, and by large 
endowments in money ” (Proc., Vol. IV, p. vii, 1865). Dr. Wilson, 
unfortunately for the Society, died four years after its founda¬ 
tion. The most active member of the Society, however, was its 
Corresponding Secretary, Mr. Ezra T. Cresson, with whom 
I kept up at that time an active correspondence. I shall con¬ 
tent myself with reproducing passages of his letters, which speak 
for themselves. 
