40 
SHORT NOTICES OF BENJAMIN D. WALSH AND OTHERS 
fellow-citizens: “ Le Baron was born in Andover, Mass., in 1814; 
graduated at Harvard Medical College in 1837, was united in 
happy marriage with Miss Sarah Carr in Roxbury, Mass., in 1841; 
came West, and settled in Geneva in 1844; was appointed State 
Entomologist by Governor Palmer in April, 1871, which office he 
held for four years. In the summer of 1874, the Doctor suffered 
from a sunstroke from which he never recovered.” lie died in 
1876, after having spent thirty-two years in Geneva. The obituary 
adds: “ Geneva is a better place to live in to-day than it would 
have been had Dr. Le Baron never been known in it. The in¬ 
fluences of the lives of such persons as he was compose the best 
element in the social and moral atmosphere of a community.” 
A very interesting, detailed biography of Dr. Le Baron, by 
Dr. F. W. Goding, appeared in Entomologica Americana , Yol. I, 
p. 122 (1885). 
My correspondence with Le Baron lasted from 1859 till 1872. 
The earnestness of purpose and conscientiousness which character¬ 
ize his letters fully justify the high reputation which he enjoyed 
among those who personally knew him. 
With Mr. Homer F. Bassett, of Waterbury, Conn., a re¬ 
markably keen observer who anticipated Adler’s discovery of the 
dimorphism of the Cynipidae , I had a very active and instructive cor¬ 
respondence between the years 1864 and 1867. It was continued, 
although with interruptions, after my departure for Europe in 1877. 
I am happy to say, that, while preparing this “ Record,” I received a 
letter from Mr. Bassett, dated from Waterbury, July 15, 1898, and 
informing me that, although two years older than myself, he still 
hopes to publish descriptions of a large number of new Cynipidae 
discovered by him. 
[Since this was written in 1898, Entomological News, of Philadelphia, 
September, 1902, records the sad news of the death of Mr. Bassett, on June 28, 
1902, in Waterbury, Conn. A biographical notice and an excellent portrait are 
appended.] 
Among other men of science who have been useful to me in con¬ 
tributing to my studies on Cynipidae , I owe a debt of gratitude to 
Mr. E. Foreman of the United States Patent Office in Wash- 
