THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 195 



leaving holes. It seems that while the tobacco is cut and piled in the 

 fields, awaiting transportation to the tobacco barn, the beetles collect 

 among the leaves, remain there, and are removed with the tobacco. 

 After the tobacco is hung up to cure in the barn the beetles continue 

 their attack on the younger and more succulent upper leaves (the lower 

 when hung up), and by eating these, especially along the midrib, do 

 even more injury than in the fields, as this last attack, not only causes 

 holes in leaves not previously injured, but discolours them also. Between 

 the two attacks the damage is very serious. F. M. Webster. 



The Entomological Society of Albany has recently been organized, 

 with an initial membership of about twenty, under the following officers : 

 Dr. E. P. Felt, President ; Prof. Charles S. Gager, Vice-President ; Mr. 

 Charles S. Banks, Rec. Sec; Miss Margaret F. Boynton, Corr. Sec; 

 Prof. H. M. Pollock, Treas. The headquarters of the society will be, 

 for the present, at the office of Dr. Felt, the State Entomologist, where 

 the regular meetings will be held the second Friday of each month. 

 The objects of the society are the promotion of interest in entomological 

 science and the furtherance of fellowship among those interested for 

 their mutual benefit and enjoyment. 



Sir, — In your May issue Mr. Lyman reviewed my Synonymic 

 Catalogue of North American Butterflies. There is one point he men- 

 tions which deserves explanation. He says : " In this catalogue Dr. 

 Skinner has followed very closely on the lines laid down by Mr. Edwards 

 in his lists, so far as the species are concerned, and with a conservatism 

 which is striking when compared with his rather sweeping radicalism as 

 expressed in his article, ' Impressions received from a Study of our 

 North American Rhopalocera,' in Jour. N. Y. Ent. Soc, IV., 107." Prof. 

 Cockerell, in Science, IX., No. 219, expresses himself in the same way, 

 and says : " There is no tendency to ' lumping ' exhibited, which is 

 rather surprising in consideration of some of Dr. Skinner's previously 

 expressed views." I did not think a catalogue the proper place to intro- 

 duce into the synonymy what have been previously recognized as valid 

 species. No reasons could be given for such changes in a list of names, 

 and if I had " lumped " species they would have represented nothing but 

 the bare opinion of one individual. The proper place to make such 

 changes is in monographs and revisions, where the reasons therefor may 



