THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 131 



devoted his remaining time and strength almost entirely to the study of 

 the natural sciences. In 1869 he commenced the publication of the 

 Naturaliste Canadien, and, notwithstanding many discouragements, 

 completed in 1891 the twentieth volume, when its issue had reluctantly 

 to be abandoned, through the Quebec Government refusing to continue 

 the scanty annual grant it had received. As early as 1858 Provancher 

 published an elementary treatise on botany, and in 1862 his Flore du 

 Canada. Subsequently he devoted his attention specially to entomology, 

 and in 1874 commenced his Faune Entomologique du Canada. Vol. I., 

 treating of the Coleoptera, was completed in 1877, with three supplements 

 in 1877, 1878 and 1879. ^^^- ^^- ^^^^ commenced in 1877 and completed 

 in 1883, and contains the Orthoptera, Neuroptera and Hymenoptera, 

 In 1885-1889 he published Additions aux Hymenopteres, and issued 

 Vol. III. upon the Hemiptera, which was completed in 1890. He was 

 also an enthusiastic conchologist, and his last publication was a treatise 

 upon the univalve molluscs of the Province of Quebec. His writings 

 include the account of a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, an excursion to the 

 West Indies, treatises on agriculture, etc. He will be best known, 

 however, by his entomological work, and as he described a large number 

 of new species and genera, particularly of Hymenoptera and Hemiptera, 

 it is sincerely to be hoped that his collections may be placed where the 

 types will be carefully preserved and be accessible to students of ento- 

 mology. 



There is a disposition on the part of some American students to ignore 

 the work of Provancher, and to accuse him of want of care, etc., in the 

 determination of genera and species. The enormous disadvantages 

 under which he laboured must, however, be considered, for he was 

 remote and isolated from libraries, collections and fellow-workers, and in 

 his writings he often laments the fact that so few could be found to take 

 any active interest in his pursuits, or to assist him in his labours. His 

 entomological work would have been more exact and complete had not 

 the publication of the Naturaliste greatly interrupted his investigations, 

 and forced him to spend much of his time in other directions. His 

 labours had the result of starting natural history collections in some of 

 the colleges in the Province of Quebec, but our French citizens do not 

 appear to have»any special leaning to the sciences he loved, and he has 

 left behind him no entomological student of any distinction. Above all 

 Provancher was an ardent Canadian, strongly imbued with love of his 

 race, language and religion, and often in his writings he impresses these 

 sentiments upon his readers. A few years ago he was elected a Fellow 

 of the Royal Society of Canada, and he was also a member, active 

 or honorary, of many other societies. W. H. H. 



