38 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



Mr. Schwarz stated that errors, such as the one corrected by 

 Mr. L,inell, could only be discovered by field observation. 



Prof. Riley thought that the occurrence of females only of 

 the one and males of the other might be taken as evidence of 

 the identity of the two forms, when these occur under similar 

 circumstances. 



In connection with the discussion of sex in insects, Prof. 

 Riley called attention to Mr. Blanchard's paper on double and 

 triple cocoons of silk worms, in which the author supposed 

 that the larvae had associated on sexual grounds, as the 

 moths hatching from these cocoons were largely males and 

 females. Prof. Riley thought that the exceptions were suffi 

 ciently numerous to contradict this theory. Sex, he stated, is 

 almost, if not entirely, wanting or undeveloped in larvae ; and 

 he also stated that the production of males or females at will, 

 by starving or over-feeding, as held to be possible by Mrs. 

 Treat, was entirely out of the question. If starving were 

 attempted, the female larvae requiring most food would more 

 frequently perish, and the males would necessarily predomi 

 nate. In the case of the orders of insects in which meta 

 morphosis is incomplete, especially in the pupal stage, the 

 sex could be easily determined. 



Mr. Howard stated that the ovaries are readily distinguished 

 from the testes in the later stages of some lepidopterous and 

 other larvae. 



MARCH 6TH, 1890. 



Eight persons present. President Marx in the chair. 



Dr. Fox stated that Mr. B. W. Maslin, of California, had 

 lately transmitted to him a copy of the "Citrus Belt" of 

 November yth, 1889, containing an article by Mr. Maslin on 

 " Fig Culture and Seedling Smyrna Figs." 



Mr. Schwarz explained that the paper referred to repeated 

 attempts on the part of Mr. Maslin to raise in California the 

 Smyrna Fig from seedlings. The trees grew admirably, but 



