54 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



this first paper by Say to the advent of a distinctively American 

 Dipterologist in the person of Dr. S. W. Williston, whose initial 

 descriptive paper appeared in the year 1880 and contained de 

 scriptions of three new species Rhynckocephalus sackcnii, Sil- 

 vius pollinosits and Chrysops discalis all of them inhabitants 

 of the western half of this country. During this second epoch, 

 which covered a period of 63 years, no less than 40 different 

 authors published descriptions of new forms of Diptera from the 

 United States. Of this number, fifteen, or more than one-third 

 of the whole, were Americans. In making this calculation I have 

 included those who, although of foreign birth, have taken up 

 their residence among us and remained here during the balance 



o o 



of their natural lives. Of this latter number are B. D. Walsh 

 and Dr. H. A. Hagen, both of whom, during the latter part of 

 their lives, were essentially citizens of this country. Students of 

 all the orders, but more particularly those engaged in the study 

 of our Diptera, could wish to include Baron Osten Sacken in this 

 category ; his long residence among us, his active interest in all 

 branches of entomology, but especially in our Diptera as is 

 evidenced not only by his published writings, but also by the 

 presence in this country, within easy reach of our students, of 

 the collection containing the type specimens of the species de 

 scribed by Dr. H. Loew and himself, for which we are indebted 

 to his careful foresight and unremitting efforts in our behalf 

 have combined to give to that distinguished Dipterologist a place 

 among us not enjoyed by any other citizen of other lands. 



While, during this second epoch, our Dipterological literature 

 has been enriched by contributions from the pens of such mas 

 ters as Say, Wiedemann, Schiner, Osten Sacken and Loew, we 

 have also been inflicted by such indifferent workers as Desvoidy, 

 Bigot and Walker. Among the Dipterologists of this period 

 who have completed their earthly careers, the name of J. R. 

 Schiner, of Austria, must be accorded a very exalted place ; not 

 only did he possess in a marked degree the faculty of discerning 

 the most striking differences existing between the different ob 

 jects which he described, but he also had the happy faculty of 

 expressing them in words that admitted of no misunderstanding 

 of the idea he intended to convey, while his conscientiousness was 



