1896.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 253 



Members present : Messrs. Bland, Boerner, Seiss, Castle, Tres- 

 cher, Frank Hoyer, Albert Hover, Fox, Griffith, H. W. Wen- 

 zel and Schmitz. Honorary members : Dr. Henry Skinner and 

 Prof. John B. Smith. Meeting called to order at 8.45 P.M., 

 President Bland presiding. Minutes of the last meeting read 

 and approved. Chairman of the Committee on Field Meeting 

 reported progress. 



Prof. Smith spoke of his recent trip to the Pacific coast and 

 gave a brief account of the places visited, the collections exam- 

 ined and character of the localities. He spoke highly of Cali- 

 fornia as a fruit-growing district and also as producing an im- 

 mense variety of insect life. Collecting in California, however, 

 must be understood before success can be obtained. The climatic 

 conditions are so different from our own in the East that an ex- 

 perience gained in Pennsylvania or New Jersey is of little use 

 in California. Especially is this true where collecting is done on 

 the desert, because in such cases everything depends upon local 

 conditions and upon the times when moisture can be obtained. 

 Irrigation has made an immense difference in some parts of 

 California, and it is odd to see on one side a flourishing citrus 

 orchard of the most vivid green, while on the opposite side there 

 is nothing but a dry desert with a scant growth of thorny or 

 prickly vegetation. 



At San Bernardino he examined the collection of Mr. W. G. 

 Wright, who has gathered together a very interesting series of 

 butterflies, containing many examples of rare species. There is 

 also a vast amount of material in Coleoptera in bottles and jars 

 that undoubtedly contain much of value. Mr. Wright has been 

 a diligent collector, and is perhaps as well acquainted as any one 

 with the peculiarities of desert insect fauna. 



At Pomona he saw the collection of Prof. H. C. Fall, which 

 was surprising in its excellence and extent. It is perhaps the 

 best collection of Coleoptera in California, and very largely the 

 result of Mr. Fall's own diligent collecting. The specimens are 

 not only numerous, but they are in exceedingly good condition, 

 and the collection will compare favorably with some of the best 

 of those in the East. 



At San Francisco, the California Academy of Natural Science 

 is gradually accumulating an exceedingly good collection of in- 

 sects, and our old friend, Mr. Carl Fuchs, is in charge of the 



