42 [February, 



ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 



Published monthly (except July and August), in charge of the joint 

 publication committees of the Entomological Section of the Academy 

 of Natural Sciences, of Philadelphia, and the American Entomological 

 Society. It will contain not less than 300 pages per annum. It will main- 

 lain no free list whatever, but will leave no measure untried to make it a 

 necessity to every student of insect life, so that its very moderate annual 

 subscription may be considered well spent. 



ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION 81.00, IN ADVANCE. 



gg^" All remittances should be addressed to E. T. Cresson, Treasurer, 

 P. O. Box 248, Philadelphia, Pa.; all other communications to the Editors 

 of ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS, Academy of Natural Sciences, Logan Square, 

 Philadelphia, Pa. 



PHILADELPHIA, PA., FEBRUARY, 1894. 



IN the NEWS for October, 1893, p. 266, we published an editorial on the 

 transmission of specimens of Natural History in the mails of the Universal 

 Postal Union. It was there stated that the Academy of Natural Sciences 

 of Philadelphia had resolved to address scientific bodies in certain coun- 

 tries therein named, and ask them to request their respective governments 

 to favorably reconsider a proposition, made by the -United States Post- 

 office, to admit such specimens to the mails of the Union under the rates 

 for "samples of merchandise." The Academy caused circulars to be 

 printed, whose language in many respects was identical with that of our 

 editorial, and sent them to various societies. Copies of the circular were 

 also sent to scientific journals, in some of which it has already been 

 printed. 



The publication of this circular in "Science" and in "Nature" has 

 called forth some adverse criticism. Specific replies thereto have been 

 prepared, and will doubtless soon appear in those journals. Here we 

 merely wish to state the faults found and the nature of the rejoinders. 



The critic in "Science" is Mr. YV. Hague Harrington, the well-known 

 Canadian entomologist. He believes that the trouble lies not with the 

 countries who have rejected the proposition of the United States Post- 

 office, but with the latter by not arranging a " Parcels Post" with th<>s, 

 countries, such as many of those countries already have between them- 

 selves. The reply to this is furnished by an official letter from Mr. N. M. 

 Brooks, Superintendent of Foreign Mails, U. S. P. O., in which it is stated 

 that the lowest charge in Great Britain on a parcels-post package " weigh- 

 ing 3 pounds or less addressed for delivery in Belgium is i shilling 3 pence 

 (= 30 cents), and to France i shilling 4 pence (= 32 cents), while in 

 Canada the charge for a pound or less would be to Belgium 46 cents, and 



