356 ' THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



natural history. Mr. Wm. Saunders was appointed by the Do- 

 minion Government in 1886 to establish and superintend a series 

 of Experimental Farms extending from Nova Scotia to British 

 Columbia. For twenty-five years Dr. Saunders conducted this 

 work in a most able and successful manner, and his name is well 

 known not only throughout Canada, but also in the United States 

 and Great Britain. 



The Society thus formed began its career of active usefulness 

 and it has steadily grown and prospered to the present time. In 

 1868 the publication of the Canadian Entomologist was begun, 

 the first number consisting of only eight pages. It is now in its 

 45th year of publication and is sent to all parts of the world. In 

 1870 the first Annual Report of the Society on Noxious, Beneficial 

 and other Insects was published, the three contributors being Dr. 

 Saunders, Mr. Baynes Reed and the speaker. What really made 

 the fortunes of the Society was the invasion of Ontario by the 

 Colorado Potato Beetle. The Board of Agriculture for the Pro- 

 vince requested the Society to report on the insect and to advise 

 as to the best methods of checking or controlling its ravages. An 

 admirable report was prepared by Messrs. Saunders and Reed, 

 the former being a practical chemist was able to experiment with 

 various poisons and to discover that Paris green was the most 

 convenient and reliable substance for the destruction of the beetle. 

 The result of this report was a grant from the Department of $100 

 per annum, which was afterwards increased to $1,000 and the in- 

 corporation of the Society under the name of the Entomological 

 Society of Ontario. For a few years the Canadian Institute in 

 Toronto gave the Society the privilege of using its library and 

 museum for its meetings and collections. After a few years, how- 

 ever, the headquarters were removed to London and continued 

 there until 1906, when a change was made to the Ontario Agricul- 

 tural College, Guelph. 



The speaker expressed the great pleasure which it gave him 

 and his colleagues to find that so many friends had come from long 

 distances to join in the celebration of the Jubilee Meeting of the 

 Society. He joined in giving them all the most hearty welcone 

 and expressed his hope that they would fully enjoy their visit. 



