354 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



would, therefore, endeavour to give some account of the origin of 

 the Society and the proceedings that led to its formation. 



When a student at Trinity College, Toronto, he began the 

 collection and study of insects. At that time there were no avail- 

 able books on the subject. The first work that gave him any 

 assistance in naming specimens was Gosse's "Canadian Naturalist," 

 a delightful work giving an account of observations made in various 

 departments of natural history during each month of the year in 

 the eastern townships of the Province of Quebec. In the Canadian 

 Journal there were published excellent short descriptions of the 

 more conspicuous beetles found in the neighbourhood of Toronto 

 by Wm. Couper, a printer by trade. These were supplemented 

 by lists furnished by Prof. Croft, of the Univ^ersity of Toronto. 

 Kirby and Spence's "Entomology" and Westwood's "Modern 

 Classification of Insects" were published about that time and 

 afforded the first scientific aids to the knowledge of insects. 

 Through the kindness of Prof. Croft, the speaker had access to the 

 library of the University of Toronto, which contained several rare 

 works on entomology. He was also permitted to consult the books 

 in the library of Parliament, which, at that time, was located in 

 Toronto. In these libraries he spent much of his leisure time in 

 laboriously transcribing descriptions of Canadian insects, which, 

 for the. most part, had to be translated from Latin and French, 

 and also in making copies of illustrations. These difticulties can 

 hardly be realized by students at the present day who have such 

 an abundance of literature upon every department of natural his- 

 tory. Such works as Comstock's "Manual for the Stud\" of In- 

 sects" and Mrs. Comstock's "How to Know the Butterflies" 

 would, at that time, have been treasures indeed. However, there 

 is no doubt that the difficulties encountered helped one to build 

 upon a sound foundation and to acquire a more complete knowledge 

 than could be attained by attempting to hastily read a superabun- 

 dance of publications. 



At the suggestion of Prof. Croft, the speaker made the acquain- 

 tance of Mr. Wm. Saunders, of London, who carried on at the time 

 the business of chemist and druggist on a moderate scale. The 

 acquaintance thus formed soon ripened into a mutual friendship 

 and esteem which has continued unbroken to the present time. 



