6-7 EDWARD VII. SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 A. 1907 



REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



James Fletcher, LL.D., F.K.S.C, F.L.S. 



Ottawa, April 1, 1906. 

 Dn. William Saunders, C.M.G., 



Director of the Dominion Experimental Farms, 

 Ottawa. 



Sir, — I have the honour to hand you herewith an interim report for the four 

 months which have passed since the date of my last annual report, until the beginning 

 of the present new fiscal year. 



The time of the officials in the Division of Insects and Plants was given, neces- 

 sarily at that time of the year, to office work and addressing agricultural meetings. The 

 first thing to be attended to was the preparation of the annual report for the year end- 

 ing November 30, 1905. This together with the correspondence took the whole time of 

 tlic staff until the Christmas holidays. Subsequent to that time the usual routine of 

 the Division for that season of the year was carried on vigorously. This is the time 

 of the year when the collections of the previous season and specimens received from 

 correspondents and other outside sources have to be mounted and arranged. 



COLLECTIONS. 



The collections in the Division, both of insects and plants, have been considerably 

 increased, and during the past winter many additions have been put in place. Th^ 

 botanical collections are in the charge of Mr. J. A. Guignard and Mr. Arthur Gibson 

 is the curator of the entomological specimens. 



1.. Insects. — Much progress has been made in arranging the entomological cabinets. 

 The large and important family of Noctuidae, the caterpillars of many of which are 

 the injurious cutworms, so well known to farmers, is now very well represented in our 

 cabinets, and with the assistance of correspondents in all parts of Canada, added to 

 special efforts of the officers, this collection is now a most valuable source of reference 

 to those who wish to know the appearance of the moths which produce these caterpillars 

 which every year in some part of Canada are the cause of so much loss to farmers and 

 gardeners. This collection too is rendered very much more serviceable for this purpose 

 by the large number of larvs) it now contains skilfully inflated by Mr. Arthur Gibson. 

 Frequent reference is also made to the collections by students, more of whom every 

 day arc becoming interested in the important study of insects, a knowledge of which 

 has saved so much to growers of crops and flowers. As in previous years many speci- 

 mens of insects have been sent in by students for identification. This is a useful part 

 of our work by v.'hich not only is the study of entomology h-?lped, but much useful 

 information is gained as to the distribution of species, and many acceptable specimens 

 are secured for our cabinets. 



2. Plants. — A large number of new sheets of mounted specimens of plants havo 

 lieen put into their places in the Herbarium, and good progress has been made in push- 

 ing forward a card index of the collection, in which each specimen is recorded, giving 

 t«ie name, the place and date of collection, and the name of the collector, or contri- 

 butor. A separate collection has also been made, for use at farmers' institute meetings 

 or for easy reference by visitors, of the weeds and weedy plants of" Canada. The col- 

 lection of weed seeds has also been re-arranged and although the cabinet in 



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