INSTITUTE, PUSA, FOR 1919-20 87 



number of colour-notes of Indian Odonata was also done. 

 Besides these, about two hundred illustrations in black and 

 white, illustrating the life-histories of various insects 

 reared in the Insectary, were also prepared. 



A large number of coloured plates and black and whitie 

 illustrations are now in the press in connection with the 

 Proceedings of the Third Entomological Meeting and 

 various Memoirs and Bulletins. 



VI. Miscellaneous. 

 Correspondence. A total of 60. parcels of specimens, 

 mostly of crop-pests, was received during the year for 

 identification and advice, whilst 800 letters were received 

 and 1,088 issued ; these numbers show a slight decrease on 

 previous years but are exclusive of a large amount of 

 routine correspondence which takes up a considerable pro- 

 portion of time which should be devoted to more scientific 

 work. 



VII. Insect Survey. 



Steady progress has been made in addition to, and 

 arrangement and identification of, the collection which is 

 now a large and important one and continues to expand 

 at a rapid rate. In view of the great value of this collec- 

 tion, both from an economic and systematic point of view, 

 to future students of Indian Entomology, every effort is 

 made for the proper preservation of the large mass of 

 specimens, a task which is by no means easy in a climate 

 such as that of Pusa. This year, for example, owing to the 

 abnormal heat in June, the paraffin-wax in the store-boxes 

 melted. The more irreplaceable portions of the collection 

 and those liable to most damage from mould are therefore 

 being placed in cabinets which are being obtained as 

 rapidly as possible. The staff required for the upkeep 

 (which includes the sorting and identification, as well as 

 the mere preservation, of the lakhs of specimens already 

 accumulated and of the thousands received every year) has 

 not been increased since a time, many years ago, when the 

 collection was comparatively quite small; yet this work is 



