THE" CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 119 



OBITUARY. 



We deeply regret to announce the death of Mr. WilHam D. Shaw, of 

 Montreal, on the 29th of June, 1S86, at the early age of 19 years. The 

 deceased was well known for his early application to science, he having 

 been the leading spirit in founding the Montreal Chapter of the Agassiz 

 Association. Of this Chapter Mr. Shaw was Secretary and Treasurer, and 

 in 1885 was appointed General Secretary for Canada. Mr. Shaw was also 

 a member of the Council of the Montreal Branch of the Entomological 

 Society of Ontario, a member of the Natural History Society of Montreal, 

 and a member of the Astro-Meteorological Association. A devoted 

 student of science, his loss will be deeply felt by his fellow workers. Un- 

 assuming, guileless and upright, his memory will ever be held in loving 

 remembrance by those who had the privilege of knowing him. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



ON EXPLOSIVE EMISSIONS FROM CARABID^. 



Dear Sir : There are other Carabidse in our fauna which make an 

 explosive emission from anal glands besides Brachynus. Mr. Ricksecker 

 ha.s observed the same in Metrms, and while I have taken these, I have 

 never been so fortunate as to observe that act. . The same is, however, 

 done by Psydrtis piceus. Many of our Carabide genera emit forcibly an 

 irritating liquid, decidedly acid in its reaction, but without any explosive 

 noise or with visible vapor ; among these are Cychrus, Calosojiia, Carabus, 

 Nomius and Chlaenius. It is possible that Calathus does the same, as 

 stated by Mr. Townsend, but the " white smoke " observed is probably 

 the result of a chemical combination between the vapors in the cyanide 

 bottle and the acid exudation, similar to that noticed when the vapors of 

 hydrochloric acid and ammonia meet. Many of these exudations are not 

 unpleasant to the smell, but in Notnius the offensiveness of the odor is 

 entirely disproportionate to the size of the insect. 



Philadelphia, April 28, 1886. George H. Horn, M. D. 



