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ly in soft tissue-paper, each insect in a separate paper, and then 

 packed in a strong box. In the case of scale insects, each infested 

 leaf and twig should be folded or wrapped in soft paper and 

 dried before being enclosed in a tight package. — -' 



Group ///.—Insects of this group should be killed and handled 

 carefully to prevent injury, folded or wrapped in paper and 

 well dried before being packed. Butterflies, with their wings 

 folded together, may be folded in paper, moths may be wrapped 

 loosely in tissue paper, and flies may be included in layers of 

 tissue paper between cotton wool, in small boxes. 



Full notes should accompany all insect specimens, stating the 

 nature of the damage done, the part of the plant attacked where 

 insects were found, and whether larva or adult does the damage ; 

 if the larva, a specimen of the adult should be included also, if 

 possible. Notes on their habits such as whether night feeder or 

 day feeder, where eggs are laid, etc., should in every case be added 

 so far as known. 



Disappointment is most likely to resuh from (l) insufficient ma- 

 terial, (2) insufficient notes and information as to habits, etc., (3) 

 bad packing which allows specimens to be crushed or to decay in 

 transportation, and (4) from sending specimens so broken and 

 battered that it is impossible to identify them. 



THE COCO DE MER, OR DOUBLE COCONUT. 



Several " double coco-nuts" were received from the Commis- 

 sioner of the Seychelles Islands in 1896. There is one plant now 

 growing in the Hope Gardens close to the Casuarina tree on the 

 other side of the stream, and a plant also in Castleton Garden. 



They grow very slowly, no stem being yet seen above ground ; 

 the height of the top of the largest leaf is loi feet. A nut which 

 failed to germinate may be seen on application at Hope Gardens, 

 and another at Castleton Garden. 



The history and the structure of this palm are of such an 

 interesting nature that the following articles on it are reprinted. 



I. By George V. Nash.* 



In the Indian Ocean several hundreds of miles to the eastward 

 of Zanzibar, and about four degrees south of the equator, isa 

 group of islands known as the Seychelles. These were discovered 

 by the Portuguese as early as 1505 ; were occupied by the French 

 in 1743 ; seized by the British in 1794, and formally ceded to them 

 in 1814. Here at the time of the French occupation in 1743 was 

 discovered a beautiful palm, the fruit of which had been known 

 for many years, but the origin of which had been one of the 

 mysteries of those early times. As in those times mysteries al- 

 ways give rise to most fabulous tales, so was it with this unknown 

 fruit, which, on account of its obscurity, was accredited with most 



♦Journal of the New York Botanical Garden, January, 1906, p. 7. 



