75 



away on the 4th of February. He was a contemporary of Bates and 

 W. F. Kirby, a prolific writer on Exotic Insects from various parts 

 of the world, and for more than twenty years was engaged in the 

 arrangement of the Rhynchota, etc., at the Natural History 

 Museum, South Kensington. Some of his more important publica- 

 tions were his " Insecta Transvaaliensia " and a " Monograph of 

 the Oriental Cicadidae." 



On April 12th the death occurred at Cairo of Arthur Bacot, 

 Entomologist to the Lister Institute, whose researches into the 

 causes of Trench fever. Plague, and Yellow fever, have been of 

 immense value. 



On the 27th of August, at his residence in the New Forest, David 

 Sharp, M.A., M.B., F.R.S., departed this life at the advanced age 

 of 82 years. An interesting account of the life and works of this 

 great naturalist is given in the Obituary of the " Ent. Mo. Mag." 

 for October, wherein he is referred to as " the doyen of British 

 Coleopterists, one of the most distinguished Entomologists of our 

 time, and whose name is a household word wherever our science is 

 pursued." Perhaps his most important work was his contribution 

 to the " Cambridge Natural History "—the section on " Insects," to 

 which the greater part of two volumes is devoted, being from his 

 pen. A number of members of this Society were personally 

 acquainted with him, and his decease will long be felt as a deplor- 

 able loss to all interested in scientific entomology. 



I have written here for the first time a short account of a fifteen 

 months' sojourn in the land of " Oar Lady of the Snows," and I 

 request your kind forbearance if you should find the matter of more 

 general than scientific interest. 



My aim has been to convey, though in a feeble manner, some 

 idea of what life in that great country is like from a naturalist's 

 point of view. My intention was to include both Flora and Fauna 

 in my sketch, but I found that the short time at my disposal this 

 evening would make it necessary to omit the remarks on one or 

 other of these kingdoms. 



The botanical pages have therefore been excluded, on the sup- 

 position that they would most likely be of less interest than the rest 

 to the majority of my fellow members. If on some future occasion 

 the omitted portions should be likely to prove acceptable, I shall 

 have much pleasure in offering them as a separate paper. 



