42 



ing to ancient Chinese records, its use dates back to the 13th 

 century; for about that time Chinese candles were first made of 

 pela-wax. A remari^ably accurate native description of the insect 

 appeared in 1610. It feeds on Froxinns c/unensis, LignstrniH tflab- 

 niiii, L. Incidioii, and Hibiscus syriaciis. Richthofen estimates the 

 value of a j^ear's harvest of pela-wax in Sze-tchouen at 11,000,000 

 francs. 



In the words of a celebrated American entomologist : — " Man is but 

 one of the forms of life struggling for existence, at continued war- 

 fare with surrounding forces, but by virtue of his surpi-ising intelli- 

 gence he has over-run the earth, has accommodated himself to the 

 most unnatural environments ; he has dominated all other species, 

 he has turned to his own uses and encouraged or hastened the 

 evolution of species useful to him or of useful qualities in such 

 species ; he has wiped out of existence certain inimical forms, and 

 is gaining the control of others. He is the dominant type, and 

 types whose existence or methods of life are opposed to his interests 

 are being pushed to the wall. It is the culmination of a history 

 which has many times repeated itself in past ages. The struggle of 

 other forms of life to accommodate themselves to the conditions 

 brought about by the rapid development of the dominant type is one 

 of the interesting fields of study open to the biologist to-day. It 

 would seem as if, in man's effort to make the face of the earth his 

 own, all the complicated elements of life were arrayed against him, 

 and the great and ultimate result of the labour of the biologist in 

 his study of the relations of the different forms of life, and the laws 

 which govern their development, will be to bring about the absolute 

 control of all other life by man. Thus, it is not only the economic 

 worker who looks for results of a practical kind from his labour — 

 the scientific agriculturist, the horticulturist, the economic zoologist, 

 the medical bacteriologist, who should command the respect of even 

 the practical-minded man — but the biologist in whatever field, 

 whether he is working towards the understanding of broad principles 

 and general laws, or in some narrow corner of research he is accu- 

 mulating material which will help ultimately to lead to wider 

 understandings — all are working helpfully and practically towards 

 the perfect well-being of the human race." 



I should say that for many of the facts included above I am in- 

 debted to that admirable book by C. A. Ealand, " Insects and 

 Man." 



In conclusion, I desire to thank the Council and Members of the 



