24 REPORT OF No. 19 



Under tlie new partnersliip tlie Ontario Agricultural College can furnish 

 tlie facilities and means of doing work, viz., its laboratories, insectary and 

 funds for travelling. The Entomological Society can furnish the men and 

 influence. The members of the Society scattered through the Province can 

 be brought more closely into touch with the work of the Society and the De- 

 partment. Their energies can be directed to better advantage by the central 

 agency, Dr. Bethune and his assistants; and the season's observations will, 

 therefore, be more definite and hence more valuable. 



As you all know, the Ontario Department of Agriculture publishes and 

 distributes for the Society its annual report which contains the papers pre- 

 pared by its members. This report is edited by Dr. Bethune, and is printed 

 early in the New Year, so that the recommendations made by the members 

 may be of service to the fruit-grower and farmer the following year. More- 

 over, the records and observations which are often of great value, are dis- 

 tributed promptly to brother observers all over the world. Now the Ento- 

 mological Department, with its head as Editor of the Annual Report, is 

 happily situated in that it can place on record before the scientific world 

 its observations of the year. 



What an incentive to ambitious students to make careful observations 

 during the summer holidays on their farms ! No other Department at the 

 College has such facilities at its disposal for the immediate publication of 

 scattered records and observations which could not well be published in bul- 

 letin form. 



Again, the Entomological Society brings to Guelph its large collections 

 of insects which have been carefully looked after for many years. The 

 specimens in the collection are valuable in that they represent Canadian 

 forms mainly, and many are types of new species described in the Canadian 

 Entomologist. The specimens have been carefully named by specialists, 

 and are thus simply invaluable for purposes of reference. These collections 

 now become, therefore, part of the collection of the Entomological Depart- 

 ment and are at the service of that Department for research and lecture work. 

 Advanced students and specialists in systematic Entomology will soon ap- 

 preciate the worth of such collections when they undertake the study of 

 special groups of insects. For many years the College had but a meagre 

 reference collection, which condition of affairs rendered the work of instruc- 

 tion extremely arduous and time-consuming. Students outside of the Col- 

 lege will no doubt be encouraged to send in specimens for identification and 

 for help ; and every outsider helped increases the reach and influence of the 

 College. 



Again, the Entomological Society's library, which also comes to the 0. 

 A. C, is one of the best specialists' libraries in Canada, or the United States 

 for that matter. It contains an unusual large number of full sets of ento- 

 mological journals obtained mainly by exchange with the Canadian Ento- 

 mologist during the 37 years of its publication. Besides these, the library 

 contains nearly all the Entomological publications — in English, at any 

 rate — of the last 40 years. 



Eor research and advanced work all the books and journals are at the 

 disposal of the students and staff. Without them the staff was formerly 

 much handicapped for lack of literature dealing with special groups of in- 

 sects. 



Connected as I was with the Entomological department of the 0. A. 

 C. for many years, and having labored hard under difficulties that are now 

 largely removed by the transfer of the headquarters of the Entomological 

 Society to the Entomological department of the 0. A. C, I feel envious 



