1902 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 123 



every taste. Then they are not the monopoly of the rich or the learned, but are open to all wh 

 have an eye to see, and a mind to perceive. They are educational in their influences, leading 

 to habits of thought, observation and self-control. They are elevating in their tendency, lead- 

 ing away from that which is base and ignoble, to that which is pure, beautiful and refining. 

 Physically they are healthful ; most departments requiring those out-of-door activities that 

 brace and strengthen. And they are perfectly inexhaustible, and such a source of enjoyment, 

 as only those engaged in them have the slightest conception of. Thus satisfying man's utili- 

 tarian disposition to the utmost. 



In nothing of all that, does entomology fall short in interest and importance to any othe 

 department of natural history. There are four times as many different kinds of insects in the 

 world as of all other kinds of animal life put together, and their powers of increase may be 

 reckoned at fifty times as great. Then insects have four separate stages of existence to in- 

 vestigate before you can be certain that you have an exact knowledge of their life history. 

 Whilst the simple question, " What constitutes a species," amongst them, remains as yet 

 wholly unsettled. If it is the beauty of nature that attracts your attention, you will find in 

 insects the equal of flowers, with the added charm of animation ; combining in colour and form 

 the highest art with the poetry of motion. It is the strange and wonderful that excites your 

 interest ; no where in nature can be seen such marvels as in the transformations of insects 

 such departures from fehe ordinary course of life in other creatures ; such contrasts in con- 

 ditions ; from the lowly and grovelling, nourished on garbage ; to the elegant and refined, re- 

 velling in the sunbeam and sustained by nectar. In their individual instincts along the lines 

 of natural capacity, excelling in correctness the most cultivated reason of man. In the perfect 

 adaptation of parts to their uses, they are far in advance of the inventive powers of a human 

 genius, and in many instances they exceed in grotesqueness, the imaginative creatures of the 

 wildest romancer. And whilst they are considered to be the ephemeral things of a day, their 

 pedigree can be traced to the remotest antiquity ; and no where else can be found such beauti- 

 ful illustrations of natural theology. Thus providing abundant scope for the exercise of every 

 faculty of the human mind. 



THE NORTH-WEST (CANADA) ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



ANNUAL MEETING. 



On Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 5, 1902, at the High school, Calgary, was held the fourth 

 and last annual meeting of the North West Entomological Society. The meeting was one of 

 very great interest, for it involved the extinction of the Entomological Society and the found- 

 ing in its stead of the Territorial Natural History Society. 



• 



ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



The chair was occupied, until the burial of the Entomological society, by the Right Revd., 

 the Bishop of Saskatchewan and Calgary. The large room was crowded and among those pres- 

 ent were Chas. W. Peterson, deputy commissioner of Agriculture, Regina ; T. N. Willing, 

 Regina : Dean Paget ; Percy B. Gregson ; N. D. Sanson, curator of Banff museum ; F. H. 

 Wolley-Dod ; A. G. WoUey-Dod ; C. Marker ; Principal J. B. Boyce ; Messrs. King, Tomlin- 

 son and about forty other residents of Calgary and district. 



Letters in support of the meeting were received from the Mayor of Calgary and other 

 gentlemen. 



After an interesting opening speech by the chairman, Mr. Percy B. Gregson, as president 

 of the Entomological Society, was called upon to address the meeting. 



