ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 331 



Society may be referred to for their practical importance to the 

 Agriculturist : the Essay proposed for the past year, M'as an 

 investigation into the habits, &c. of the ' Nigger,' or black 

 caterpillar of the Turnip-fly {At/tcdia centifoUce), towards the 

 prosecution of which the Agricultural Society of Saffron 

 Walden joined us, by proposing an additional five guineas 

 for the successful essayist. At present, I regret to observe, 

 one essay alone, but apparently a very valuable one, has been 

 sent in ; and this day terminates the period for the reception of 

 such papers. As this paucity of essays may probably arise 

 from the late period of the year the notice for their subject was 

 promulgated, would it not be advisable in future, that a longer 

 time should elapse between the announcement of the proposed 

 Essay and that fixed upon for its reception ? In the present 

 instance, I am fully aware, the delay originated, unavoidably in 

 a great measure, from the negotiations between the Saffron 

 Walden Association and this Society. 



" Surrounded as I am by individuals fully competent to 

 judge of the vast and almost boundless extent of the subjects 

 comprehended within the scope of the Society''s investigation, 

 it may not be thought useless to suggest to them the adoption 

 of the most simple methods of carrying their inquiries forward. 

 Most of you, doubtless, have experienced, at one time or other, 

 the vexatious loss of time consequent upon being compelled to 

 wade through voluminous works for the purpose of ascertaining 

 whether any account or description of the insect, then under 

 your investigation, was therein contained ; and after the most 

 laborious research, have been frequently disappointed in your 

 endeavours to extract the wished-for information, arising from 

 the diffused and miscellaneous character of such publications ; 

 and, as I trust that our Transactions will eventually become 

 voluminous, would it not be advisable for the working members 

 of the Society to confine their labours, as far as practicable, to 

 groups, in preference to the mere description of new and 

 isolated species ? thereby gradually laying the foundation of a 

 valuable series of Essays, by preparing a succession of mono- 

 graphs of such groups of insects as are but little known, and 

 of which the descriptions, so far as they have appeared, lie 

 scattered over numerous bulky volumes. I would, however, 

 except from this rule all notices or descriptions of new species, 

 regarding which any important fact of economy, physiology. 



