56 THE kntomologist's record. 



on " Melanism " at the next meeting of the City of London Ent. Society 

 (Feb. 21st). The Society invites all entomologists (not members of 

 the Society) to " The London Institution," Finsbury Square, on that 

 date. 



OCIETIES. 



Lancashire and Cheshire Entojiological Society. — The annual 



meeting of the Lancashire and Cheshire Entomological Society was 



held on Monday, January 9th, in the class-room of the Free Public 



Library, William Brown Street, Liverpool. Mr. S. J. Capper, F.L.S., 



F.E.S. (President), occupied the chair, and there was a good attendance. 



A number of interesting exhibits were laid on the table for inspection. 



The first business was the election of officers for the ensuing year. 



Mr. Capper was for the ITtli time re-elected to the position of president; 



Mr. W. E. Sharp was appointed vice-president ; Mr. F. N. Pierce, F.E.S., 



lionorary secretary and treasurer ; and Mr. C. H. H. Walker, librarian. 



Mr. Walker, on behalf of the members of the society, said it was 



his pleasing duty to ask Mr. Capper to accept a handsome gold-mounted 



silver case containing a pair of gold entomological forceps (Applause). 



The society congratulated itself upon having again secured Mr. Capper 



as its president. During the 16 years he had presided over them he 



had sought only the advancement of the society, and had encouraged 



tlie members to take an interest in their studies (Hear, hear). They 



therefore desired to inaugurate that session by doing something more 



than merely thanking Mr. Capper for his past services ; and they 



offered this slight token of regard, knowing that it would occupy an 



honoured place amongst his valuable collection (Applause). Mr. Capper, 



in acknowledging the gift, said that he thoroughly appreciated the 



kindness of the members, and would in future, as in the past, do all 



he could to benefit the society (Ajjplause). Before proceeding to deliver 



his presidential address he referred to the death of Prof. Westwood. 



He then said : — Gentlemen, — You may remember that my address 



on a similar occasion last year was largely a record of my personal 



recollections of Entomology from my early childhood, being, indeed, my 



own entomological life history. The difficulties attending the study of 



Entomology some fifty years or so ago were contrasted with the 



facilities now at our command. The paucity of the literature (most of 



which was very expensive) with that we now possess, the apparent 



rarity of many sj)ecies then, which, owing to our better knowledge of 



their habits, and the means of capturing them, are now abundant, and 



many similar contrasts. To-night I propose to leave the personal, and 



still further to imrsue this subject, and shall preface my remarks by 



very briefly tracing the history of Entomology to the present century, 



and then lay l^efore you a few important agencies which have done so 



much to facilitate the very gi'eat progress Entomology has since 



achieved. Aristotle, born in Greece B.C. 384, is acknowledged to be 



the most ancient author in whose books anything relating to Entomology 



now remains. Pliny the elder (who met with his death during the 



eruption of Vesuvius, which destroyed Pompeii, a.d. 79) wrote several 



works on natural history, some devoted to insects (bees particularly), 



but these contained little but what was copied from Aristotle. Entom- 



