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that it pains me exceedingly to say a single word against anything that he may put forth. 

 His projected "revision," however, is so sweeping and so revolutionary that I cannot for- 

 bear to make some remarks upon it. I know tiiat his scientific labours are perfectly unselfish, 

 and that he is entirely destitute of any of the conceit that I have just now referred to ; I feel 

 sure, too, that he is actuated only by the desire to benefit the science : yet I do deeply de- 

 plore the mode that he has adopted, and am convinced that if bis views are pressed, a very 

 great obstacle will be thrown in the way of the advancement and popularization of this de- 

 partment of Natural History. We all, I am sure, look forward with eager anticipation to 

 the publication of his great work upon North American Butterflies, and have no doubt that 

 it will be the most complete, the most scientific, and the most conscientious work of the kind 

 in America ; but assuredly its value will be very greatly m^arrcd and its general acceptance 

 impaired, if he continues to insist upon all these radical changes. 



To show you what these changes are, I will briefly state that in the pamphlet already 

 published, and which is intended as a forerunner of the author's great work on the Butterflies, 

 the following alterations arc made in the received nomenclature: — The ::28 species enume- 

 rated are distributed among 96 genera — almost a genus for every two species ; of these 96 

 genera, 42 are entirely new, and 39 others are obsolete names of Hubner and others that 

 have never been generally adopted ; there are thus 15 familiar generic names left, but of these 

 several are transferred from their present position to entirely diflferent groups of species ; for 

 instance, the name of PapiUo is removed from the genus of " Swallow-tailed Butterflies." and 

 handed over to the sole use of the insect at present known as Vanessa antiojia ! Further, 

 among the 96 genera, there are no less than 45 that include but a single species apiece ; and 

 among the 228 species there are only 16 left with their present names unchanged! These fig- 

 ures are surely quite enough to show that I have not misapplied the terms " sweeping," " revolu- 

 tionary," and "radical," as characterizing this work of revision. I would, then, most earnestly 

 entreat Mr. Pcudder, for the sake of the science itself, to reconsider his projected changes, — 

 to discard all antiquated names in favour of those that have been for years in general accep- 

 tation and to reduce his list of new genera to as small a number as he conscientiously can. 

 If he di es not, if he persists in his revision, I fear that his great work — most valuable as it 

 will undoubtedly be in all other respects — will introduce more confusion, trouble and dis- 

 cord into American Entomology than a generation can get rid of. If these difiiculties can 'be 

 avoided in no other mode, it will remain for us all to unite together and agree to ignore all 

 old forgotten names that may be brought forward, and retain all remaining of familiar species, 

 until a general settlement of the question can be satisfactorily arrived at. 



I fear, gentlemen, that I have now completely exhausted your patience ; I shall there- 

 fore hasten to a close. But before doing so, let me remind you that, since our last annual 

 meeting, our Society has lost by death one of its most valued members, Mr. B. Billings, of 

 Ottawa, Ont. He was one of those devoted lovers of science who do good service by their 

 honest, hearty work, but who, from their innate modesty and retiring disposition, shriuk from 

 all publicity. At times he contributed valuable papers to our little periodical, but he could 

 never be induced to make any display of the knowledge he had ^acquired by his patient dili- 

 gence both at home and in the field. 



Permit me now, gentlemen, to resign into your hands the oflnce that you have done me 

 the honour of investing me with. I thank you for your kindness and courtesy towards my- 

 self and my colleagues, and with every wish for the continued success and prosperity of your 

 Society. 



I have the honour to be, gentlemen, 



Your obedient servant, 

 Charles J. S. Bethuni. 



Trinity College School, Port Hope, 

 September, 1872. 



The London Branch. 



The following officers were elected for 1872 : — 



President Mr. E. B. Reed, 



Vice-President .... Mr. J. M. Denton, 



Secretary-Treuimrcr Mr. II. Bi ck. 



Curator Mr. Joseph Williami. 



