modious suite of rooms has been procured in a central locality in London, Ont.— the present 

 headquarters of the Society; the Canadian Entdmolooist has been regularly issued 

 with, we trust, no diminution in the value and interesting character of its contents ; our 

 Second Annual Report on Noxious and Beneficial Insects, prepared by Messrs. Saunders and 

 Reed, and myself, and containing notices of tlie insects aftecting the Aiijjle, Gr ipe, Plum, 

 Currant and (Jooseberry, Wheat crops, Potato, Cabbage, CucumbiT, Melon, Pumpkin and 

 Squash, has been duly published by the Legislature of Ontario, and no doubt has long since 

 been in the hands of you all. Such, gentlemen, is our record f )r the year that is now 

 brought to a close, and, having in addition, a satisfactory balance-sheet from the Treasurer, 

 we feel that mutual congratulations are not out of place, and that wc who have been honoured 

 with official positions in the Society, can look back upon our efforts in its behalf with at 

 least the agreeable feeling that they have not been altogether in vain. 



If we turn, moreover, from our own especial interests to the condition and prospects of 

 American Entomology in general, wc find much to afford us satisfaction and encourage- 

 ment. No large work, indeed, on any particular order of insects has appeared during the 

 past year, but many valuable reports of State Entomologists and portions of serial publica- 

 tions have been issued from the press, — among the latter, I may be pardoned, I am sure, 

 for especially drawing attention to the exquisite illustrations of North American Butterflies 

 contained in Mr. W. 11. Edwards' invaluable work, which has now reached its Tenth Part. 

 It .speaks well, too, for the growing popularity of this branch of Natural Science, that Dr. 

 Packard's useful " Guide to the Study of Insects " has already reached a third edition. A 

 pleasing recognition of American Entomological work has recently, I may add, been mani- 

 fested in England by the publication there, in a collected form, of the writings of the late 

 Dr. Brackenridge Clemens, on the Tiiuina of North America, under the editorial supervision 

 of Mr, H, T, Stainton the well-known authority in that department of Lepidopterology. 



Apart, however, from the position attained by the growth of our Entomological litera- 

 ture, the Science has this year received a recognition that cannot fail to be of great and 

 permanent benefit to it. I allude to the formation of a special .sub-section of Entomology at 

 the recent, meeting of the American Association for the advancement of Scionce. It will 

 now be practicable for American Entomologists —to whatever part of the continent they may 

 belong, whether to a Province of the Dominion or a State of the Union, from the Atlantic to 

 the Pacific — to meet together for mutual conference on matters Entomological. Questions 

 affectmg the Science in general can hardly fail to arise from time to time, and demand the 

 consideration, and, possibly, the deei.sion of some such united council. Certainly, the pro- 

 ceedings of such a gathering will be of great interest and value to all who take part in them, 

 if not, indeed to the whole circle of Canadian and American Entomologists. 



At the' informal meeting at Dubu(|ue, in August last, one subject was specially brought 

 forward for discussion, which I cannot forbear alluding to more particularly here, especially 

 as it may justly be considered the gre.it question of the day in the Entomological world. I 

 refer to the .subject of the Specific and Generic Nomenclature of Insects. For some few 

 years past indications have not been wanting of a growing inclination amongst the m.ass of 

 Entomologists to resist the efforts made by some few able and distingui.shed writers to impose, 

 year after year, new sets of names upon our common insects. This has been done partly by 

 the revival of the long-forgotten names published at the close of the last century, or the 

 beginning of the present one; and partly by the perpetual formation of new genera, and the 

 re-distributi'in of species. Tlie ability of the writers and the good work they have done in 

 other respects, have caused these annoying changes to be acquiesced in for the most part, 

 even though the object in view appo;ired to be ratiier the exhibition of their powers of re- 

 search among antiquated tomes, or the suppo.scd immortalization of tiiemselves by the attach- 

 ment of their own names to those of our familiar insects. I do not say that these men were 

 actuated entirely by such motives, but assuredly one can hardly be acused of ill-natured 

 criticism in a.scribing much of the work to such causes. All must admit, I think, that 

 nomenclature is but a means to an end. .and tliat end is surely best attained b)' the preserva- 

 tion of all names that have been in universal acceptation for a period of years, and that can- 

 not be set aside without disturbing the cabinets of every Entoniologi.st in the land. 



Matters in this respect have been brought to a climax by the recent publication of Mr, 

 Scudder's " Systematic Revision of some of the North American Butterflies." I esteem Mr. 

 Scudder so highly as a friend, and value so greatly the good scientific work that he has done, 



