On examining a number of these chrysalids, a large proportion of them were found 

 to he infested with parasites, which materially lessens the chances of their beina; so very 

 numerous again next year ; still we fear that enough of them passed safely through all 

 their preparatory stages to give us some trouble another season. 



Tlie Cabbage Butterfly, Fieris rapri', is still progressing westward. This year it has 

 extended its domain as far as Chicago, where a few of the advance guard have been cap- 

 tured. In the neighbourhood of London their larva3 have been very destiuctive this sum- 

 mer, so disfiguring and destroyitig the cab'oagcs in many instances as to render them en- 

 tirely worthless. The history of the introduction of this pretty little pest forms an in- 

 teresting chapter in our Entomological annals. During the time of the Trent difficulty 

 in 1S61, a quantity of fresh vegetables were sent along with other stores to Quebec for the 

 sustenance of the gallant little army which was despatcheil to our shores. As the Cabbage 

 Butterfly is said to have made its appearance shortly after this period, it is presumed that 

 it was accidentally introduced with the stores for the troops. In 1863 specimens were 

 sent to us from this district for determination, which was the first intimation we had of 

 their existence in this country. By 186() the butterfly had spread further west than 

 Montreal, and east as far as the Saguenay River. In 1869 it was reported as common in 

 New Jersey, and by 1871 it had travelled east as far as Halifax, Nova Scotia, and wess 

 to the middle of the State of New York It now embraces an area bounded by th« 

 shores of the Atlantic from the River St. Lawrence to Virginia, and has overrun the whole 

 country westward as far as Chicago. A few days since, while on a visit to the Muskoka 

 District, 1 was surprised to find them plentiful, in company with the Colorado Potato 

 Beetle, as far north as the head of Lake Rosseau. 



The wonderful manner in which this insect has adapted itself to the varying climatif 

 characteristics embraced within this wide area, is a matter of astonishment. It seems to 

 thrive alike in the cold north and sunny south, and in every place where it established itself 

 it has multiplied .so rapidly as to become in a very short time the commonest of aj 1 butterfliea. 

 The little parasite, P/eromalu.< pu/iarvm, which has also fortunately been introduced from 

 Europe, and which is finally destined to keep this pest within reasonable bound?, is on the 

 increase here, but is not yet sufficiently numerous to fulfil its mission as successfully as we 

 could wish. 



The Colorado Potato Beetle, as predicted, has at last found its way across the Atlantic, 

 and founded colonics on the Continent and in the British Isles. Their arrival and settlement 

 has caui-ed a commotion almost as great as would the approach of a hostile army. According 

 to newspaper accounts, large patches of- ground where the enemy has been seen lurking; haye 

 been saturated with benzine and fired, while in the .search, the whole surface has been turned 

 over with the .spade and .shovel as carefully as if each specimen were a nugget nf gold or a 

 diamond. Cargoes of all sorts in which it was suspected the intruders could fiud abiding 

 place have been submitted to the most rigid e.xaminatinn by uovernment officials, and varioHS 

 edicts were promulgated, with a view to strangle this evil in its infancy : but the beetle ie 

 heedless of enactments, however prohibitory, and we fear that no vigilance, no matter how 

 persistent, will prevail in preventing the spread of this little intruder, and that befi)re long 

 the potato grower in Eurojie will be obliged to rcL'ularly adopt measures for poisoning this 

 pest similar to tiiose so successfull}- carried out by our own people. 



Since I was last privileged to address you, the Congress of the United States, in view of 

 the enormous losses yearly inflicted on agriculture by destructive insects, have appointed an 

 Entomological Commission composed of eminent Entomologists, who shall devote their whole 

 time for several years to a study of the habits of the various insect pests, and the thorough 

 testing of the efficiency of such remedies as have been or may be devised for their destruction, 

 and to report progress frojn time to time. A liberal appropriation to defray the expense of 

 this work has been made, and the labourers are now activelj' engiired in the field. 



E:irly in the year, your President was re(iuested by the (Jhief of this Commission, Prof, 

 vJ. V. Riley, to bring this important matter before our Government and ask their influence 

 towards furthering the objects in view. Accordingly, at a meeting of the Council of Agri- 

 culture, I.eid in .lunc last, the writer introduced a resolution urging tlie co-operation of our 

 Govirnnient with that of the United States in this undertakin'jr, which was unanimously 

 adopted by the Board and transmitted to the proper authorities. I am pleased to be able to 

 state that the Minister of Agriculture, in his reply, assured us that this subject had alieady 



