18 



kindness of Mr. White, of Edmonton, and Mr. Morton, of Wingham, each of whom has 

 furnished us with a large number of specimens ; also to Mr. Balkwill, whose untiring 

 energy has enabled us to have the plants arranged in their present orderly condition. 

 The object of the section is to establish a reference collection in London, by which 

 botanists in Western Ontario may be enabled to identify specimens. 



Among the botanical finds of the year are twenty species of Phanerogams — not 

 heretofore reported from this locality — four of them (viz., Buchnera Americana, Physalis 

 Grandiflora, Acerates Viridifiora, and Isopyruni Bi-ternatum) being new to the Canadian 

 flora as reported before. Besides these a very large number of rare plants have been 

 brought in and examined. 



Of mosses, our leader has discovered two new to Canada, while in the fungi Mr. 

 Dearness has been able to add upwards of seventy species to the American list. 



A floral calendar was kept from the united observations of the members, which we 

 expect to be a source of interest for comparison with those of succeeding years. 



During the year there were several very interesting outings participated in by the 

 members of the section, the principal points visited being within a radius of a few miles. 

 Profs. Bowman and Dearness and several of the other members explored the botanic 

 treasures of the drowned lands of Huron and Middlesex, and the vicinity of Port 

 Franks. These fields aflforded several of the most notable of the recent additions to out 

 herbarium. 



We hope that the work so begun will be more actively and systematically carried on 

 in the year to come, and we believe that the spirit and energy of the younger and newer 

 members afford us a guarantee that such will be the case. 



M. W. Althouse, 



Secretary Botanical Section. 



After the reading of the botanical report, upon invitation by the President, Prof. 

 Bowman also spoke of the work of the section and expressed the view that the establish- 

 ment of the different sections had been of great service to the parent society, having 

 interested many students who were not specially devoted to the study of insects loer se. 

 He spoke also of the good service done by Mr. Dearness in naming and exhibiting 

 specimens of fungi at the various meetings. 



Dr. Woolverton reported upon the work of the Geological section. 



CAN INSECTS SURVIVE FREEZING? 



The President read the following paper by Mr. H. H. Lyman, of Montreal : — 



In a foot note to his paper on " The Butterflies of Laggan " (Can. Ent. xxii. 129), 

 Mr. Bean says, " I hope none of my younger readers entertain the absurd mediaeval super- 

 stition that hibernating caterpillars pass the winter in a frozen condition. In successful 

 hibernation they do not get near to such a condition ; but if they do absolutely freeze, 

 then are they undone caterpillars. Valkyria gives them sleep, unmixed with dreams, and 

 they wake in Valhalla." 



Without entering into any discussion as to my relative age in comparison with Mr- 

 Bean's I may confess that I have long believed that some caterpillars as well as insects in 

 other stages can and do survive freezing, and finding my belief so distinctly challenged, I 

 have endeavoured to find some further light upon this subject from such literature as is 

 accessible to me and from personal testimony. The first work to which I turned was 

 Scudder's "Butterflies of New England." 



