68 



Mr. B. P. Mann said that no patent can be held valid unless held by the inventor. 

 The Government ought to get out a patent on the broad invention, and it could then 

 prevent the present holders of the patent from using it. 



Mr. Riley and Mr. Mann further discussed the subject. 



The president announced that a reception, to which all were invited, would be held 

 at Mr. Kiley's residence, Sunbury, Wyoming avenue, at 7 o'clock this evening. 



The meeting then adjourned. 



AFTERNOON SESSION. 



The meeting was called to order at 2.30 p.m. by President Fletcher. Twenty- 

 eight persons were present. The minutes of the preceding session were read and approved. 

 The committee on nominations reported the following nominations for the ensuing year : 



For president, J. A. Lintner, of New York. 



For first vice-president, S. A. Forbes, of Illinois. 



For second vice-president, J. H. Comstock, of New York. 



For secretary, F. M. Webster, of Ohio. 



On motion, the report of the committee was adopted, the committee was discharged, 

 and the officers named were declared elected. The name of George H. Hudson, of 

 Plattsburg, New York, was presented by Mr. Lintner ; that of H. A. Morgan, of Louisiana, 

 by Mr. Weed ; that of B. P. Mann, of the District of Columbia, by Mr. Bruner, and that 

 of Miss M. E. Murtfeldt, of Missouri, by Mr. Riley. All of these names were ordered 

 to be inscribed upon the roll of members. 



On motion of Mr. Howard, seconded by Mr. Smith, it was resolved that the next 

 meeting of the society be held at the place of, and two days preceding, the next meeting 

 of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 



Mr. Riley read a paper entitled " Dermestes vulpinus and Tobacco," which is held for 

 publication elsewhere. 



Mr. South wick stated that he had found Dermestes under the bark of a mahogany log 

 in New York, and that it had entered this crevice for pupation after having originally 

 fed upon some animal matter. 



A NOTE ON PARASITES. 



BY L. O. HOWARD, WASHINGTON, D. C. 



The object of this brief note is to impress upon the members of this Association the 

 fact that one cannot be too careful in statements for publication concerning the relation 

 between a given parasite and its host. 



The possibilities for error are very great, as a few instances will show. 



In 1882, while studying the Army Worm at Huntsville, Ala., I noticed an Ichneu- 

 monid walking about a fence-rail over which the worms were swarming in countless 

 numbers. The parasite was apparently excited, walked and flew from one part to 

 another, occasionally lighted upon a caterpillar and brought her ovipositor into position. 

 I captured her, and in my notes wrote " Found ovipositing upon the larva of Leucania 

 unipitncta" Now it transpires that this Ichnenmonid was Bassus scutellaius, and as the 

 consensus of rearing experiments shows, the species of this genus are parasites of Diptera, 

 and my inference was in all probability entirely mistaken. If the original observation 

 had been published it would have been absolutely necessary for perfect safety to have 

 detailed the circumstances in order that future students should not be misled. 



