THE PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL ADDRESS. 



The Rev. Dr. Bethune, Warden of Trinity College School, Port Hope, President of the 

 Society, took the chair at 8 o'clock, and proceeded to deliver his annual address, as follows : 

 Gentlemen : The pleasant duty once more devolves upon me of welcoming you all 

 to our annual meeting. It is with great gratification that I do so, inasmuch as all goes 

 well with our Society, and the reports of the council and officers, and also of the sections, 

 record a steady progress and a continued prosperity. It is now thirty years since Mr. 

 Saunders and I issued a circular to the collectors of insects in Canada, who were at that 

 time very few indeed in number, and by this means obtained the names and addresses of 

 all who were interested in Entomology. After some correspondence had taken place, it 

 was decided to call a meeting at Toronto for the purpose of forming a Canadian Entomo- 

 logical Club. A meeting was accordingly held in the rooms of the Canadian Institute in 

 Toronto, on the 16th day of April, 1863, at which nine gentlemen were present, and 

 resolutions were drawn up for the formation of " The Entomological Society of Canada.'" 

 It will interest you, no doubt, to hear the names of these pioneers of the science in this 

 country. They were the Rev. Prof. Hincks and Prof. Croft, of the University of Toronto • 

 Mr. J. H. Sangster, Dr. Beverley R. Morris and James Hubbart, of Toronto ; Dr. Thos. 

 Cowdry * and his son, Mr. H. Cowdry, of York Mills ; Mr. Saunders, of London, and 

 myself. We had also letters of sympathy with the project from Mr. E. Billings, of the 

 Geological Survey, Montreal ; Mr. R. V. Rogers, Kingston ; Mr. F, Reynolds, Hamilton ; 

 Mr. B. Billings, Prescott ; Rev. V. Clementi, Peterborough ; and Mr. E. Baynes Reed, 

 of London. These gentlemen all cooperated very heartily in the work of the Society 

 and largely contributed to its success. From this beginning of fifteen members the 

 Society has gone on, grown and prospered, and it has now become a large and influential 

 body, with a well-established reputation and a recognized scientific status. It becomes 

 us all then, and especially the younger members, to keep up the good work and to do all 

 in our power, both individually and collectively, for the well-being and prosperity of our 

 beloved Entomological Society of Ontario. There is an unlimited field for work in this 

 country, both in practical and scientific entomology. The life-histories of countless insects 

 remain to be investigated, large areas of our country have never been explored, and in 

 some orders of insects almost nothing has been done. In some department or other, each of 

 us may do some good work even though our opportunities may be few and our time limited. 

 In accordance with our long established custom it now devolves 

 upon me to bring before you some account of the chief insect 

 attacks of the year in this province. Among those that I referred 

 to last year, "the Eye-spotted bud-moth" {Tmelocera ocellana, Schiff) 

 Fig. 1, continues to be very injurious to apple-trees in many parts of the 

 country. Canker-worms have been very abundant and destructive in 

 various places. (Fig. 2 repre- 

 sents the male and wingless 

 female of Anisoptenjx Ver- 

 nata.) At Ottawa, on the first of June, T ob- 

 served them in vast numbers upon forest trees 

 in the neighborhood of the city, and have since 

 been informed that they stripped them of their 

 foliage; they especially attacked the elm, bass- 

 wood and ash, but wei-e rarely seen upon the ^ig. 2. 

 apple, which is the usual food of the insect. At 



Winnipeg also, as no steps were taken to check their ravages last year, they have con- 

 tinued the work of destruction upon the shade trees of the city. It is much to be 

 deplored that the municipal authorities have not taken the trouble to protect their trees 

 and keep the insect within due bounds. 



* We regret to have to record that Dr. Thomas Cowdry died on the 16th of October, 1892, at the resi- 

 dence of his son, Mr. E. Cowdry, Simcoe, Ont., in the 80th year of his age. Dr. Cowdry had been in poor 

 health for some time and resided of late years in Bermuda for the sake of the genial climate. He returned 

 to Canada in the spring and died at a good old age, much beloved and respected by all who knew him. 



