140 [November, 



Entomolo&ical Society of London. — Octoler \st, 1879. Sir J. Lubbock:, 

 Bart., M.P., &o.. President, in the Chair. 



Mr. P. H. Gt-osse, F.E.S., of Torquay, -was elected a Member. 



The President feelingly alluded to the great loss the Society had recently sus- 

 tained by the death of Mr. W. Wilson Saunders, one of its original Members. 



The President announced that Lord Walsingham had (in conjunction with 

 other gentlemen) offered two prizes of £50 each for the best life-history of (1) 

 Sclerostoma syngamus, Dies., believed to produce the " gapes" in fowls, and (2) of 

 Strongi/his pergracilis, Cobbold, the supposed producer of the grouse-disease. The 

 prizes to be open for competition to Naturalists of all nationalities, ond the essays 

 might be written in either English, French, or G-erman, and must be sent in on or 

 before October 15th, 1882. 



Mr. McLachlan said that, with the greatest respect for the liberality that had 

 induced Lord Walsingham to offer these prizes, he was of opinion that the Council 

 had not sufficiently held in view the objects for which the Society was instituted 

 when they accepted the offer, more especially as the Society was languishing for 

 want of funds sufficient (o enable it to carry out the furtherance of the study of 

 Entomology in a proper manner : and he thought, that if this were properly brought 

 before Lord Walsingham, the latter might be inclined to modify the subjects chosen 

 for the prize essays. The subjects named belonged more properly to the Linnean or 

 Zoological Societies. The scope of the Entomological Society was not limited to 

 insects in the narrow sense, but included all that division of the animal kingdom 

 known as Arthro2ooda : in no case, however, could the Entozoa named in the an- 

 nouncement come within the proxince of the Society. 



Mr. Stainton fully expected that when he heard an announcem.ent from the 

 Chair as to proposed prize essays, the President would have stated to what Order 

 of insects the subjects pertained, even if only for the information of the younger 

 Members. If the creatures were not within the scope of subjects embraced in the 

 objects of the Society, he could not conceive what the Society had to do with them. 

 The Entozoa fell to the province of the Linnean or Zoological Societies, with the 

 latter of which he believed Lord Walsingham was connected. He considered the 

 action of the Council a case of uUra vires. 



Sir John Lubbock stated, that when the offer was made to him by Lord Wal- 

 singham, he did not take i\pon himself to refuse what appeared to him as an 

 opportunity of extending our knowledge of an obscui'e group of Annulosa, but he 

 fully agreed with Mr. McLachlan and Mr. Stainton, that the subject did not in any 

 way come within the scope of Entomology. Yet he hoped that the Society, by ac- 

 cepting the offer, might be the means of inducing others to offer prizes on subjects 

 that came strictly within its province. He inquired if any Member had any resolu- 

 tion to move on the subject. 



Mr. Stainton said he had no intention of moving a resolution, but he hoped 

 that if it were suggested to Lord Walsingham that the subjects were not within the 

 scope of the Entomological Society, his lordship would be willing to transfer the 

 offer to one of the other Societies already named. 



Mr. C. O. Watcrhouse remarked, that the Society was simply placed in the po- 

 sition of having to award prizes on certain subjects, and at liberty to refer the 

 matter to any sufficiently competent autliority. 



