xW THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



away two, Mr. J. B. Turner, and Dr. William Houston. 

 ^Vhile the former gentleman was but little appreciated 

 beyond the small circle of his immediate acquaintance, the 

 latter was almost universally known and respected throughout 

 Sydney. Both, however, were devoted to Entomology, and 

 are deeply lamented by every Member of the Society. 



As to our prospects, I can scarcely doubt that the efforts 

 of the Members will be followed by the same success which 

 has hitherto attended them ; and I believe that an increased 

 acquaintance with the Science will be evinced in the number 

 and character of the contributions to our next publication. 



The chief difficulty which the Entomologist has to 

 encounter in this country, is the impossibility of ascertaining 

 what has already been done with respect to the nomenclature 

 and description of its Insect Fauna. Insolated descriptions 

 of species are to be found in the Natural History Periodicals 

 of almost every country in Europe, but few attempts have 

 been made to consider the Australian Fauna as a whole. 

 BoisduvaPs " Faune de TOceanie " is, I believe, the latest 

 work of the kind published, and it is of little use as a means 

 of investigating species ; the descriptions are short, and 

 would for the most part apply to all the species of the parti- 

 cular genus mentioned. The number of Insects, moreover, 

 described in this work is scarcely a tithe of those to be found 

 in the most ordinary collections. To obviate such difficulties 

 should be our first endeavour. In order to enable us to make 

 our observations on the habits of an Insect known, we have 

 to ascertain the name by which it would be at once universally 

 recognized by Entomologists, for I need scarcely say, that an 

 acquaintance with the names of species greatly increases our 

 powers of observation. Nevertheless, though a correct know- 

 ledge of the nomenclature of Insects is indispensable to the 

 Entomologist, it ought only to be regarded as a means 

 towards an end, that is, as the Dictionary by which the 

 Science is to be acquired, and, therefore, the first, but not 

 the ultimate subject of our investigation. 



