Ixvi THE PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. 



Rlujncophorae are esteemed a special luxury by the not very 

 delicate aborigines of Australia. Indeed under certain circum- 

 stances a knowledge of Entomology might be of essential 

 service. It is but lately that a young man lost in the bush was 

 enabled to sustain life on the boiled leaves of the nettle. He 

 said that he felt the want of more substantial food ; had he been 

 an Entomologist he might have known where to find various 

 large larvfe, which would have made a very agreeable and 

 strengthening addition to his bill of fare. 



The larva of Passalus and of the Lamellicornes found so 

 commonly under logs and stones : — of various Longicornes 

 under the bark of dead or dying Wattles {Acacia decurrens) : — 

 of the butterflies^ the common Cicada (or " Locust ") in all its 

 stages, and grasshoppers of all kinds; all these are edible, 

 especially if boiled, though some are perhaps more savoury than 

 others. While if the nest of the white ant is found, the little 

 creatures may be eaten either boiled or raw. It is said that 

 in South Africa the natives sometimes get quite fat by the side 

 of a colony of Termes. 



Besides Mr. MacLeay's Paper which has suggested these 

 discursive remarks, others have been read at the monthly 

 meetings of the Society by the President upon the Pselaphida, 

 and upon a new genus of the Coleoptera inhabiting ants' nests 

 and named by him Anajjestus Kreusleri. 



It will be the duty of the Members present this evening 

 to elect a new President, as well as other officers to conduct the 

 affairs of the Society. I will not, by apologising, excuse myself 

 of not having attended to the duties of the office which I now 

 resign. But this I will say, that it has often been a subject of 

 regret with me that I have been able to do so little for the 

 Society, and that my position in the country and parochial 

 duties and engagements have prevented my regular appearance 

 at the monthly meetings ; being quite aware that I have lost 

 much valuable information and many hints of great advantage 

 in the pursuit of our Science. 



