2 2f) — 



Naturalist's Dire, tdiy there ar^r more with Entomology in some of its 

 branches after their names, tiian ever l>cr()re. 



Mr. Smith says that in the May No. of "Knt. Am." he had given a 

 statement of what the Naturalist's Directury sliowed in this direction, and 

 proved how little the word ''^;//."' after a name signified in man\ 

 instances. 



Prof Peahotly said that in 1869 this matter came upbef >re him ant! 

 he has tried to work out its solution tor many years. He had projected 

 a {)opular m.anual; but thi longer he worked, the further off seemed the 

 end. There were two serious difficulties in the way. The first is, that 

 the subject is so large that it is difficult for one man to cover the ground 

 and keep the work within moderate bounds; and the second, that our 

 knowledge of manv orders wasstill too incomplete forsu^h a work which 

 should be simple and comprehensive. 



Prof Underwood thinks we do not necessarily need such a com- 

 prehensive work. ']"he most successful manuals in botany, and such as 

 created most interest, where those that treated only a limited group, and 

 a limited fauna. A most useful treatise would be one embracing the in- 

 sects of the N.E. United States, as there the largest numl)er of those who 

 would be interested in such a work \Vi)uld be found. 



Mr. S. W. Allis said, that one drawback is the want of knowledge 

 how a collection should be kept. He has known a number of young 

 men who started enthusiastically, and gathered a large lot of material : 

 suddenly the museum pests appeared and cleaned them out; effectually 

 dampening their ardor. His idea would be to encourage students to 

 collect in special groups. The collections would be smiUer, more readil} 

 kept, and there would be more apt to be good material amongst them. 



Prof Riley thinks we could never render such a work as has been 

 proposed, pO[)ular. We do not want to mike collectors, we want students, 

 who will take an interest in the work. There is great difficulty also in 

 getting any order outside o{ Coleoptera and Lepidoptera in a popular and 

 yet accurate form, because so kittle is known of them. After all, in his 

 opinion, Entomologists, like poets, are born, and not made, and unless 

 they have the proper stuff in them, they cannot be made good workers. 

 Relerring again to the question of books; he alway recommends: first, 

 Harris Injurious Insects, a classic that will give acquamtance with many 

 common species, as well as a simple classification; second, Kirby and 

 Spence; third, Westwood. He has had in mind an introductory work, 

 to which Westwood would be somewhat the model. He would treat, 

 perhaps, 100 families, taking a type of each, and giving a complete treat- 

 ise on it, so that the student could gain a knowledge of what classification 



