— 2C9— 



The following' letter was read bv the President after adjourn- 

 ment, before the Association of Kconomic Entomologists : 



"Amherst, Mass., August 26, 1889. 

 Mr. James Fletcher. ■ 



Dear Sir : — Will you please express to the members of the Ento- 

 mological Club how great pleasure it would have given me to meet, with 

 them at Toronto and how deeply I regret that I am not able to do so, 

 but I have only just returned from Europe and find so much to do in 

 disposing of accumulated work, and also in working up my notes taken 

 in Europe that I have no lei.sure moments for anything else. 



The objects of my visit to Europe was were to study the types of 

 North American Pyralidae in the European museums, and also to get 

 all the hints I could in economic entomology. 



The most important collection of course, was that of Guenee which, 

 after his death went into the hands ofMons. Charles Oberthtir of Rennes, 

 one of the kindest and most genial of gentlemen it has ever been my 

 good fortune to meet. Here every facility was granted me for the study 

 of his types which are in excellent condition, and they are preserved 

 with scrupulous care. 



The detour of the usual routes of travel- — from London to Southamp- 

 ton, thence by steamer to St. Malo, cars to Rennes and then to Paris — 

 took me through a part of France not often visited by Americans, a most 

 quaint and mteresting region, where the people retain all the old customs 

 of their ancestors. 



As is well known, a few of Guenee's species belonged to the collec- 

 tion of Lefebre, and to that of the National Museum. The Lefebre col- 

 lection has been destroyed but I did not learn any of the particulars. 

 However, as there were only four Nortli American Pyralids in it, and as 

 these are well known we shall not be affected by the loss. How much 

 trouble the loss of the Lefebre collection may cause the students ol the 

 Macrolepidoptera, I do not know. 



Upon my arrival in Paiis, after calling cm Mons. Ragonot, I went 

 to the National INIuseum to see those two insignificant types of Guenee. 

 Not even the Eiffel Tower nor the grand World's E.xpositicm had any 

 attractions for me as long as those two types were unknown. Upon 

 making my business known to Mons. Lucas, he called his assistants and 

 there followed a vast amount of " parlez-vous-ing " and head shaking 

 which looked rather ominous. At last I was told that the types ''did 

 not exist any more," that "Guenee did not deposit any types there,'" 

 and many other discouraging remarks, but I showed them in (iuenee's 

 Pyralites that those two types had been deposited there and tried to im- 



Entomologica Americana. Vol. V. i Octobeu & November 1889. 



