ON THE DATE OF PUBLICATION OF V^ALKER'S 

 AND ZELLERS CRAMBID^E. 



By Prof. C. H. P'erxalu. 



Ambers', Ma>-. 



The dates of publication of Walker's Crambites, Catalogue of Lep- 

 idoptera Heterocera, Part 27, and Zeller's Chilonidaium et Crambidarum 

 genera el species, have been the subject of much inquiry and investiga- 

 tion. 



\^^llker's work bears the date " March 2, 1863," and this has gen- 

 erally been considered the correct date of publication until recently. 

 The date of Zeller's paper ts simply 1863, but the month is not given. 



Before Prof. Zeller's death I wrote to him about various entomolog- 

 ical matters, and among others asked him to give me the exact dale of 

 publication of his paper on the Craml)ids, but while he answered all the 

 other questions in my letter he made no allusion to this, and I could 

 not feel sure whether it was an oversight on his part, or whether he knew 

 that his paper was published later than Walker's and did not care to say 

 anything about the matter. 



Zeller's paper was published as a part of a school programme, and 

 I now have before me a complete copy of the work, including the pro- 

 gramme and Zeller's paper. The translation of the title page is as fol- 

 lows : "Programme of the Public Examination of the Royal Realschool 

 at Meserilz, to take place on the 30th of March 1863, to which are in- 

 vited all friends of the institution, especially the parents and relatives of 

 all the pupils, by the Director Dr. H. Loew. 



Contents. 



1. A scientific paper by Prof. Zeller. 



2. School news by the Director." 



Zeller's paper on the Crambidae follows this title page and the school 

 news couiprising eight [)ages follows that. 



This school news contains, under the title "Cronik," a record of the 

 principal events that took place during the school year that began May 

 1st, 1862, and ends with a record of the death of a pupil on March 20, 

 1863, and his burial March 23d. 



It is evident, therefore, that this work must have been printed after 

 March 2^d, and before the day of the examination, March 30th, 1863, 

 therefore Prof. Zeller would naturally suppose that Walker's Catalogue 

 which is dated March 2, 1863, was published before his paper. 



The suspicion that the dates of the Museum Catalogues were not 

 correct was given me by Lord Walsingham, and I at once wrote to Mr. 

 Butler who had the kindness to examine the Aluseum Records, from 



