﻿288 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



interest. In all directions there was a cheerful Babel of greet- 

 ings from those who had last met at Brussels, and as to the 

 Englishmen, who were naturally in the majority, it seemed as if 

 the freshness of their climate had affected the character of their 

 fine heads and active figures, whether in white-haired age or 

 the vigour of youth. In the large assembly-hall, full of ladies 

 and gentlemen, Professor Poulton made a punctual appearance. 

 The Curator of the Museum and President of the Congress has 

 a white Bismarckian moustache, and thick conspicuous eyebrows 

 standing out crescent-wise. Mounting the rostrum he spoke 

 a few impressive words as to the importance of the Congress, 

 and in a brief retrospect reviewed the history of the Hope 

 Museum, and the untiring industry of his predecessors, displayed 

 in its different sections. He called attention to the highly inte- 

 resting special exhibits, which, indeed, bear brilliant witness to 

 the lofty standard entomology maintains in England, the classic 

 home of this science. They must, indeed, operate materially in 

 spreading the knowledge of subjects connected with natural 

 history. 



After the Secretary had read the list of future proceedings. 

 Professor Poulton took the materials in his hands for his 

 striking demonstration concerning the group of Papilio dar- 

 danus, Brown, in Africa (a white " swallow-tail "). The female 

 gives astounding proof of the power of mimicry of her species, 

 for she appears in red, black, and yellow, and without a tail, in 

 inexhaustible varieties, seeming to belong to groups remote from 

 those of her male. In Madagascar alone she remains true to 

 type. Is that to be pronounced the limit to its operation ? 



The next speaker was the younger son of Lord Eothschild 

 (specialist in fleas), who solicited support for the institution 

 of a society to be founded for the general establishment of 

 Nature Eeserves to check the damaging effect of ever-encroach- 

 ing cultivation upon the insect-world struggling for life with an 

 ever-increasing difficulty, often terminating in the extinction of 

 an entire species. 



It would be impossible to give a full report of the work of the 

 nest few days, or rather, it may be said, of the quintessence of 

 years of tireless industry and patient research. Suffice it to say 

 that no aspect of the marvellous secrets showing the incessant 

 activity of Nature was neglected, whether from an economic, 

 pathological, geographical, or systematic standpoint. And that 

 evolution, bionomics, the theory of mimicry, morphology, and 

 anatomy are not neglected, the guides of the Hope Museum, so 

 ably competent for their tasks, gave ample testimony. Nomen- 

 clature is always a knotty point, and it was a satisfaction to me 

 to find that hard German heads were ready for argument. The 

 general debate gave a shining example of unanimity, and this 

 unanimity bids fair to lead to definite results. It was all the 



