XX EOYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA. 



the Eev. Dr. Bethune, of Port Hope, first claims attention on account of the important position which 

 it holds among the scientific publications of the continent. The volume for 1888, Vol. XX, consists 

 of 240 pages of reading matter, the contributors numbering 33, and many of the articles being of 

 much interest. In addition to those of our own Canadian members, there were articles sent in from 

 active workers in fourteen States of the American Union, from Florida in the south to Michigan in 

 the north, and from Massachusetts in the east to California in the west. Among the most important 

 papers published in the volume were several on the preparatory stages of various insects, including 

 the complete life-histories of twelve species of Lepidoptera, besides partial descriptions of those of 

 several others. The volume also contains the descriptions of four new genera and fifly-six new 

 species of various orders. In Vol. XXI now publishing, a series of papers is appearing upon Popular 

 and Economic Entomology, which the Council believe will be of value to the fruit-growers, farmers 

 and gardeners of the country. 



The Annual Eeport of the Society to the Minister of Agriculture of Ontario, for 1888, has been 

 published, and contains, in addition to the usual report of the Annual Meeting of the Society, many 

 interesting papers. One of the most important of these is the account by our President, Mr. 

 Fletcher, of his last year's trip to Ncj^igon, whither he went for a week at the beginning of July, 

 accompanied by Mr. S. H. Scudder, an associate member of the Societj^, and one of the most eminent 

 entomologists of America, for the express purpose of obtaining the eggs of various species of butter- 

 flies. The expedition was very successful, eggs being obtained from no less than seventeen species 

 and varieties. 



At the Annual Meeting of the Society it was found that the finances were in such a satisfactory 

 state as to render jwssible the voting of the handsome sum of $200 to the library fund for the pur- 

 chase of books and the binding of periodicals and pamphlets. 



The librai'y now contains upwards of a thousand volumes, chiefly on Entomology, but also many 

 on the other dej)artments of Zoology and on Botany. 



An imjjortant move has recently been made in opening the rooms of the Society to visitors at 

 regular stated times in order to populai'ize the work of the Society as much as possible. 



The Society's collections of Coleoptera and Lepidoptera have been carefully reari'anged during 

 theyear by Mr. J. Alston Mofi'at, of Hamilton, a member of the Council, and now form standard 

 reference collections of these insects of Ontario. 



The Montreal Branch, I am happy to say, continues in active existence; regular monthly meet- 

 ings are held and increased interest is being taken in the study of this science. 



During the past year great activity has also been shown by many of the associate members of 

 the Society, and several very important and useful works have been issued by them. The most 

 important of these is Mr. Scudder's sumptuous work on " The Butterflies of the Eastern United States 

 and Canada, with special reference to New England," the first part of which was issued on Novembei' 

 1st, and will be completed during the present j-ear. Mr. W. H. Edwards is also carrying on his 

 magnificent work on the butterflies of North America. Three parts containing nine beautiful plates 

 were issued during last year. Several works of a very different scope from eithei- of the above, but 

 still very useful and issued at a moderate price, have been published by other associate members of 

 our Society during the past year. Among these, special mention should be made of " Entomology 

 for Beginners, for the use of Young Folks, Fruit-Growers, Farmers and Gardeners," by Dr. A. S. 

 Packard, and "An Introduction to Entomology," Part I., by Prof J. H. Comstock. A second edition 

 of Mr. William Saunders' imjiortant work on ''Insects Injurious to Fruits " has also been issued. 



