SOCIETIES. 89 



E. p. Thompson, J. Vicars, R. Wilding, and myself. Whilst it is 

 gratifying to find that so many old members are still with us, it is 

 sad to state that eleven of those fifty-seven are since dead, many 

 amongst whom were much-loved friends of my own, and such as are 

 irreplacable. 



" At present we have sixty-nine members, so in this respect are in 

 as flourishing a condition as ever ; but for the past year or so the 

 attendances at our meetings have not been such as we could desire. 

 Nothing is more discouraging, when a good lecture or paper is 

 brought before the meeting, than to find only a poor audience. I 

 would, therefore, urge upon each member who desires the continued 

 prosperity of the Society to consider the second Monday in the month 

 an engaged evening, and by his presence prove his interest. 



" Considering the very great attention that has been given in late 

 years as to the cause of melanism in Lepidoptera, and the numbers of 

 papers that have since been read before societies like our own, or 

 published on the subject, it is most interesting to state that at the first 

 meeting of our Society our then Vice-President, Mr. Nicholas Cooke, 

 read a paper on the subject. He drew attention particularly to the 

 great change that had taken place, and that within a very few years, 

 in several species of Lepidoptera in Delamere Forest, drawing attention 

 specially to Amphidasys hetularia and Tep/irosia hiundnlaria, which from 

 almost white forms had become almost black. His suggestion that 

 this was owing to a very large extent to the chemical fumes and coal 

 smoke appears probable, though not ia tbe way that any of us, with 

 the exception of himself, thought, owing to a chemical deposit in the 

 food so affecting the larvas ; for if I remember rightly those who took 

 part in the discussion were of the opinion that the smoke discoloured 

 and darkened the branches and the foliage of the trees, rendering the 

 light forms more conspicuous to their enemies, so leaving the darker 

 forms to propagate their species. His paper was published in the 

 ' Entomologist,' vol. x. p. 92, and led to a very lengthy discussion, in 

 which Dr. Buchanan White, Mr. E. R. Robson, and others took part ; 

 nor do I think that we have even yet arrived at a satisfactory con- 

 clusion, notwithstanding the investigations of Lord Walsingham in 

 1884, and Mr. Tutt's exhaustive treatise on ' Melanism and Melano- 

 chrism,' published October, 1891, My point is that our Society was 

 the first that paid much attention to this interesting subject. 



" This was soon after followed by a lecture on the Genital Arma- 

 ture of the Lepidoptera, by Mr. Benjamin Cooke. I believe Mr, B, 

 Cooke was the first person who called attention to this subject, and at 

 this lecture he gave us his experience of many years' investigations. 

 I remember how interested we all were, but we had no microscopic 

 lantern to illustrate his remarks, but simply a pocket lens, Mr, Cooke 

 had acquired a great deal of valuable knowledge on the subject, having 

 devoted to it many years of careful study and thought. It was his 

 intention, when more satisfied with his conclusions, to make them 

 known to the public, but his premature death deprived the world of 

 the results of his valuable researches, not only in this department, but 

 also in many others of equal interest. It has been my privilege to 

 enjoy the society and friendship of many men taking the highest 

 position as entomologists, but I think I never met with a keener and 



