PROCEEDINGS. 1916 H 



AN APPRECIATION 



By A. F. Winn, President of the Ontario Entomolog-ical Society. 

 ^Ir. President and Members of the B.C. Entomolojj;-ical Society : 



Thanks to the courtes}' of your Secretary. I have the ])leasure of 

 saying- a few words at this nieeting-. 



I need scarcely say how much I wish it were possilde to temporarily 

 acquire the fabled seven-leagued boots and leave home overnight so as 

 to be with you in person at this meeting, but even if I did, it would not 

 Ik- a record for a Canadian meeting of Entomologists. We were 

 delighted to have at the November meeting both your Secretary and Mr. 

 Tom Wilson, and felt the magnetic influence of an Entomological meet- 

 ing was indeed strong to bring two enthusiasts over 2,800 miles, when in 

 walked Mr. C. P. Lounsbury, of Pretoria, the Government Entomologist 

 of the Union of South Africa, who also greatly helped in making the 

 meeting the success it was. 



I wish to express to you the greetings of the Parent Society, and 

 also to say a few words of appreciation of the work you have done and 

 are doing for Entomology in Canada. The hope has often been expressed 

 that the time would come when our Society would have a chain of 

 branches extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Today this has 

 been accomplished, and the men who have brought it about are well 

 known to you. One is your Secretary, who has got together such a lot 

 of enthusiasts in your Province, that he tells me there are not enough 

 copies of the Canadian Entomologist printed to go around ; the other is 

 Prof. Brittain, who carried the ideas he had formed in British Columbia 

 straight across the continent, and on his arrival at Truro, Nova Scotia, 

 at once formed an active branch in the Maritime Provinces. In Mon- 

 treal, Toronto and Guelph, the branches meet regularly, and we are 

 glad to learn that one is likely to be formed at Saskatoon. 



The life history of an Entomological Society has been compared 

 with that of an insect. It is usually started by a few kindred spirits in 

 a very small way, making their presence noticed no more than the eggs 

 of a butterfly, then, like a caterpillar, it Ijegins to grow and do things; 

 it changes its skin, adapting itself to changing conditions from time to 

 time, it wanders abroad, it may have to rest occasionally or take refuge 

 in dark days, and apparently not make much progress, but it is only 

 temi)orarih' held back, and ultimately develops its full growth. This 

 covers a time, like the present, which may be considered to resemble 

 the pupal period, when progress is being made rapidly, but perhaps not 

 so noticeably, although it must be remembered that pupae are often 

 decidedly active, and then comes the inago. What our final stage will 

 be, remains for ourselves to show, for no other country can boast of 

 an P'ntomolosrical Societ\' havincr branches e.xtendinsr o\-er such a wide 



