16("i B.C. Entomoi.ogic.vl SocIET^' 



Tlie membership has, I believe, been kept up to its usual standard, 

 but has not made the advance we should all have liked to see. I hope, at 

 this meeting, to see some scheme formulated or some good suggestions 

 advanced which will tend to bring about this desirable result, for we 

 must get more members, if we are to continue as a live organization and 

 carry on the work properly pertaining to such an organization. 



With this object in view, you will remember that the Society donated 

 a handsome cup, to be competed for by the public schools of the Province, 

 to become the property of the school exhibiting the best collectin of 

 B. C. insects, of not less than four orders, and winning the cup three 

 times in succession. This was done by the John Norquay School of 

 South Vancouver, and the cup passed into their possession. Unfortu- 

 nately, by omitting the condition that the collection shown must be bona- 

 fide the work of the scholars, this school was able to become the possessors 

 of the cup by exhibiting a good collection donated to the school by a kind 

 friend, and thus the object of the Society was defeated. Under the word- 

 ing of the conditions as set forth in the Fair prize list, there was no alter- 

 native but to award the cup, as to do otherwise would be breaking faith 

 with the exhibitors. If at any time the Society should offer another prize, 

 they will doubtless benefit by this experience and make the conditions 

 in keeping with the object aimed at. 



The secretary informs me that there have been numerous requests 

 from many quarters for some of our economic papers, showing that the 

 work of our energetic members is being recognized as very valuable 

 to economic and applied Entomology, and while we all feel that this is 

 as it should be, and the utmost value must rightly be attached to these 

 most important matters, let us try at the same time to so popularize the 

 study of insects as to enlist the interest of what Ave may call the ordinary 

 layman who would not bother to read highly technical papers, and would 

 not understand them if he did. There are many persons, and especially 

 the younger ones, who only require a little encouragement to become keen 

 students of nature, and a proportion of these develop into real ento- 

 mologists. 



I would also like to see a little more co-operation among our present 

 members, but perhaps this is ratlier difficult where they are so widely 

 scattered over so large a Province, but at any rate there should be nothing 

 to prevent them sending in papers or even notes of interest to be read 

 at the annual meetings. 



During the year, good work has been done by many of the members 

 in extending our knowledge of the insect fauna of the Pacific Province. 



The tent caterpillar outbreak which began some three or four years 

 ago shows signs of abating, and I am of the opinion that the effects of 

 the widely spread forest fires of the past summer on this pest Avill be 

 noticeable. 



