MR. JAMES WM. BOULT. 24.I 



little coterie was gathered together with the object of making 

 excursions into the fields, of meeting fortnightly to identify 

 specimens, exhibit "finds," and of listening to papers 

 on appropriate subjects. This was in 1880. It will not, 

 however, be needful here to write the history of the Club, but 

 we are glad to put it on record that the same original ideas, 

 developed and improved to some extent, we trust, are still 

 the foundation underlying our interesting and fascinating 

 fabric. 



Before the Hull Field Naturalists had been at work five 

 years, Mr. Boult had made a large collection of the lepidoptera 

 (moths and butterflies) of the district. Then arose unfortu- 

 nate circumstances which somewhat discouraged the ardent 

 entomologist, and led him to part with his collection, 

 gathering apparatus, and cabinet, with the determination to 

 give up his "hobby." Three weeks of a sort of mental 

 agony over this untoward denoument plunged our friend 

 into a very "slough of despond." But emergence from 

 this was made sooner than anyone anticipated ; for the sight 

 of the unique collection of European Noctuas (night-flying 

 moths) made by N. F. Dobre"e, Esq., of Beverley, and now 

 happily one of the greatest treasures of the Hull Municipal 

 Museum, together with that gentleman's kindly advice and 

 gift of preserved larva?, to quote Boult's own words, "Set 

 me off again, and I went at it night and day to get another 

 collection together." "Breeding " operations were resumed. 

 Besides the usual "pinning" and mounting of the perfect 

 insects, at which there are few finer hands, the preservation 

 and setting up of larvae were added to his work ; and, surely 

 enough, after a few years a finer collection than the former one 

 was accumulated, and contained about 6000 specimens, beauti- 

 fully preserved and scientifically arranged (Mr. Boult has 

 never favoured insect "picture" (?) making). Besides the 

 lepidoptera, it may be mentioned that other classes of the 

 insect fauna had not been neglected, for the second collection 

 above described had in addition a fairly large number of local 

 beetles (coleoptera). 



As might be expected, the name of our local entomologist 

 became widely known, especially as note after note of his 

 personal observations and experiences appeared in the 

 various collectors' journals. Exchange of insects with 

 brother entomologists in other parts of the British Isles, and 

 even on the Continent and in America, became a very 

 common occurrence, so much were the results and products 

 of his excellent work appreciated. 



