134 



PSYCHE. 



[August 1S91 ■ 



aid than plodding through each of the de- 

 scriptions in turn to see which fits best; or 

 fifty-three species of Argynnis in a similar 

 plight except that here the rough but fairly 

 good figures of the under side of a hind wing 

 materially aid the comparison ; or again 

 eighty-six species of Pamphila where even 

 figures of a single wing are wanting in more 

 than two thirds of the species! For such 

 characteristics as these, no possible excel- 

 lence in the descriptions or the sequence, or 

 even in the illustrations could possibly 

 atone. It is planned upon wrong lines — a 

 dreary guide to a delightful study. Better a 

 single life-history well worked out, to beget 

 a wish to learn more, than the whole of it. 

 Butterflies are not lifeless postage-stamps, 

 and should not be treated as such. 



A very lively and interesting account is 

 given in the last number of the Journal of 

 the Cincinnati society of natural history of 

 the wanderings and collections of a "Cin- 

 cinnati boy in the tropics," William Do- 

 herty, who entirely without funds has wan- 

 dered all through the east, making fine col- 

 lections in natural history, especially in- 

 sects, and paying his way by their sales. 

 Through perils and adventures innumerable 

 he seems so far to have escaped with his 

 life; "my beggar-like and dilapidated garb 

 was my safeguard against robbers," he says, 

 "and my running after butterflies was calcu- 

 lated to impress them that I was a harmless 

 lunatic and so I got through where a more 

 pretentious personage might have failed." 



Reference was made in our June number, 

 p. 100, to the reported death of Kiinckel, and 

 discredit given to the story that he had been 

 overcome by locusts in Algiers. It now 

 appears that the entire story must have been 

 a fabrication, for records have reached us of 

 two or three meetings of the French entomo- 

 logical society (of which he was once presi- 

 dent) subsequent to the date of his reported 

 death, and no sort of reference to such an 

 event appears, though at least one necrolo- 

 gical notice is given ; moreover Kiinckel has 



since that date been appointed upon a com- 

 mittee of the society, and presented papers 

 both to it and to the French Academy! We 

 observe that Entomological news publishes 

 the telegram from Algiers as if it had no 

 doubt of its truth. 



PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 



CAMBRIDGE ENTOMOLOGICAL CLUB. 



14 February, 1S90. — The 151st meeting of 

 the Club was held at 156 Brattle St., Mr. S. 

 H. Scudder in the chair. 



The annual report of the librarian, post- 

 poned from the January meeting, was read 

 and accepted. The auditors announced that 

 the report of the treasurer was correct, and it 

 was accepted. 



Dr. H. A. Hagen asked the opinion of 

 those present concerning books on entomol- 

 ogy for the use of beginners and amateurs. 

 Our common insects, Half-hours with in- 

 sects, and Entomology for beginners, by Dr. 

 Packard, and Comstock's Introduction were 

 mentioned as the most available. 



Mr. S. H. Scudder read from a letter of 

 Mr. James Fletcher an account of damage 

 done to the pine staves of the water pipes of 

 the Ottawa (Can.) water system. The pipes 

 have been in use fifteen years. The destruc- 

 tion is supposed to be due first to the deca}'- 

 ing of a very thin layer of the surface of the 

 wood through the chemical action of river 

 water, and then to the removal of the de- 

 cayed surface by aquatic beetles. Beetles be- 

 longing to Dryops and Macronychus were 

 found in the injured wood; also larvae pro- 

 visionally referred to the same genera. 



Mr. Scudder read an account of the habits 

 of spiders, by Jonathan Edwards, written in 

 the last century, and recently published in 

 the Andover Review. 



Mr. Scudder also read a letter from Mr. 

 E. A. Smyth, Jr., giving his observations on 

 the habits and relative abundance of several 

 coliads found in North and South Carolina. 

 (See Psyche, v. 5, p. 334.) 



