ENTOMOLOGY. 561 



REPOUT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Sir : In compliance with orders received, the accompanying paper is re- 

 spectfully submitted to you for the Agricultural Report of 1SG3. The subject 

 suggested by you being the various methods at present adopted by agricultu- 

 rists to destroy or diminish the numbers of noxious insects which annually in- 

 jure our crops, I present the following observations made partly by myself 

 and partly compiled from the works of various entomological authors, and the 

 leading and most reliable agriculturtil journals. The subject is one of vast 

 importance to the farming community when we consider the injury caused by 

 the depredations of three small insects alone, viz : the wheat-weevil, the 

 midge, and the Hessian fly ; or the ravages of the curculio amongst our fruit, 

 which in several localities have proved so destructive as to cause some horti- 

 culturists to abandon the culture of certain fruit trees altogether. Correct 

 drawings have also been made, which may be engraved for the next year's He- 

 port, if required. 



As entomologist of this department, besides the regular daily oflicial duty, 

 all the subjects of general natural history, such as insectivorous birds, speci- 

 mens of fruits, textile materials, hemp, cotton, flax, &:c., have been handed 

 over to my charge for preservalion and arrangement during the past year. Much 

 time has been devoted to laying the foundation for a cabinet or museum of 

 agriculture, which, it is hoped, will eventually prove a valuable adjunct to this 

 department, both for reference and as a means of preserving ncAV or valuable 

 specimens of our cereals, fruits, vegetable products, and natural history. In 

 former years many of these have been forwai-ded to the ofiice, and, although 

 duly registered and acknoAvledged, have hitherto been either lost, mislaid, or de- 

 stroyed, for the want of a proper room in Avhich to arrange and preserve them. 

 This cabinet is intended to contain specimens of our principal fauna and flora ; 

 samples of maize, wheat, barley, and other cereal productions; colored models 

 of the fruits and esculent roots, with descriptive labels of name, synonyms, and 

 references to horticultural works in which they are correctly described ; the 

 native insectivorous and predaceous animals, birds, and insects, each specimen 

 being correctly labelled with both the scientific and common or English name 

 by which it is most generally recognized ; the food, habits, and, if injurious, 

 the best means at present known of destroying them. Specimens of all our 

 textile materials, such as flax, flax-cotton, cotton, wool, and silk, (many of 

 which are at present in the possession of this department,) are likewise to be 

 preserved in this cabinet, as showing in the first place the seed, and afterwards 

 the raw material or plant, with specimens exhibiting the various stages of pro- 

 gress the fibre has to undergo until it becomes the perfect manufactured article. 



It is to be hoped that the public will see the benefit arising from such a 

 cabinet, and help to contribute to its formation. This central collection once 

 made, all the duplicates can be sent to the various State agricultural societies 

 to form the nuclei of State collections, where any farmer may learn to distin- 

 guish the most reliable and best fruits or vegetable products for his peculiar 

 locality ; the beneficial birds, animals, or insects, and the best means of de- 

 stroying such as are very injurious. Such a cabinet once commenced, every 

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