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would be relieved — or perhaps, at least, partially relieved — 

 from the necessity of special literary work in connection 

 with their annual duties. This consideration applies with 

 equal force to the choice of President in many other societies. 

 There are others, such as the Zoological Society, which have 

 entirely dispensed with this necessity. But I do not suggest 

 that it would be well to go so far as this ; 1 merely wish, on 

 the present occasion, at least, to revert to some extent to 

 the precedent offered by some of your former Presidents, and 

 to acknowledge myself a sinner in having been one of those 

 to depart from the excellent maxims which inculcate the 

 value of brevity. 



Much good entomological work has been done during tlie 

 past year. I shall not trespass upon the province of those 

 who compile our annual Eecord, but it is always satisfactory 

 to be able to refer to what is being done by private enter- 

 prise, prompted by a love of science. Such publications as 

 those of Edwards and Scudder in America, of Romanhoff in 

 Kussia, of the Oberthurs in France, and Grodman and Salvin 

 in this country, must always command our admiration. 

 Many others are doing good private work, although perhaps 

 on a somewhat smaller scale ; and Mr. Moore's courageous 

 imdertaking in commencing the ' Lepidoptera Indica,' on the 

 lines already adopted in his ' Lepidoptera of Ceylon,' is a 

 task worthy of a veteran. Such are a few only of the 

 contributions to entomological work which form a valuable 

 addition to what is being constantly done in current 

 periodicals, and in the Proceedings and Transactions of the 

 learned Societies of all countries where Science is cultivated. 

 Periodical publications are always on the increase, and it 

 becomes every year more and more difficult for specialists to 

 avoid missing some important papers or descriptions within 

 a reasonable time after tlieir appearance. 



If there is one branch of our study which has shown a 

 tendency to unusual development during the past year, it 

 is that which deals with those problems to which the minds 

 of men have been turned by the researches of Darwin, 

 Wallace, Weismann, Meldola, Poulton, and many others. 

 Already, not only here, but on the Continent, these subjects 



