(xiv) 
It was moved by Mr. Merrifield, seconded by Mr. Tutt, and 
unanimously agreed to ‘‘ That this Society approves generally 
of the proposals contained in the letter from the President of 
the Royal Society of the 22nd February, 1897, for establish- 
ing the ‘ Victoria Research Fund.’ ” 
Mr. Butterfield, present as a visitor, exhibited a series of 
33 male and 6 female Phigalia pedaria, taken near Bradford, 
Yorkshire, on Feb. 14-17, 1897. 
21 males were typical in having a greatér or less develop- 
ment of the four transverse bars. The remaining 12 were 
without bands, and varied in colour from black to a smoky 
olive; they were decidedly less in point of size, ranging 
from 1x: in. to liin., as against ly in. to 14% in. in the 
banded forms, and were also poorer in scales and slightly 
deformed. He had only met with this variety once before 
in the last twenty years, and suggested that the eruption of 
smal], black, and depauperized forms might have been pro- 
duced by dryness and want of food in the larval conditions, 
the trees haying been extensively defoliated in the preceding 
year. These dark forms appeared in the first emergence of 
the species. 
Mr. Tutt agreed with this view, in the course of the sub- 
se ,uent discussion. Mr. Porritt said that the melanic variety 
had occurred to his knowledge for several years in the 
Bradford district, in some years 8 per cent. of the specimens 
being of this variety, whereas in the present year only 4 per 
cont. were melanic; similar varieties, e.g., m A. betularia, 
showed no signs of depauperisation. 
Mr. Kirkaldy exhibited an example of the rare macro- 
pterous form of Velia currens, Fabr., taken by Mr. Burr at 
Kast Grinstead, and one of Cicadetta montana, Scop., from 
Brockenhurst. 
Mr, Burr exhibited a series of grasshoppers with red and 
blue hindwings of the family CEdipodide, to show the remark- 
able variation in colour seen in this group; and read the 
following notes :— 
‘* The few specimens exhibited are intended to show the 
peculiar coloration of the hindwings which is found in certain 
(Edipodide. The remarkable colour-variations, however, 
