XIV PROCEEDINGS OF THE 



sufficient stock with us ; not luifrequently we were obliged to 

 manufacture them ourselves from the wax obtained by my own 

 men : a coarse soft kind of cotton yarn for wicks was always to 

 be purchased at the different fazendas and villages through which 

 we passed." — p. 329. In connexion with this subject one or two 

 suggestions present themselves ; one, that probably the larger and 

 wasp-like bees described towards the end, though storing up honey, 

 do not belong to the genus Melipone, Illiger ; and another, that it 

 would be a valuable contribution to Entomology, if some member 

 of the Society, taking Mr. Gardner's paper as the groundwork, 

 would draw up from other sources a more complete enumeration 

 of the honey-storing bees of Brazil, distinguishing as far as 

 possible their proper genera and species, and giving such facts as 

 are known regarding their habits. As another instance of the 

 kind of communication above referred to, Mr. Spence further 

 mentioned that it had been lately stated in the American papers 

 that the cotton plantations have been attacked by an insect which 

 threatens materially to affect the produce of the crop. Now it is 

 obviously highly desirable that it should be known in this country, 

 which is so intimately connected with tlie cotton-growing states 

 of the union, what this insect is. Very probably Mr. Doubleday 

 could inform us, and in that case members like himself, ignorant 

 of this fact, would by the merely bringing this newspaper report 

 before the Society acquire an addition to their stock of knowledge ; 

 and if it should turn out that no one here knows to what order and 

 genus the insect alluded to belongs, it may be worth consideration 

 whether our Society should not correspond with some American 

 one in order to obtain the desired information. 



A notice was read from W. W. Saunders, Esq., (imaccompanied 

 however by sufficient details,) relative to the sudden appearance of 

 great numbers of small caterpillars on pear and other trees during 

 the prevalence of a gloomy black fog at Upper Clapton. Mr. 

 Westwood stated that in Normandy the peasants entertain the 

 vulgar opinion that the cold fog from the north-east (which they 

 term the " vent roux ") bears the eggs of young larva of Ijwno- 

 nieuta cognatella, which does so much injui-y to apple trees. 



Mr. Weir mentioned, with reference to the effect of weather on 

 the appearance of insects, that there were but very few Lepidop- 

 terous larvse during the present season. 



Mr. Douglas and Col. Hearscy made some observations cor- 

 roborative of the editorial remarks appended to the Biographical 

 notice of James Crovvther, relative to the advantage to be derived 

 from making natural history a branch of popular education. 



