lxv 
Although, therefore, it cannot be denied that on the whole even 
the lowest savages have made more progress and shown more in- 
| genuity, in many cases, than the ant or the hive bee, it may well be 
questioned whether this is owing to any superiority in their nervous 
organization, and whether it may not be accounted for by other 
causes, and especially by the shortness of insect life, which offers an 
insuperable obstacle to the accumulation of experience. 
Of all living animals the chimpanzee and the gorilla, in their 
bones, muscles, viscera, &c., most nearly approximate to man, and 
the “ determination of the difference between Homo and Pithecus” is, 
in the words of Prof. Owen, “ the anatomist’s difficulty ;” but if we 
judge animals by their intelligence, as evidenced in their actions and 
mode of life, we may fairly claim for Entomology a high rank in 
Biological Science, for in that respect it is not the gorilla or the 
chimpanzee, but the bee, and, above all, the ant, which approach the 
nearest to Man. 
- 
A vote of thanks to the President was carried by acclamation. 
A vote of thanks to Mr. Edwin Shepherd, on his resignation of the Secretaryship, 
an office which he had held for twelve years, during seven of which he was the 
principal acting Secretary, was carried by acclamation; and thanks were also voted 
to the other officers for 1866. 
