127 
rence of Pieris Ray in Canada.” The principal part of it was an almost verbatim copy 
of a paper originally published in ‘The Canadian Naturalist, and thence transferred 
to the * Zoologist’ for 1864 ( Zool. 9371). The following was new matter :— 
“The species is rapidly extending the limits of its habitat. It is already common 
on both banks of the St. Lawrence for one hundred miles below Quebec; and this 
summer I saw two specimens in the cabinet of a gentleman in Montreal, captured this 
season in that city. It is still rare, however, in that locality. In the vicinity of 
Quebec the species was exceedingly abundant in 1863 and 1864, flying by hundreds 
over the fields and gardens, and was numerous even in the most crowded parts of 
the city. This year, however, it has not been quite so abundant, probably owing to 
the continued rains of August and September, 1864, which must have destroyed 
myriads of the larve, and the cold and backward spring of this year. Early in March, 
1864, the butterflies began to appear in houses, produced from pup# which bad been 
suspended on the walls during the previous autumn. On the 6th of April—a time 
when the ground is still covered with snow, and the only Lepidoptera to be seen are a 
very few hybernating individuals of Grapta Comma or Vanessa Antiopa, lured from 
their winter retreats to enjoy the sunshine—several specimens were taken in the open 
air at Laval, about fifieen miles from Quebee. From that time the butterflies increased 
in number, and, continuing through the whole summer, might be seeu even in October 
feebly fluttering over the gardens in the outskirts of the city. From the fact of there 
being no apparent diminution in their numbers during the season I infer that the 
insect is at least treble-brooded, or that there is a succession of broods, new individuals 
constantly emerging from the chrysalis to take the places of those that die off. The 
caterpillars reared by me last year passed through their stages very rapidly. When 
first taken, on the 8th of June, they were about a line long ; on the 19th they pupated, 
and on the 26th of June the perfect insects appeared, making the whole period, almost 
from the egg to the perfect state, only eighteen days.” In confirmation of his previous 
observation, that ‘ living winter pupe brought into the warm house from the cold out- 
side invariably shrivelled and died in a few days,” the author added, “ I have not yet 
succeeded in procuring a butterfly from a chrysalis gathered on a winter day. It is 
thus evident that, although the species is increasing in numbers and spreading rapidly 
over a large extent of country, it is not yet fully acclimated.” 
Papers read. 
The Secretary read a communication from Captain J. Mitchell, Superintendent of 
the Government Museum, Madras, entitled “ Remarks on Captain Hutton’s Paper 
on the Reversion and Restoration of the Silkworm ” (published in the ‘ Transactions’ 
for 1864). The author disputed the statement, that, in the formation of silk, the two 
fibres which emerge from the two small orifices in the lip are twisted together by 
certain hook-like processes in the mouth, and insisted that the two filaments are laid 
side by side in the cocoon, without twisting, and adhere together until separated by the 
solution of the gum in the process of manufacture. It was also pointed out that the 
Tussah silk, from Antherea Paphia, is flat, and not cylindrical, each filament consisting 
of a large number of very five fibres which are extremely difficult to separate ; the 
finest fibres which the author had obtained from this compound filament measured 
about the 35-thousandth part of an inch in diameter. The filaments spun by Attacus 
Atlas and Actias Selene also appeared to be compound. 
