752 Rev. G. Wheeler on the Dates of the 
that in former aff more exclusive times access to non- 
members would have been impossible, were it not that 
a letter from the late Mr. J. W. Dunning, at that time 
Secretary and afterwards President of the Society, is 
appended to the Minutes of the Council Meeting for 
Apnil 4th, 1864, in which be complains that the time of 
the Librarian is greatly takén up by the idle chatter of 
Entomologists, the worst offenders, as a rule, not being 
members (there were no Fellows then, as it was before 
Mr. Dunning obtained the Charter) of the Society, but 
adding that all Entomologists, whether members or noi, were 
always welcome in the Society’s rooms. This completely 
disposes of the argument that non-members had not access 
to the rooms, and in combination with the announcement 
printed on each part that it was “sold at the Society’s rooms,” 
shows that the outside public could obtain copies from 
that quarter. Whenever, therefore, the dates of delivery 
at the Society's rooms and at Messrs. Longmans & Co. 
are both obtainable, the earlier will always be the date of 
publication. In the appended table both are given when 
available, but the earlier, the actual date of publication, 
is printed in thick type. The Society has only occupied 
its present quarters since late in 1875, and has only had 
the advantage of a Resident Librarian since the beginning 
of 1876. Previously the Librarian, who was then a paid 
official, was only bound to be present on Monday after- 
noons, and it might have been argued that it was only 
on these days that the Society’s publications were to be 
obtained; but the dates of the reception of the Trans- 
actions by the Linnean Society, where they were formerly 
sent direct by our Society, prove conclusively that there 
was no particular day in the week when these publications 
could be obtained. In the early years of the Transactions 
it will be seen that on a few occasions they were received 
by the Linnean Society at an earlier date than by Messrs. 
Longmans & Co., and that this once occurs at a time 
when the date of delivery by the printer at our Society’s 
rooms is unobtainable, and when the date of publication 
is not given in the Minutes; it is, however, obvious that 
the Entomological Society must have received these parts 
before they could forward them to the Linnean Society ; 
the date on which the latter received them is therefore 
the earliest date available, but it must be understood that 
it can only be stated that this part was published at least 
as early as the date given, and possibly earlier. From 
