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Bs op al ha ON Ses we esp Ge eee le eons 
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CXXXi 
appreciated, that Dr. Chapman was looked upon at home and 
abroad as being the foremost British Lepidopterist. He 
joined the Society in 1891, serving no less than four times on 
the Council, and was a most regular attendant of the meet- 
ings, where he will be much missed by us all. 
I will now proceed to read my address on 
ALGERIA AND ITS Fauna. 
Most of us, if not all, have started in Entomology as collec- 
tors in the field, attracted by the charm of colour and form 
displayed by insects, and stimulated in a pursuit of knowledge 
by the infinite variety in body and habits observed in the 
insect world. We can call ourselves fortunate in feeling a 
delight in the observation of these small fellow-members of 
creation, which are a continual source of pleasure, whether we 
are engaged in serious research in the entomological laboratory 
or are on a holiday either at home or abroad. This being so, 
I trust you will permit me to take you to-night to a country 
in the fauna of which I am particularly interested and which 
in many respects is an enchanting district for a naturalist. I 
must, however, ask your indulgence if I, in order to emphasise 
my points, lead you occasionally aside from Entomology. 
Since its successful pacification during the middle half of the 
last century, Algeria has become safer for the tourist and 
explorer than many European countries, and its fauna and 
flora are at the present day better known than those of the 
Balkan States. Like the Balkan Peninsula, Algeria and 
Tunisia were part of the civilised world at the beginning of 
the Christian era and sank back into barbarism during the 
Middle Ages, being opened again to civilisation only a few 
generations ago, during the time of our grandfathers. The 
familiar names of Carthage, Hannibal, Juba, Jugurtha, 
Masinissa, and of the Christian fathers Tertullian, St. Augus- 
tine and St. Cyprian, recall to our mind that a large portion of 
North Africa was highly advanced at a time when Northern 
and Central Europe were still in barbaric darkness. At the 
beginning of the Christian era, the Mauretania of the Romans 
(Maurusia of the Greeks) was divided into two provinces: the 
western province of Mauretania Tingitana corresponded to the 
poe ge eee Cae eae - ye, 
