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The Great Industrial Exhibition of all Nations is, indeed, an event, 

 the effects of which can be but dimly discerned at present. As regards 

 our own pursuit, however, we cannot but be gratified that amongst 

 the manifold objects collected in the Crystal Palace to astonish the eye 

 and inform the mind, insects and insect products held by no means 

 an unimportant place. The collections of raw silks from almost all 

 quarters of the world, of honey, wax, insect dies and varnishes, insect 

 medicines, as well as local collections of insects, and collections illus- 

 trative of their effects upon the useful products, cannot but have tended 

 to prove to the thousands of visitors to that wondrous building, that 

 insects and Entomology are subjects worthy of some share of the at- 

 tention of mankind. 



Another gratifying event connected with the Great Exhibition, has 

 been the opportunity which it has afforded to many of our continen- 

 tal brethren to visit England (in many cases for the first time), and 

 thus to make themselves acquainted with our collections, and establish 

 with ourselves friendly relations which it is sincerely to be hoped no 

 political events will have power to break. Amongst these visitors we 

 have to number Dr. Boisduval, Messrs. Guerin-Meneville, Mulsant, 

 Chevrolat, Perroud, Sommer (of Altona), Jourdan (President of the 

 Natural History Society of Lyons), Signoret, Professor Pictet (of Ge- 

 neva), Deyrolle, De Saussure (grandson of the celebrated geologist, 

 and who is at present engaged on an extended memoir on the Eume- 

 nidse), the Baron de Selys Longchamps, Prince Charles Lucien Bona- 

 parte, Count Mniszeck, Drs. Herrick-Schaffer and Verloren, Heer, 

 Becker, Gehin, Silbermann, Nylander, Dohrn (President of the Ento- 

 mological Society of Stettin), Javet, and Col. Motschulsky. 



The amount of information reciprocally afforded by these visits, 

 cannot fail to produce good fruit hereafter; at the same time it is al- 

 lowable to congratulate ourselves on the pleasure and surprise which 

 the sight of many of our beautifully preserved and arranged collec- 

 tions of insects afforded to our visitors. 



This leads me to speak of the progress made in our entomological 

 collections during the past year. Our own Society has received very 

 considerable acquisitions ; amongst which, a very valuable collection 

 of Indian insects, presented by — Grant, Esq., of Elchies ; two cases 

 of insects collected near Baltimore, by the late Robt. Spence, Esq. ; 

 a case of Tasmanian insects, presented by F. Cox, Esq. ; and a box 

 of insects from the Cape of Good Hope, by — Rooper, Esq., must 

 especially be mentioned. For specimens of several species of Coleo- 

 ptera of rarity, we are indebted to the Rev. C. Kuper, Messrs. Scott, 



