THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 148 
R. G. D. Tosswill; Shirley Villa, Rugby Road, Leamington, 
March 23, 1876. 
“We regret to say that, as far as we are in a position to 
judge, the experiment of introducing humble-bees to this 
province has not been attended with success. The bees in 
question were carefully packed by Mr. F. Buckland, and 
forwarded by Dr. Featherston to the Hon. John Hall, at 
Plymouth, with full instructions as to their treatment on the 
voyage. The box containing them was slung right aft; there 
was a thermometer on the box to show the temperature, and 
when the weather was cold the Hon. John Hall took the bees 
into his own cabin, and kept a lamp burning night and day 
to keep up an equable temperature. Mr. Hall states that the 
lowest degree shown by the glass was 53°; there was no iée 
used, Mr. Buckland stating that the heat would not injure 
them. In spite of all these precautions, however, there is 
every reason to fear that the bees are dead, as last Sunday 
week is the last time that Mr. Hall heard them give any 
signs of life.” 
[See Mr. Smith’s advice on the subject (Entom. ix. 15, 
No. 151). Directly I heard of the scheme of sending bees to 
New Zealand [ entertained misgivings as to the success. It is 
absolutely necessary to know what species you are sending, what 
are its habits, what its food, and, finally, what its scientific 
name, in order that you might communicate with others 
what you were doing, and if possible obtain their co- 
operation. Now, as I said at the time, “the published 
observations” of Mr. Buckland and of the editor of ‘ Nature’ 
conveyed no idea to my mind on these points, nor do I think 
they would to the minds of entomologists generally. The 
failure of the scheme was therefore certain.— Hdward 
Newman. } 
T. R. Archer Briggs—Oak Galls——The galls sent are 
those of Aphilothrix corticalis, Hart. (Germ. Zeit. ii. 190) = 
A. Sieboldii, Hart. (Germ. Zeit. iv. 406), a species widely 
distributed in England, but occurring nowhere, as far as L 
know, abundantly enough to be called common. The galls 
are of a dull red when fresh, and are tolerably conspicuous 
and curiously interesting. I have known them to be taken for 
fungi more than once; thus being something of a “ set-off” 
against the large number of fungoid growths which are 
