Jan., '04] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 2$ 



long been celebrated incur literature. One might as well write 

 of "New, a place in England." Baja California is Lower 

 California, and is in Mexico. Because of this misunderstand- 

 ing, Mr. Johannsen introduces Simulium cinerium erroneously 

 as a species of the United States. Both this and 5". tatnauli- 

 Pense (alleged to be from Texas) are exclusively Mexican so 

 far as records exist. 



Both Messrs. Melander and Johannsen write C. H. Town- 

 send for C. H. T. Townsend. The error is a serious one, as 

 C. H. Townsend is also a distinguished naturalist, and an en- 

 tirely different person. 



Sending Insects Through the Mails. 



By L. O. Howard. 



While there has been a very general exchange of cabinet 

 specimens of insects by means of the United States mails, and 

 while people have sent to the State Entomologists and to the 

 government Entomologists living specimens with supplies of 

 food, Section 494 of the Postal Laws and Regulations (page 

 226) specifically excludes insects from the mails. The enforce- 

 ment of this regulation by a southern postn)aster recently 

 caused Mr. Wilmon Newell, State Entomologist of Georgia, 

 to urge me to inform him accurately as to the attitude of the 

 Post OflBce Department on this subject. I therefore prepared 

 for the .signature of the Honorable Secretary of Agriculture, 

 a letter addressed to the Po.stmaster General asking for a modi- 

 fication of this section on the ground that its enforcement 

 would hamper the work of the Department of Agriculture, 

 and would cause serious inconvenience to entomologists all 

 through the country. The Postmaster General replied 

 promptly and wisely, and courteously agreed to the sugges- 

 tion of Secretary Wilson, and urged that a representative of 

 the Department of Agriculture be appointed to discuss any 

 proposed amendment with the Superintendent of the Railway 

 Mail Service. I was designated to act for the Secretary of 

 Agriculture, and after consultation with Mr. Alexander Grant, 

 Assistant General Superintendent of the Railway Mail Ser- 



