THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



93 



Report. The two might be prefaced with a 

 memoir of his life, accompanied by a steel 

 portrait, and an appendix of snch of his cor- 

 respondence with noted men, as would be 

 found pertinent, might be added at the end. 

 Willi the proper editorial management and 

 assistance, such a worlv would not only prove 

 a lasting monument to Mr. Walsh's name, but 

 it would be a credit to the State, and a great 

 boon (0 the cultivators of tlie soil for all time 



TO OUR SUBSCRIBEKS. 



The death of our associate will necessitate 

 sonic cliange in the character of this journal. 

 Instead of Ihe thought and experience of two 

 individuals we shall strive to freight it with a 

 diversity of opinion, and to this end we solicit 

 communications from our numerous readers, 

 both scientific and practical. We have already, 

 in closing the first volume, announced our in- 

 tention to pay liberally for all communications 

 that we publi.sh. We make this change in the 

 character of the American Entomologist the 

 more willingly, that we deem it a great fallacy 

 to suppose, that because an individual becomes 

 an editor, he therefore constitutes himself a 

 dictator of opinion. We gave this journal a 

 national name for the very reason that we 

 wished it to bear a national character. It is 

 devoted to the Entomology of the whole conn- 

 try and not merely to that of the particular 

 locality where the editor resides. 



By studying to counteract the injuries caused 

 by noxious insects; by illustrating the ever 

 interesting phases of insect life, and by close 

 attention to scientific accuracy, we hope to 

 make it invaluable and indispensable, first, to 

 the practical farmer, fruit-grower or gardener, 

 who is seeking for relief from the scourge of 

 insect pests which injuriously afiect his crops ; 

 secondly, to the popular student of natural 

 science, and lastly, to the purely scientific man. 



The publishers will spare no means to make 

 the paper attractive in appearance, and the 

 editor can safely promise to spare no labor to 

 make its contents interesting and instructive. 

 Let the readers but put forth a little eflbrt to 

 properly support it by inducing their neighbors 

 to subscribe, and they themselves shall reaji the 

 benefit. We already have the promise of con- 

 tributions from many able writers on Entomol- 

 ogy, and in this connection we would remind 

 our practical readers, that they should not defer 

 sending for publication the results of their ex- 

 perience and observation, because they are not 



able to rattle oil" the scientific names of the 

 insects they write about. We shall always bo 

 glad to determine the particular species wliicli 

 accompany communications, and to make any 

 other suggestions that may be found necessary. 



THE WALSH ESTOMOLOOIC'AL COLLECTIOX. 



yiv. Walsh's last will was executed about two 

 years ago, and though in this will he dwells 

 minutely and expressively on almost everything 

 that could possibly be made to cause trouble to 

 Mrs. Walsh— even to stipulating that no funeral 

 outlay should be incurred beyond that necessary 

 to decent burial — yet no disposition whatever 

 is made of his Entomological Colleclion. His 

 wife is made sole executrix of his alTairs, and 

 the disposal of the cabinet consequently rests 

 with her. For our own sake, and for the sake of 

 the numerous scientific friends of the deceased, 

 who in future years would like to refer to this 

 collection, either in i)eroon or through us, we 

 were naturally anxious to secure the cabinet. 

 We were conscious, however, that the State of 

 Illinois had some claim to it, and knew further- 

 more that it was Mr. Walsh's strict intention 

 to prepare for that Slate a duplicate collection 

 from it. We therefore, in our ellbrts to obtain 

 it, besides making a cash offer, pledged our- 

 selves so far to carry out Mr. Walsh's intentions 

 as to prepare this duplicate collection for the 

 State of Illinois. AVhether or not we secure 

 the collection, will depend on whether Mr. 

 Wm. B. Pettit, who now has charge of Mrs. 

 AValsh's affairs, receives a higher bid than ours; 

 for we understand that it is to be sold to the 

 highest bidder. We should not grieve if Louis 

 Agassiz procured it, because it would then fall 

 into the hands of Dr. Hagen, who was one of 

 our associate's dearest friends, and who is 

 moreover well able to appreciate, take care, 

 and make proper use of it. Nor should wc 

 greatly lament if it fell into the hands of Mr. 

 E. T. Crcsson, of Philadelphia, Pa., for there 

 it would also be appreciated, and be of service 

 to the world. But we are averse to its going 

 East at all, for the reason that Mr. Walsh was 

 essentially a Western man, and was well aware 

 himself of the difficulties under which the stu- 

 dent of Natural History labored in the Western 

 States, for the lack of just such collections to 

 refer to. The State of Illinois can certainly 

 afford to pay Mr. Pettit as large a sum as can 

 any individual or any society, and we confi- 

 dently expect, and sincerely hope that the Gov- 

 ernor will see that it is secured. AVe would 

 also counsel Mr. Pettit not to act rashly in 



