1887.] Address. 45 



Siam takes up tins neglected, because more difficult, section of the order ; 

 and I am glad to be able to state that the third part of the descriptions 

 of ' New Indian Lepidoptera from the collection of the late Mr. W. S. 

 Atkinson ' by the same writer is ready for publication. 



For the Hymenoptera, we have the second part of a valuable 

 paper by Professor Forel of Zurich on the Indian ants preserved in the 

 Indian Museum, and a paper on the hive-bees indigenous to India and the 

 introduction of the Italian bee by Mr. J. C. Douglas, whose efforts in this 

 direction have been crowned with success. Mr. E T. Atkinson has com- 

 pleted his descriptive catalogue of the Homopterous section of the 

 Indian Rhynchota with an index to the six parts, which for the first 

 time collects in one place, with some additions and omissions, the ori- 

 ginal descriptions of all the insects of this section hitherto recorded 

 from India ; he also describes some new species. In his paper on the 

 family Goccidce, the same writer calls attention to a section of the Rhyn- 

 chota of much economical and commercial value. To it belong the 

 pests of the coffee, tea, and chinchona and the lac-insect that affords the 

 lac-dye and shell- lac of commerce. But little, however, can be accom- 

 plished in this direction until we have the services of an expert to de- 

 vote himself exclusively to the investigation of the life-history of the 

 local insects and the publication of the results, as is done in America 

 by the entomological section of the Department of Agriculture. Mr. 

 Wood-Mason gives us a paper on the Stomatopod crustaceans preserved 

 in the Indian Museum ; Dr. 0. von Mollendorff, German Consul at 

 Manilla, one on the land shells of Perak, and Mr. Hill, of the Muir 

 College, a contribution of considerable value on solar observations at 

 Allahabad. 



Proceedings. — In our Proceedings, we publish the notices of all acqui- 

 sitions to our coin cabinet and in addition papers of minor importance. 

 Amongst these, is a learned note by Dr. Mitra on the term ' Ehotibhdva ' 

 in which he criticises some statements of Professor F. Max Miiller. It 

 should be some satisfaction to the learned doctor that Professor Miiller 

 has since acknowledged the value of these criticisms by accepting them. 

 We have also a contribution to meteorological literature in the shape of a 

 notice of snow-measurements taken at Kailung in Lahoul, communicated 

 by Mr. H. F. Blanford. Also the substance of a lecture by Mr. C. Stevens 

 of Brisbane on the Veddahs of Ceylon which gives us much information 

 regarding this little known, and, from an Anthropological point of view, 

 highly interesting people. I understand that we may soon expect a 

 complete account of the Veddahs from a forthcoming work by Mr. 

 C. W. Rosset, who has spent eighteen months amongst them. I would 

 submit that this very brief survey of work done by the Society shows 



