4200 Natural-History Collectors. 



namely, the absence or presence of damp, cleanliness, efficient drainage, wholesome 

 food, &c. May not that nucleus consist of these minute flies or their eggs ? Many 

 circumstances which might be mentioned seem to favour such a supposition. — Alfred 

 Merle Norman ; Clevedon, Somerset, December 14, 1853. 



Proceedings of Natural- History Collectors in Foreign Countries. 



Mr. H. W. Bates* — " Santarem, May 27, 1853.— 1454 Coleo- 

 ptera and various insects, contained in two boxes ; and the imperfect 

 skin of a sloth. The above go down to Para by the steamer, and I 

 hope will reach you safely. The season was rather peculiar this year, 

 the dry weather having been prolonged to the end of February, and 

 when the rains did come, they were incessant till now ; therefore the 

 " insectiferous " showery gleamy season has been almost nil. . How- 

 ever, I applied myself closely and laboriously to the minute Coleo- 

 ptera, and hope the present collection will be considered a good result 

 of my labours so far. It appears to me that by far the greater portion 

 I have not sent you before, and are probably new to science. There 

 is a wonderful amount of various and curious things in the Staphylini, 

 Geodephaga, Anthici, &c. I have had great difficulty in keeping 

 them free from mould, but find they will require only a little careful 

 brushing to become good specimens. I have gummed them lightly 

 on card, so that purchasers can have no difficulty in taking them off 

 with the point of a moistened hair pencil, and setting them as they 

 wish : as to packing them in pill-boxes, I am sure it wont do in the 

 wet season here, for even when previously dried in trays, they are sure 

 to become a mass of mould in a fortnight in the pill-boxes. Besides, 

 1 like better to have them displayed, because I can then note the spe- 

 cies, and be guided in collecting, so as not to miss similar-looking 

 things. I see the small Coleoptera are much studied on the conti- 

 nent ; there are many almost exclusively " Staphylini-men," — Erich- 

 son, Mannerheim, D'Aube, &c; others " Anthici-men," — Marquis La 

 Ferte, Dr. Schmidt, &c. ; others, small Geodephaga, — Chaudoir of 

 Moscow, &c. I have put a number to many species, some of which 

 refer to the notes inclosed ; the species having numbers I have se- 

 lected almost at random, numbering only as many as I have time to 

 bestow on. I want you to give me a list of all the numbered species 

 (or as many as you can), with any information you can get about each, 



* Communicated by Mr. S. Stevens. 



