of his abilities and zeal in the public service, and respectfully tenders to him a life 

 membership in the Society." 



Officers for the current year were elected as follows : — 



President James Fletcher, Ottawa, Ont. 



Vice-President Rev. 0. J. S. Bethune, Port Hope, Ont. 



. Secretary -Treasurer E. Baynes Reed, London, Ont. 



[" W. H. Harrington, Ottawa, Ont. 

 | Rev. T. W. FylesJ Quebec, Que. 



Council <j J. Alston Moffktt, Hamilton, Ont. 



| G. J. Bowles, Montreal, Que. 

 [ J. M. Denton, London, Ont. 



W. HAGUE HARRINGTON, 

 -May, 1887. Delegate. 



THE PRESIDENT'S INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 



Ladies and Gentlemen*,- — Through the courtesy of the mayor and corporation of 

 the city we are enabled this evening to make use of this commodious chamber.* The 

 committee room put at our disposal for the other meetings would have been entirely 

 inadequate to accommodate the large audience which I have the great gratification of now 

 seeing before me. This pleasure, too, is considerably heightened, as I notice amongst you 

 many of the class which our Society particularly strives to reach — to wit, farmers and 

 gardeners — men who are daily brought face to face with the foes or friends, of which our 

 members make it their special study to investigate the habits. 



As there are many here this evening who are not members of the Entomological 

 Society of Ontario, it is fitting that I should state briefly the nature and objects of that 

 Society. Previous to 1863 there was no such society in Canada ; but in that year a few 

 naturalists, living in different parts of the Provinces, met together in Toronto and 

 organized under the name of the Entomological Society of Canada. The membership at 

 first was only sixteen, and this number included all those then known to be interested in 

 insect life in Canada. From this small beginning the Society has steadily increased until 

 its membership now reaches upwards of 500, and includes all the active workers in North 

 America. The work done in the early years of the Society, notwithstanding the fact that 

 the members were widely separated, was such that it soon became manifest that they 

 must have some means of publishing the results of their observations for the benefit of 

 each other and the scientific world in general. Accordingly in August. 1868, appeared 

 the lirst number of the Canadian Entomologist, a monthly periodical, which from that 

 time forward bas been regularly published, and was for some years the only publication 

 on the continent of America devoted solely to this important branch of natural history. 

 It has now neaidy completed its nineteenth volume. From the outset a noticeable 

 characteristic of this magazine has been, that its pages have been entirely filled with the 

 records of original work, and during its existence it has been the means of disseminating 

 a vast amount of scientific knowledge, which has been of benefit not only to Canada but to 

 the world at large. This organ of the Society is more particularly the scientific record of 

 work done by the members, although it also contains many illustrated elementary and 

 popular papers for the benefit of beginners. In addition to this, however, and what is an 

 important part of our work, a popular report of some 75 or 100 pages is prepared annually 

 u pon injurious and beneficial insects, and the best measures for farmers and gavdeners to 

 adopt with regard to them. This is published every year as part of the report of the 

 Minister of Agriculture and Arts for the Province of Ontario. Seventeen of these have 

 already been issued, and have given to the farming community a large amount of useful 

 information. Our Provincial Government recognizing the good work which was being 



*The President's addre?~ was delivered in the council chamber of the Ottawa City Hall, on the evening 

 of October 26th. 



