Sil 
in a large cage. Soon the hibernating insects begin to appear, and 
then we have to give the cage a number, in order to keep this material | 
together and prevent confusion. This accessions catalogue number 
stands for the original, but you will very readily see that we have to — 
make a greater or less number of additional numbers, to cover species 
that we secure from this material. Of course as these go onto the 
accessions catalogue, and with them the name and date of appearance, 
and, under the head of remarks, a reference back to the original number, 
we can easily enough trace everything back to the mass of leaves; but 
it multiplies the numbers on our accessions catalogue, and when we 
come to dispose of the species finally the original label must be taken 
off and thrown aside and a new one written giving the final accessions 
catalogue number. This consumes considerable time, and I have been 
hoping to devise some way whereby we might avoid this renumbering, 
but so far we have failed in doing so. | 
I do not know how it is with other entomologists, but what we need 
most is an up-to-date card index of entomological literature. While 
I have in my private library very nearly everything of importance that 
has been written on the subject of insects in America, it has gotten to 
be a tedious affair to hunt out references, and find out definitely just 
what has been done during previous years by other workers. While it 
probably can not be well remedied at present, it certainly will do no 
harm to call attention to what nearly every entomologist has doubtless 
alsoexperienced, namely, the fact that the card index issued by the Office 
of Experiment Stations is quite deficient in its treatment of entomolog- 
ical literature. Several times I have tried to rely upon it, and found that 
Ihave overlooked some original work of a colleague, and done him injus- 
tice unintentionally. We here hope for much help from the bibliography 
published by the Division of Entomology. It does not seem to me to 
be necessary to go over ground that has already been well covered by 
a careful worker; although in the rearing of insects we, of necessity, do 
much of this, and it is just here that we need to know exactly what has 
been done, as, unless we have this information, we are not able to get 
variations as between different localities. , All of this seems to me to 
be quite an important feature in entomological work. 
In both our collections and our breeding we aim, as much as possible, 
to get the exact locality from which the material came. Here again I 
have found considerable difficulty. Often a farmer may live anywhere 
from 1 to 10 miles from his post-office, and in these cases it is of course 
absolutely impossible to give exact localities, as his farm may lie 
several hundred to a thousand feet above his post-office town, or the 
reverse may be true. Theonly way that I have found to in part obviate 
this difficulty is to have a map of the State, showing not only the 
counties but the townships, mounted upon a back of thick board or 
plank of seasoned pine. With this mounted upon an easel near my 
desk, I have spread out before me the whole State. Then if I can get 
