12 



numerous collection of American animals, belonging to a lady in 

 LancHshire." This lady was the celebrated Anne Blackburne, 

 eldest daughter of John Blackburne, Esq., of Warrington, Eng- 

 land. She received it, with other insects, from Xew-York, whence 

 it was probably sent by one of her b'others, who resided in this 

 country. The specific name A'^oviboracensis, given to it by Fors- 

 ter, commemorates the place whence it came, and, having priori- 

 ty in point of time over other names subsequently given to the 

 same species, must be retained. Gmelin, in 1788, and Olivier, 

 in 1790, redescribed it under the same name* It is the Ryn- 

 chites curculionoides, of Herbst, who figured and described it in 

 1797, from specimens in a museum, ricli in North American in- 

 sects, belonging to Mr. Herscliel, the court musician at Hanover, 

 in Germany, a near relative of Sir William Herschel,the astrono- 

 mer. In 1833, the Chevalier Schonherr, the author of an exten- 

 sive work on the weevil tribe, gave it the name of Jthycerus cur- 

 culionoides, unfortunntely adopting the specific appellation be- 

 stowed upon it by Herbst, rather than the earlier one of Forster. 

 Lastly, in 1837, Mr. Kirby, apparently not aware that the insect 

 had already been made known, described it under the new name 

 of Pachyrkynckus Schouherii, which must give place, as a syno- 

 nym, to Ilhycerus JVoveboracensis. 



By Monday's mail, I propose sending to you the Cambridge 

 Chronicle of this date. You will find therein an account of the 

 Palmer worm of New-England, which has lately done much dam- 

 age to orchards in various parts of tlie country. I hear of it 

 throughout the valley of the Connecticut, and nearly to the White 

 mountains of New-Hampshire. It also prevails in the valley ><{ 

 the Housatonic, and as stated by my friend, Dr. Plumb, of Salis- 

 bury, and by Dr. Fitch, to a considerable extent in the valley of 

 the Hudson. Should we have a second visitation of tlie insect 

 during the present summer, orchards must suffer severely from its 

 ravages. From the scientific name and description, which is 

 given in the Chronicle, of the moth produced from it, you will 



• In 1781, tho Danish Naturalist, Fabricius, having met with a specimen from Newfound- 

 land, in the collection of Sir Joseph Banks, described it under the name of Curculio puncta- 

 tulus. 



