PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS. 34l 



Lepidoptera 291 



Coleoptera 530 



Hemiptera-Heteroptera 116 



Herniptera-Homoptera 43 



Neuroptera 71 



Aculeate Hymenoptera 97 



Spiders 121 



making a total (counting the spiders as insects) of 1,269 

 species. A very interesting feature in these lists is the 

 number of species occurring here which are not found in 

 Britain proper. If reliable information could be obtained 

 upon the distribution of these insects on the French mainland 

 some very instructive deductions might be drawn. 



The botany of Guernsey has been more exhaustively 

 worked out than ever before, and the remarkable wealth of its 

 flora in every section has caused considerable astonishment to 

 experienced botanists both at home and abroad. Here is an 

 analysis of the published lists as they stand to-day : — 



Flowering plants , 684 



Ferns and fern-allies 27 



Mosses 142 



Hepaticso 38 



Lichens 243 



Seaweeds 236 



Fresh Water Algae 52 



Diatoms 322 



amounting in the aggregate to 1,744 plants catalogued within 

 the last few years in a tiny sea-girt spot of land hardly five 

 miles square. 



Another important subject which, though as yet only in 

 its infancy, has received attention recently, is the Folklore of 

 the island. Old traditions and superstitions, proverbs and 

 quaint beliefs are rapidly dying out, and a praiseworthy 

 endeavour has been made to rescue them from utter oblivion. 

 It is to be hoped that the members who are interested in this 

 subject will spare no effort to collect and preserve such vestiges 

 as still linger among the country folk, because the times are 

 changing, old usages are becoming obsolete, and ere long it 

 will be too late to gather together these curious relics of the 

 past. 



In many other departments of science the activity and 

 vigilance of our members is abundantly manifest. The smaller 

 islands comprised within the bailiwick of Guernsey have 

 received a large measure of attention, and their geology, 

 antiquities and natural history have been as carefully and 

 systematically studied as circumstances would permit. The 



