202 



ing, say, once a year, to discuss new discoveries, and particularly to ex- 

 change experiences as to methods of work, whether in field or laboratory. 

 Such a coming together of those engaged in kindred work and the con- 

 sequent interchange of experience and intercommunion could not fail to 

 be productive of good both socially and scientifically. Economic ento- 

 mology has heretofore greatly suffered by the writings and pretensions 

 of those who have no sort of appreciation of its real value and impor- 

 tance, but who, writing at second hand, upon subjects of which they 

 have no personal knowledge whatever, are just as apt to disseminate 

 error as truth. We should like to get an expression from those of the 

 readers of Insect Life interested in the work as to the desirability 

 and feasibility of such a national organization, and particularly as to 

 how many could attend a meeting once a year in some one of our large 

 cities. 



Kerosene Emulsion— An Error corrected.— We have unfortunately been 

 misquoted of late relative to a statement made in the Introduction to 

 our 1888 report. We there stated that where milk is not accessible a 

 satisfactory kerosene emulsion can be made with the white of egg 

 and a little sugar, and gave the most desirable proportions. We no- 

 tice, however, that Orchard and Garden for February, 1888, and other 

 journals on jDrevious dates have i^ublished the entirely unwarranted 

 statement that ^' Professor Eiley has had the best results in fighting 

 scale insects with a kerosene emulsion j)repared after the following form- 

 ula," quoting the white of egg and sugar recipe. Our position is thus 

 entirely misrepresented. 



It will be news to most entomologists to learn that the Wm. H. Ed- 

 wards collection of Ehopalocera has been purchased by the Eev. W. J. 

 Holland, of Pittsburg, Pa. The collection of Dr. Holland, as thus en- 

 riched, is probably one of the largest as well as typically the most per- 

 fect collection of the Ehopalocera of temiDcrate jSTorth America. In ad- 

 dition to the collection of Woi. H. Edwards it contains the entire collec- 

 tion of Mr. Theodore L. Mead, and a large number of specimens derived 

 from Morrison, Wright, Behrens, Eicksecker, and other collectors, in all 

 fully 8,000 specimens, representing the nearly 700 species credited to our 

 fauna. As an illustration of the richness of this collection, it may be 

 mentioned that Lyccen'i ])seudargiolus is represented by 25G specimens, 

 ranging in their distribution according to their localities from St. 

 Michaels, Alaska, to southern Florida, and from Quebec to Arizona,j 

 with a large series of bred specimens arranged according to pedigree! 

 from one brood to another, showing the lineage of the seasonal oCj 

 dimorphic forms. 



The Ehopalocera of other lands are well represented, notably by speci-i 

 mens from tropical America, Africa, and Asia, and by fine suites of thej 



i\ 



