24 



COMPARATIVE ZO-OLOGY. [June, 



29. Insects from Xew England, and biological specimens bj the 

 curator. 



The most important fact for the department was the trans- 

 fer to a new room, considerably more spacious and more con- 

 venient for work, giving convenient working places to more 

 students and assistants. Indeed, most of the tables were 

 occupied during the past year. The spacious glass-cases 

 along two walls of the room allowed a convenient arrange- 

 ment for the library of the curator, increased in a valuable 

 manner by the entomological works deposited by Prof. L. 

 Agassiz and Mr. A. Agassiz, and those of the library of the 

 Museum. The arrangement is made alphabetically, and all 

 the works relating to the North American fauna are separated 

 for the use of the students. A complete catalogue on labels 

 made by the curator renders it easy to find every pamphlet. 

 The library contains about 3,000 volumes, and represents 

 more than 6,000 numbers of the entomological papers, enum- 

 erated in the curator's Bibliotheca Entomologica. Special 

 attention was given to complete the series of North American 

 authors and of papers scattered in the different economical 

 and horticultural periodicals. A fine copy of Curtis' British 

 Entomology (old illumination) , a complete copy of the New 

 England Farmer, Lacordaire's Coleoptera and Harold's Cata- 

 logue are the most important additions. So far as possible the 

 curator takes care to supply the library with European mono- 

 graphs and periodicals, but chiefly with those not bought b}' 

 other libraries in Cambridge and Boston. 



An addition of new boxes and cabinets was necessary and 

 has partly been provided for. 



]\Ir. J. Boll, from Bremgarten, Switzerland, appointed by 

 Prof. L. Agassiz, as assistant for the entomological depart- 

 ment, was obliged to return to Europe on account of serious 

 sickness in his family. Though he could only work here for 

 a few months, the unsurpassed beauty of the insects collected 

 and arranged by him furnishes a standard of the manner in 

 which insects should be handled and set up for a public col- 

 lection. He arrived toward the end of October and was 

 obliged to leave in ^klarch, and yet he was nevertheless able 

 to collect several thousands of insects around Cambridge and 



