4 



After the completion of the necessary business of the Society, the rest of the 

 Afternoon was devoted to the examination of the books and collections of the 

 Society, and the consideration of specimens brought by the members. Among 

 these may be mentioned some live ant-lions {Myrmelionidce) brought from 

 Indiana by Mr. Fletcher ; a collection of Plusias, and other moths recently 

 captured at Nepigon by Dr. Bethune, and some very interesting specimens of 

 Lepidoptera, from the Province of Quebec, by Mr. Fyles. 



The meeting adjourned at 6 p.m. 



In the evening the Society held a public meeting in its rooms at 8 o'clock, 

 which was largely attended by members and other friends from London and the 

 neighbourhood. The Rev. Dr. Bethune, President of the Society, occupied the 

 chair. After cordially welcoming those present, he proceeded to deliver the 

 annual address upon the chief topics of interest in the Entomological world dur- 

 ing the past year. 



ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. 



Ladies and Gentlemen, — Fifteen years have gone by since I last had the 

 honour of addressing the members of the Society as its President. So long a period 

 of time has naturally wrought great changes in our comparatively small circle of 

 members, as well as in the world about us ; but I am happy to see here 

 to-night some who were with us at our annual meeting in 1875, and to know 

 that many others have continued ever since their active interest in the welfare of 

 the Society and the advancement of entomological science. For twelve years the 

 presidential chair was most worthily filled by our highly esteemed friend. Prof. 

 Wm. Saunders, who only resigned it in order to devote his whole time and 

 energies to the great and important work which he has undertaken as director of 

 the experimental farms of the Dominion. His great success in this new office is 

 well known to all who take an intelligent interest in the prosperity of our country. 



The removal of Prof. Saunders from an active share in the work of the 

 Society seemed a very serious blow, and was certainly a very great loss, but 

 happily we were able to find a worthy successor in the person of our excellent 

 friend, Mr. James Fletcher, Dominion Entomologist and Botanist, who has so 

 .zealously performed the duties appertaining to the office of president during the 

 last three years. With such able men at its head during so long a period of time, 

 it may be readily understood how substantial was the progress of the Society, 

 and how high was the reputation it achieved both at home and abroad. 



The past year has been in some respects an eventful one in the history of the 

 Society. In the month of April last I learned that Mr. Edmund Baynes Reed 

 was about to leave this province and take charge of the meteorological station at 

 Victoria, British Columbia. He was one of the original members, and for more 

 than five and twenty years an active and zealous officer of the Society, filling at 

 difierent times the positions of vice-president, secretary-treasurer, auditor, librarian 

 and curator. To his energy it is due that we have obtained so large and valuable 

 a collection of scientific books in our library ; he also contributed many excellent 

 papers to our annual reports, while discharging various other useful functions in 

 the interests of the Society. His removal from amongst us was so serious a 

 matter that I came up to London to make arrangements for the future manage- 

 ment of our afi'airs, as well as to say good-bye to an old and very dear friend. 

 After much consultation with Mr. Reed and other members of the council, we 

 devised a plan for the general conduct of the business of the Society which has 



