199 
up the study of entomology, he usually leaves a considerable amount 
of fragmentary unpublished matter, which is very likely to be wasted. 
If he has been a careful worker, he is sure to have made descriptions 
of larvse which he could not rear, incomplete notes on habits, distribu- 
tion, etc., and other observations which are valuable and yet too incom- 
plete for publication. He will also have made many notes which could 
hardly be published as separate items, and yet would be very useful 
in the preparation of faunal or monographic works. He will probably 
have hoped to make use of all these notes in publication himself, sooner 
or later, but he is exceptional if he can complete his projected labors 
before he dies. 
The great difficulty of dealing with the scattered manuscripts of a 
deceased naturalist, unless he has been unusually methodical, has often 
been alluded to by writers; and the suggestion I have to make is that 
in future, so far as possible, entomological notes be kept on a uni- 
form plan, so as to make it easy to preserve and consult them, and to 
incorporate notes by various authors in a single series. 
In order to do this, we can hardly adopt a better method than that 
of slip-records. The slips should be of uniform size, although the paper 
or card they are made of may vary according to the taste of the individ- 
ual. For myself, I prefer paper to card, as being both cheaper and 
less weighty to carry about. But the point of importance is the size, 
as the essence of the scheme now proposed is that all notes should be 
capable of being incorporated in a single series, or notes from various 
authors on a single subject in a series. I inclose herewith a slip of the 
kind used by Mr. 0. D. Sherborn in his great index of the genera and 
species of animals, now in progress at the Natural History Museum in 
London. Both as to size and paper it seems to me very suitable, and 
slips of this sort are extremely cheap. 
I therefore suggest to this association that all slip-records be kept on 
slips 2 J x 5 inches. 
Now, as to the manner of writing the notes, the inclosed specimen 
shows the method I have adopted. 
When a specimen is entered it receives a number — in the present 
case 178. Before the number I write "Ckll.," being an abbreviation of 
the recorder's name. Each recorder should adopt an abbreviation of 
his name which can be easily recognized, or else write his name in full 
before the number, so that when his notes are incorporated with others 
there may be no mistake as to who wrote them. 
After the number follows locality, date, and any necessary particu- 
lars. 
Two species should never be put on one note, unless it is a reference 
to a second species in connection with that to which the note refers, as 
Lyccena marina in the note sent. 
When the notes are written they should be kept in a series, according 
to their numbers, until the names of the species are ascertained. When 
9052— No. 2 10 
