ENTOMOLOGICAL INTELLIGENCE, ETC. 
15 
majority of the Continental schools,” (as stated by the American 
Professor, Dr. Baclie, who inspected 278 schools in England, 
Scotland, Ireland, France, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, and 
the principal states of Germany,) “ Natural History forms a 
regular part of the course of instruction, and usually occupies 
from two to four hours in the week,” we can at once perceive the 
reason why our countrymen are so slow in supporting works upon 
Natural History. 
Insects of the Philippine Islands. —The geographical situation 
of these islands necessarily gives to their zoological productions a 
peculiarly interesting character, whilst the number of travellers or 
naturalists who have visited them has been so small that the insects 
which inhabit them are for the most part unknown. A few indeed 
were collected by Dr. Meyen, in his voyage round the world, and 
have been described by Drs. Ericlison and Burmeister; (Nova Acta, 
vol. 16, suppl.) ; others also were collected by Eschsclioltz. A noble 
collection has, however, recently been formed in those islands, by 
H. Cuming, Esq., during a visit of several years 1 duration, made 
expressly with the view of forming collections of Natural History. 
Since his return home the collection has been arranged; the most 
complete series being destined for the British Museum. Another 
set has been liberally presented to the Entomological Society of 
London by Mr. Cuming, who proposes to dispose of the duplicates. 
Entomological Society of London. —The Journal of the Proceed¬ 
ings of this society, which has hitherto been published with the 
Transactions (whereby great delay has occurred in the publication of 
papers containing descriptions of genera and species), has, since the 
commencement of the present year, been published from time to 
time in the “ Annals of Natural History,” and contains, in addition 
to the accounts of the ordinary business of the meetings, abstracts 
of the memoirs and short descriptions of the new genera and 
species described in them. 
Silk, a Modification of Caoutchouc. —An acrimonious juice 
is found in almost all euphorbiaceous plants; yet it is strange, as 
remarked by Dr. Bindley, that from such plants should be obtained 
Caoutchouc, a most innocuous substance. But what appears still 
more remarkable is the fact that silk is not improbably a modifica¬ 
tion of the Caoutchouc of these plants elaborated by the silk- 
