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in making me the president of this Section of the Congress. I 
accept not only as a token of kindness to myself, but also much 
more as a token of regard for the country which I represent and 
for the great brotherhood of American entomologists to which I 
have the honor of belonging. 
I have with pleasure acceded to the suggestions of the Com¬ 
mittee of arrangements that I should open the discussion upon the 
Conservation or preservation of types. 
( Résumé . ) 
I. The importance of preserving types arises from the fact that : 
a ) Written descriptions often fail to convey correct ideas of 
things; 
b) Even carefully executed drawings and photographs frequently 
fail to convey desirable information as to a species; 
c ) Without the types at hand it would be impossible in many 
cases to know to what species the name given by an author 
applies ; 
d) Types are the last court of appeal in all cases of disputes as to 
nomenclature ; 
e ) Types and typical material throw light on the processus of 
evolution, and should be preserved as being so to speak « land¬ 
marks ». 
II. Types should be sedulously cared for and preserved in insti¬ 
tutions capable of properly preserving them. The museums of 
colleges and universities as a rule are not proper depositories for 
valuable scientific collections. The changes in the personal of 
such institutions, which frequently occur and their generally inade¬ 
quate resources, make them improper custodians of such things. 
The scattering oí types through small private collections is to be 
deprecated. 
III. The preservation of the types of any author includes the 
careful preservation of any designation marks attached to the spe¬ 
cimen. To tamper with labels, to misplace them or to substitute 
others is generally speaking an impardonable offence. 
