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from which applications for them have been received. The account for printing this publication has not yet been rendered, but it is estimated that the entire cost should not amount to much more than £320.
The demand for our Abstract of Plant Pest Legislation has been small, not more than ten copies having been sold during the financial year.
Thirteen papers have been published in the Annals and Magazine of Natural History during the year, dealing with non-economic insects sent in to the Bureau for identification:-One by Mr. K. G. Blair (Coleoptera), one by Dr. G. Lallemand (Homoptera), three by Mr. J. R. Malloch (Diptera), one by Dr. A. Sicard (Coleoptera), five by Mr. B. P. Uvarov (Orthoptera), and two by the Director (Coleoptera). These papers comprised 148 pages in all, the contribution towards the cost of printing and illustrations amounting to £36 9s. 6d.
Finance. A statement showing the sums actually received and expended during the year will be found in Appendix I. The most noticeable feature is that the Stationery Office has at last brought its accounts more nearly up to date, with the result that we have had to pay out as much as £4,156 in respect of our two periodicals. This also accounts for the fact that the item "General Expenses" is more than twice as large as usual, for this includes Jong-standing arrears for general stationery. In consequence of these heavy payments there has been a fall of £48 in the interest on our deposits as compared with the previous year. The apparently high charge for office furniture is also due to the settlement of an old account with the Office of Works for furiture bought when moving into our present premises more than two years ago. The payments out of the Tropical African Fund include a transfer of £72 to the Provident Fund, being 24 per cent. on salaries prior to the inauguration of the Bureau, and a grant of £50 to enable Mr. Swynnerton to inspect various centres of tsetse work in South-East Africa on his way back to Tanganyika Territory; the credit entry represents sales of our tsetse book.
Appendix II shows our present cash resources and outstanding liabilities, and it is satisfactory to note that in spite of the heavy payments that we have had to make during the past twelve months we still have, the substantial balance of £2,580. At our last meeting Lord Buxton raised the point whether we might not do better to invest some of our surplus funds instead of leaving them on deposit. Unfortunately, the position was materially altered shortly afterwards, on account of our having to make some heavy payments. At the present time, as may be seen from the statement, our uninvested cash is almost exactly equal to our outstanding liabilities, and therefore it is hardly worth while to invest the money, even though the interest we receive on deposits is only 1 per cent. Our investment in Funding Stock is shown at cost price, the present selling price being about £375 higher.
In Appendix III will be found an estimate of the revenue and expenditure for the current financial year, the anticipated surplus amounting to practically £2,300. Collections of Insects-The number of insects received has again beaten our record, and there has also been a specially notable increase in the number of corres- pondents who have sent in collections. In the following details the corresponding figures for the preceding year are given in brackets for comparison.
The collections received totalled 312 (260), and these were sent in by 121 (82) different correspondents, distributed as follows:--Africa, 56; Asia. 31: Tropical America, 12; Australasia, 11: Europe, 11. The collections contained 56,000 (53,000) specimens. of which 11,600 (8,000) were blood-suckers. During the year 196 (168) lists of identifications were issued, comprising 6,268 (4,248) specific names.
Of named blood-sucking insects, or species of agricultural importance, 2.400 (4.680) were presented to the following institutions :-Armstrong College, Newcastle: Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine: Royal Army Medical College. South Tidworth. Hants: Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital, London; Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine; Oxford University Museum: and the United States National Museum. The insects presented to the British Museum numbered 16.150 (13.140), of which 181 (171) were types of species new to science, and among the remainder were 453 (257) named species not previously represented in the Museum collection.
"
Review of Applied Entomology," The increase anticipated in the last Report
in the number of abstracts published has been realized, the total for the two volumes heing the record one of 2,471 (2,271 last year), the number of pages, exclusive of indices being 868 (832).
There has been a satisfactory increase in the subscription list. The number was 288 (267), and to Series "B" 291 (267),
of individual subscribers to Series "A
}
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though the actual cash received from sales during the year shows a slight falling off owing to the purchases of back parts being less than the exceptionally large number sold in 1921, the amount being £333 18s. 1d. (£341 16s. 5d). In respect of advertisements the receipts amount to £91 188. Yd.; although this is for a period of five quarters, it may be regarded as fairly satisfactory considering the present con- ditions.
According to the latest accounts received from the Stationery Office (the last part charged for being that for August, 1922), the cost of printing the Review worked out at about 20s. a page, as compared with 22s. this time last year, and probably there has been a further reduction by now. The cost of the two indices may be taken as approximately £260.
Library-Accessions to the Library during the year amounted to 468 bound volumes and over 700 pamphlets, bringing the respective totals up to 3,220 and about 5,000. The Bureau is now receiving some, 850 different Journals and Annual Reports, the great majority of which reach it in exchange for its own. publications. To accommodate this steady growth of the Library additional shelving has been necessary during the year and more will inevitably be required during the coming
one.
The abridged catalogue of serials has been brought up to date, and a copy for- warded to the Keeper of Printed Books at the British Museum, for inclusion in the "World List of Scientific Periodicals." author's card index to entomological papers in serial journals, but owing to the Some progress has been made with the large number of accessions during the year no very important gain has been made in dealing with the arrears, and about 70 per cent. of the journals still remain to be catalogued in this manner. It is hoped, however, that more progress will be made in this direction during the coming year, as the new junior Assistant in the Publication Office; appointed last September, will be available in part for this work. The number of books and pamphlets issued on loan during the period under review was 227, an increase of 104 over the previous year. There were also numerous visitors who consulted the Library without borrowing books. Owing to the efforts that have been made to obtain for the Library certain little-known journals that only in part deal with economic entomology, there has been a tendency for botanists and others to visit the Library in order to consult periodicals that are not available elsewhere in London.
Export of Parasites.-This work has progressed quite satisfactorily. On the 22nd November, 121 puparia of the Tachinid fly that parasitises the earwig were sent out to New Zealand in cool storage, and a further small lot was sent on the 12th December, after which no more parasites emerged from the captive earwigs.
On the 28th December, 400 cocoons of the Pear Slug were sent out. by ordinary Sample Post, and on the 22nd January, 850 cocoons were sent in cool storage. It is estimated by Dr. Imms that 90 per cent, of these cocoons contained parasites, probably of two or three different species.
We have received from Dr. Tillyard's secretary, information as to the arrival of the two consignments of earwig parasites, but no details beyond the fact that Dr. Tillyard had taken them down to Central Otago for distribution. heard nothing as yet about the other parasites.
We have
It has not been possible to do anything yet in connexion with the most important fruit pest in New Zealand, the Pear Leaf-Curling Midge, but Dr. Imms will endeavour to procure material for study as soon as he learns of its appearance any- where in this country.
"The Zoological Record."--On the 6th December, 1922, a meeting was held of the special Sub-Committee (Sir S. Harmer, Major E. E. Austen, Mr. J. C. 'Fryer and Dr. H. Scott) to consider whether the Bureau should undertake to compile and edit the Insecta portion of the Zoological Record, and it was agreed that adequate grounds existed to justify our undertaking this work, but that in the first instance it should be done for one year only, as an experiment. A definite offer in this sense was made to the Zoological Society, with the proviso that the work should start with the year 1923, and that the usual fee paid for it (£100) should be paid to the Bureau. The Secretary of the Society raised difficulties over two points; he urged that we should do the work for nothing, and insisted that it was no use for us to offer to undertake the 1923 Record unless we were prepared to do that for 1922 as well. We explained to him that the Sub-Committee felt very strongly that the Bureau would not be justified in doing such work out of Government Grants allotted for