268
The University Courier.
tended Chancellor Snow's chinch bug experiments. In prosecuting this work the departments of entomology and botany have collaborated, the subject pertaining to both as the disease which is spread among the bugs is of vegetable structure. Chancellor Snow's third annual report of the conduct of the experiment station, to appear soon, will make as flattering a show as in former years. Seven thousand five hundred lots of infected bugs were sent out from the station during the past season; and the actual working of the infection was observed in many counties of the state by practical assistants.
The collections of the department have been augmented the past year by donations, exchanges and purchase, as well as by the efforts of the assistants in the field. The excellence of these collections is due to Chancellor Snow, who during his twenty-two years service as professor of natural history devoted his best efforts to entomology without allowing the other divisions of his very broad chain to suffer. In fact Chancellor Snow for more than a score of years covered the branches of science which are now in charge of five professors and three assistants.
No other collection of beetles in the colleges of the country can compare with our own in diversity of forms, except that in the Agassiz museum at Harvard. Kansas University's collection embraces over 8000 species.
In the diptera, or two-winged flies, we now possess the largest collection, public or private in the country. The American fauna is represented at Harvard by about 2500 species, while our collection has over 4000. By far the largest and most valuable part of this collection came through Dr. Williston, who has found time with his many other studies to attain the distinction of being considered one of the two or three great dipterologists of the world. Dr. Williston's next long article on diptera will appear in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, and will be descriptive of over 750 new West Indian species. A set of the types of most of these species will remain in K.U.'s collection.
The cabinet of butterflies and moths contains upwards of 3000 species of North American forms as well as numerous exotic species from Brazil, the butterfly paradise of the world. Central America and the old world.
The collection of hymenoptera, or bees, wasps and ants has been recently arranged in a new cabinet and is a new and representative one. The same can be said of the orthoptera, or grasshopper and cricket order, and the hemiptera or true bugs. The collection of neuroptera, such as dragon-flies, lace-wing flies, etc., is now being arranged and named.
A very valuable feature about these collections is that they contain a large number of types, both specific and generic, including most of Dr. Williston's types, and many of A.R. Grote's types of North American lepidoptera.
The University is indebted to Dr. George F. Gaumer, 76, for large donations to the zoological departments, comprising in part about 6000 insects from Yucatan and Mexico.
In addition to the collections in the various orders of insects, the department also possesses an economic and biologic series illustrative of the life histories and metamorphoses of insects, with special reference to the injurious species. Miss Wellman is at present engaged in making enlarged colored drawings of the more important insect pests for display in the main zoological museum along with the actual specimens and samples of injury.
Another collection of practical use is being formed through the aid of Prof. Sayre, consisting of such insects as live in drugs.
With these collections, a well selected library, and abundant facilities for microscopic and photographic work, the department of entomology of the University of Kansas is in a position to do much toward advancing one of the most fascinating of the sciences in popular appreciation.
DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY.
In botany, in addition to the regular Freshman study, courses are offered in structural, systematic, histological and physiological botany. Structural botany is open to Sophomores.