434 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XV. 



lightly of entomology that is not economic, nor because I see an over- 

 whelming mass of purely practical work before me, but in the hope 

 of drawing attention to the many problems that underlie practical work, 

 which are in themselves pure entomology. It is here that the naturalist 

 who is neither a rabid systematist nor an economic entomologist can 

 find such a large and absorbingly interesting field ; I mean in problems 

 connected with insect increase, with parasites and predators, with plant- 

 immunity to insect attack, with the " balance of life " and soon. Be- 

 tween the systematist on the one hand and tho economic entomologist 

 on the other, there is this vast field of work, a domain as yet scarcely 

 touched, which should justly be occupied by the ordinary, I may perhaps 

 say " amateur," naturalist. 



We may then regard economic entomology as a branch of entomology, 

 strictly a narrow branch intent on practical results, far removed from the 

 systematic work that makes up so muck of modern entomology, compris- 

 ing also a part of agriculture and a branch of knowledge peculiar to 

 itself. It is concerned not only with the insects that injure the crops, 

 but also with the crops themselves and with the mechanical methods of 

 destroying insects on a large scale. There are three distinct branches. 

 Entomological, Agricultural and Mechanical. One without the other is 

 useless. The ways and habits of the insect come first, then the condi- 

 tions under which the crop grows, and with these two, one or more 

 special methods can be applied. 



I propose to discuss these in order, to see as far as possible where we 

 stand in each and we can then see in which directions progress in the 

 whole subject is likely to be made. 



3. ENTOMOLOGY. 



A. — Systematic. 



I have placed this first, not because it is of first-rate importance, but 

 because it includes the greater part of modern entomology. For the 

 economic entomologist, names and nomenclature are a necessary evil ; 

 before looking up literature, and before going into print, one must have the 

 names of the insects concerned. To facilitate this ready naming, a good 

 deal of purely systematic work has to be done, especially in the little- 

 known groups ; but this ought not to be ; we should be able to look to 

 entomologists for this class of work, instead of having as at present, to do 

 it as bast wo can ourselves or rely on Continental specialists. 



