THE PRESENT POSITION OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 443 



In regard to the crops and the agricultural conditions, there is a suffi- 

 cient amount of established knowledge to meet all our needs ; when we 

 come to actual methods of checking injurious insects, we have a practi- 

 cally clear field with all our experimental work before us and only the 

 experience of entomologists abroad to guide us. 



So far as the actual work of dealing with individual pests goes, we 

 may hope for steady progress, simply by taking them one by one and 

 working them out ; this is a question of time. As regards the general 

 problems I cannot see any hope of advance. The basis of fact must first 

 be laid, the important families studied ; the wider problems can then be 

 tackled on a broad basis of established fact which we have not as yet got. 



When all our scattered information is brought together, we shall be 

 little the wiser and only patient work on broader lines can raise the 

 general level of the subject. 



This paper would be complete if I were able to lay down the lines on 

 which work could best be carried on ; from the very nature of the pro- 

 blem I cannot do so. I see vast fields of work, some more pressing than 

 others, in all of which any one can increase our knowledge. On the 

 other hand I see little hope of attracting naturalists into these fields. So 

 far as I personally am concerned, my way is clear : I can only do what 

 lies to hand ; the investigation of the important pests, the working out of 

 life histories, the devising of remedies, the work of bringing these reme- 

 dies to the hands of cultivators, these must absorb my energies and those 

 of my staff. Perhaps something will be possible in the way of collecting 

 our scattered knowledge into handy shape and I should be glad if I 

 could give any help to anyone working in this subject. 



If I may make suggestions, I would urge that naturalists should think 

 whether they cannot direct their knowledge and energies to one of the 

 many problems near at hand. To systematists, I would suggest the im- 

 portant families of beetles (e.g., Chrysomelidce, Curculionidcc, Scarabcei- 

 d(B, Coccinell/'dcp,) or the smaller Hemiptera {Lygceidce, Coreidce, 

 Psyllidce, Aphidm) or the Diptera. 



Those who are attracted by life-history work will need no suggestions. 

 An accurate life history over the whole year of one insect in each of the 

 important groups would give us a good working basis. 



There are hosts of general problems — the parasites, the galls, the pre- 

 datory insects, the scavengers, the insects underground, etc., in all a 



