OF WASHINGTON. 265 



ANNUAL ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT. 



AN INVESTIGATION OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY IN THE 

 OLD WORLD. 



By C. L. MARL ATT. 



It became possible for the writer to spend some little time in Eu 

 rope during the latter half of the year just passed (1897), and 

 while the trip was, in a way, a private one, and taken primarily for 

 personal instruction and recreation, it was the intention to com 

 bine with it an examination of matters connected with entomolog 

 ical work in Europe, particularly as an applied science. That 

 the practical side of the science of entomology was of especial 

 interest will be at once understood, and, in fact, the investigation 

 of this phase of the subject was made a duty owing to official re 

 lations with the Department of Agriculture. It was felt that if 

 personal acquaintance could be made with men themselves and 

 their methods, and especially with the conditions under which 

 work is done in Europe, it would be of decided value in connec 

 tion with similar work being done in this country, and particu 

 larly as a basis of a more exact appreciation of the value and 

 applicability of the methods of control employed in the Old World 

 for the New. Special pains, therefore, were taken to go out of 

 the line of ordinary travel, where necessary, to visit stations and 

 see individuals to secure the information desired. A difficulty, 

 which had not been unforeseen, was experienced, especially at the 

 outset, in that, in a number of instances, the individuals whom it 

 was desirable to meet were themselves absent on vacation trips. 

 This was especially true of the curators and officials connected 

 with the museums of London and Paris. 



This account will be confined to the personal experiences and 

 observations of the writer, and, therefore, in no sense lays claim 

 to be a complete survey of the subject. A complete review of the 

 applied or economic entomology of the countries visited is quite 

 unnecessary in this place, since this subject has been very care 

 fully and fully covered recently by Doctor Howard in his presi- 



