56 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Feb., '17 



Further contributions from the western territories were de- 

 scribed by LeConte in 1859, in his work on "The Coleoptera of 

 Kansas and Eastern New Mexico," published by the Smith- 

 sonian Institution. Even in these early days it was recognized 

 that the detailed facts were to be used synthetically, and the 

 paper just mentioned contains a colored plate, illustrating the 

 Entomological Provinces of North America. 



A Catalog of the described Coleoptera of the United States, 

 prepared by Melsheimer, and revised by Haldeman and Le- 

 Conte, was published by the Smithsonian Institution in 1853. 

 A new edition, by LeConte, appeared in 1863. 



Other activities could be mentioned, but the above will suf- 

 fice to recall the beginnings of entomology in the National Mu- 

 seum. Following the custom of the Smithsonian Institution, 

 which is continued to this day, co-operation with students and 

 institutions in various parts of the country was sought, and the 

 then small resources were made to go as far as possible. 



Thirty years later than Baird's letter to LeConte, I was in 

 active correspondence with the Washington entomologists, at 

 that time under the leadership of C. V. Riley. I recall my 

 amazement at the kindness shown to an unknown student in 

 the far West, at the numerous and valuable publications sent 

 out free of charge. The story of American economic ento- 

 mology has been told by Dr. Howard and others. Much of it 

 is fresh in the minds of most of us, and it is not necessary to 

 go into details. The point we are interested in at this moment 

 is, that the great development of the practical side of ento- 

 mology led to a corresponding development of its purely scien- 

 tific aspects, of insect biology and classification. The Na- 

 tional Museum, securing the co-operation of the Department 

 of Agriculture, and depending on the staff of that Department, 

 was able to build up a collection of first-class importance. Up 

 to the present moment this dependence has continued, and 

 comparatively little of the entomological activity in the Museum 

 is under the jurisdiction of and supported by the Museum 

 proper. This is not a unique situation but represents a common 

 trend in American scientific affairs. Thus in the Museum a 



