INSTITUTE AND COLLEGE, PFSA, FOR 1910-11. 61 



Bengal and Assam, the principal pests dealt with have 

 been the Rice Grasshopper, Semiaqnatic Rice Caterpillar 

 and the Behar Hairy Caterpillar. In Baroda State, the 

 Entomological Assistant has done good work in promoting 

 an interest amongst cultivators in such pests as the Hairy 

 Caterpillar, the BoUworm and the Til stem-borer and in in- 

 ducing the adoption of measures against these and other 

 pests. 



Generally speaking, the Entomological work in the Pro- 

 vinces is at present preliminary and is necessarily confined 

 to little more than inspection of the experimental farms, 

 noting the local pests and the destruction caused by them 

 and demonstrating methods to cultivators in the event of 

 any special outbreak. Much more than this cannot be done 

 whilst the Provincial Entomological staff is so limited. 



Correspondence. — This is a subject which increases 

 automatically every year as the work of this Department 

 becomes more widely known. In addition to local in- 

 quiries as to insects attacking crops received and answered 

 by the Provincial Agricultural Departments, a very large 

 volume of correspondence is received and dealt with at 

 Pusa; this includes a large amount of correspondence re- 

 ceived from official sources, but a very large proportion is 

 in reply to questions and requests for information and ad- 

 vice by the general public, and these include queries on al- 

 most every conceivable phase of Entomological work — in- 

 sects damaging crops, gardens, orchards, timber, ornamental 

 trees and shrubs, books and papers, stored cereals and 

 produce of all kinds, insects on domestic animals, silk, lac, 

 bee-keeping, insecticides and sprayers, and the identifica- 

 tion of insects — and even on subjects not strictly concerned 

 with insects, such as the destruction of rats. The parcels 

 of injurious insects sent in numbered 166. A total of 

 2,384 inquiries came in from official and public sources, and 

 the whole of these were dealt with as fully as possible. 

 This is work which occupies a very large and constantly in- 

 creasing proportion of time, but we consider that this work 

 has a very direct value and that it is our duty to satisfy 



