SOME RESULTS OF ILXPliRLMr^NT STATION WORK WITH 



LXSHCTICIDES. 



By E. V. Wilcox, Office of Experiment Statiouv. 



The organization lists of the agricultural experiment stations show 

 that at present there are 58 entomologists connected with these insti- 

 tutions exclusive of those employed at the insular stations. Since 

 the organization of the experiment stations an innnense amount of 

 entomological Avork has been carried on by these agencies, resulting 

 in the publication of nearly -1,000 bulletins and reports dealing ex- 

 clusively with entomology. It has been found practically impossible 

 to present a sumnuiry account of this work within the confines of a 

 short article. The reasons for the enormity of such a task are not 

 far to seek. In the first place many questions of priority of discovery 

 would immediately arise and would necessarily give the account a 

 controversial aspect which is entirely foreign to the purpose of the 

 present article. Moreover, the number of subjects treated in the ento- 

 mological bulletins and reports is so great that the mere mention of 

 each insect discussed and each insecticide method tested would fill a 

 considerable number of pages. On account of the obvious impracti- 

 cability of presenting a summary of all of this work at present it 

 has been thought wise to confine this account to a discussion of some 

 of the more imjiortant pieces of insecticide work done at the experi- 

 ment stations. Even with a subject confined within these limits it 

 has been necessary to exclude even the mention of numerous insecti- 

 cides, especially those of proprietary nature, which lune received less 

 attention than some of the few standard insecticides. For iiractical 

 purposes, therefore, the present article deals with the more important 

 contributions of experiment station entomologists to the study and 

 practical application of standard insecticides. 



GENERAL INSECTICIDE METHODS. 



The development of insecticides and the perfection of methods for 

 iheir application are naturally associated with the outbreaks of cer- 

 tain injurious insects of unusual importance. Thus the San Jose 

 scale is resj)onsiblc to a greater extent than any other insect for the 

 unusual ellorts put forth by e.\|)ei"im('nt station entomologists in 

 devising practical contact insecticides which would eradicate not only 



239 



