THK ac;kicultl i;al news. 



Jvsv. 1, mij. 



INSECT NOTES. 



THE VALUE OF ZOOLOGY TO HUMAN 

 WELFARE. 



In the last number uf the .i'j/hi/////rii/ A't7cs reference 

 was made in this column to a symposium held by some of 

 the leading zoologists of the I'nited States at which papers 

 wt-re tead under the above general title, and to each speaker 

 was assigned that particular branch of zoology in which he 

 himself is a recognized authority. An account was given 

 ot apaptrby |)r. L. O. Howard, on the advantages which 

 humanity has gained from the work of tho.se zoologists who 

 study insects. In the present issue it is proposed to touch 

 briefly on the part that zoology has played in the modern 

 history of the fishing industry in the United States, as it 

 has been so ably and concisely sketched by I )r. H. M. Smith, 

 of the Bureau of Fisheries. His address appeared in Scicaa 

 for March L'9, 191i<, from which account the following notes 

 are taken. 



In the opinion of])r. Smilh, 'It is doing no violence 

 to truth or jusiice. to claim that the beginnings of a sane 

 and beneficent fishery administration in the I'nited States 

 date from the time when a man, already eminent in Science, 

 witli many years experience in zoological work' was 

 appointed to investigate the position of the food-fishes of the 

 coa>ts and lakes of the I 'nited State.^, and to take all measures 

 nece.ssary for their conservation. 



'Since that year (1871)', l>r. Smith continues, 'when 

 F'iiird began those masterly and far-sighted inquiries, 

 zoology has been the constant forerunner or associate of 

 fishery progress; and the conservation of the resources of our 

 lakes, rivers, and cnastal waters became an established policy 

 and an accmplished fact many years before the term conserv- 

 ation came into general use as applied to any other 

 resources.' 



From the first it was recognized that a complete knowl- 

 edge of aquatic creatures was essential for putting the 

 administration of the tislieries on a sound basis, and that 

 thi-^ knowledge must be acquired by minute investigations 

 into the biology of the various forms, important or otherwise, 

 connected with the fishing industry. 



Baird was successful in drawing round him a large body 

 of nien trained in the methods of zoological research, and the 

 hucce.** frf the work all through has been largely, in many cases 

 entirely, dependent on the service-- of zoologists. 



(t may not be out of place to mention a few special 

 cases, out of the many which migiit be cited, in which 

 zoology has rendered conspicuous and notewtjrthy .service. 



The zoologists. I'.rooks, l!yder, and others, through 

 their studies of the biology of the f'yster, and from experi- 

 mental work in oyster breeding have given enduring aid in 

 .solving many of the practical problems of the oyster industry. 

 'With the oyster, as with other water creatures, the teach- 

 ings of zoology have been at complete variance with the 

 confirmed practices and decpseated prejudices of certain 

 States. The welfare rif their oyster industry was for a long 

 period neglected; and the delivery of these States fmm the 

 thraldom of absolute, eHicient and wasteful methods has 

 depended on their eventual willingness to accept z'X)logical 

 facts as the ba.sis for administivition 



Again, the lobster industry has suffered Irom the failure 

 or refusal of certain States to recognize the elemoutarv 

 needs of the lobster as set forth by the investigations of 

 Heriick. lo the opinion of |)r. Smith, had these States 

 been willing to be guided by the teachings of zoolog\ , the 



lobster, instead of being the rare and e.\|>ensive article of 

 food that it is to-day, could have been made a staple, 

 mo(lerate-|iriced food for all time. One redeeming feature 

 is the adoption in IJhode Island of a system of artificial 

 rearing devised by the zoologist Mead, which has enabled 

 that State to maintain a better lobster supply than any^other 

 State in the I'nion. 



A further illustration of the application of zoology to 

 the public good is the prompt use made by the American 

 Government of the results of the investigations of Lefevre 

 and Curtis on the habits of the glochidia, or larval stage, o? 

 the pearly mussels. The establishment of an expensive 

 laboratory for continuing these investigations, and the main- 

 tenance of an adequate staff for applying the results of 

 zoological researches and experiments have been of conspicu- 

 ous practical value in preserving this great industry, which 

 supports nianj' thousands of people. 



The writer also refers to the recent studies of the scales 

 and bones of fishes as a result of which it is now possible 

 'to substitute facts for guesswork in formulating protective 

 fishery laws bearing on the size and age of food and game 

 fishes. 



A final example of the enduring services which zoolo<'y 

 has rendered to humanity is given by Dr. Smith in the 

 following words: 'A year or two ago there arose 

 a situation in one of the largest sea-board cities where ill- 

 advised administrative action threatened to exclude from the 

 market one of the most abundant and wholesome marine 

 fishes, with conse(juent disturbance of long-established trade, 

 and serious loss to the fishermen even of remote regions. 

 A real disaster impended because a market inspector saw 

 certain parasites and misconstrued their significance. The 

 evil was averted by the ability of the government to 

 recommend to the city authorities a zoologist with a most 

 convincing mass of zoological evidence, with the result that 

 the embargo w;as promptly lifted and in all probability will 

 never again be placed in that community for such a reason,' 



The writer considers it a hopeful sign for the future that 

 more and more reliance is being placed by the public on the 

 recommendations of zoology in the handling of fishery 

 questions. 



.T.f.H. 



THE FOOD QUESTION IN JAMAICA. 



In a Gozcf/i JC\/>-imn/iiiar\, the late Governor of 

 Jamaica, Sir William .Manning, has issued an appeal to all 

 classes in the island to Join in increasing the local food 

 production. Tiie following is the text of His Excellency's 

 appeal : — 



'The Governor desires to invite the lull co-operation of 

 all sections of the conununity in the matter of increasing the 

 food production of the island, and wiih this object in view 

 asks that all landowners, both great and small, and also 

 small settlers, .should fully inform themselves of all that 

 has been done in order to increa.sc food production, and that 

 they themselves should, without delay, take every possible 

 means of increasing the food supjily of the island. 



'His Excellejicy is of opinion that all .Ministers of 

 lieliiiion could greatly help in the matter, and would be glad 

 if the.\ would do so by bringing to the notice of their 

 congregations the urgency of the food situation, and on each 

 Sunday address to tiieir congregations some remarks to the 

 effect that the necessity for fond production will grow aj« 

 time goes on; that the situation will no doubt be rather wor.se 

 when the war ends; that not only for feeding them.selves 



