74 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



March 1, 1913. 



INSECT NOTES. 



TBE ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCB 

 COMMITTEE. 



A brief account of tke Entomological Research I'oni- 

 Tiiittee was presented in the A^ricu/ftirnl TWcs for 

 March IS, 1911 (A'ol. X, p. 90', where mention was made 

 fit the first objects of establishing this Committee, and of 

 some of tlie result.s which had then been attained. 



That accouEit was written about two years after the 

 J'Intomological Researcli Committee had been established: 

 and now that another period of similar length has passed, it 

 i-hould be of interest to review again the progress that has 

 been made, and to consider the outlook for the future. 



Up to the present time the main objects and efforts of 

 the Committee have been the increase of accurate knowledge 

 in regard to those insect,", mites and ticks which cause or 

 disseminate any of the diseases of man or domestic animals, 

 and it seems likely that this line of work will continue to 

 absorb its principal energies for years to come. The problems 

 in this connexion which present themselves for solution in 

 Tropical Africa are those for the study of which the Ento- 

 mological Research Committee was founded, and they are of 

 course the ones to which the larger part of its attention has 

 been given. The Committee has not, however, neglected the 

 needs of agriculture in Africa nor the needs of both health 

 conditions and agricultural pursuits in other parts of the 

 I'^mpire; this will be revealed by a glance at the tables of 

 contents of the Bulletin i-sued quarterly by the Committee, 

 where will be seen titles of papers relating to agricultural 

 entomology in both Africa and the West Indies, and to 

 insects and diseases in the West Indies, as well as in those 

 districts of Africa where European travellers and settlers 

 have suffered so greatly from insect borne disease. 



The J'^ntomological Research Committee consists of twenty- 

 four men of science interested in entomology and disease, 

 with the Karl of Cromer as chairman. In common with the 

 other members of the Committee, Lord Cromer has shown the 

 greatest interest in the accomplLshment of those objects for 

 which the Committee was established. 



In referring to the work of the Committee, Mr. Jlarcourt, 

 Secretary of State for the Colonies, compares the death-rate 

 among European ofMcens in the West African Colonies in 

 1696 with thi,t of more recent years. In 1896 this was 

 W per thousand; in 1904, 28 per thousand, and in 1911, 11 

 per thousand. 



At first the Research Committee depended upon the 

 voluntary collections which were sent in frora medical officers 

 and others for the specimens on vvhicl their investigations 

 were based. Later, they employed two travelling entomolo- 

 gists who have made entomological surveys of a large por- 

 tion of Tropical Africa during the past two years, adding, by 

 means of collections and notes, moat valuable information 

 regarding this country tC' the knowledge that existed prev- 

 iously. There have also been appointed recently several 

 entomologiits, who hold Government positions within the 

 African tropics. These cttioers communicate with the Com- 

 mittee and benefit by being able to get specimens promptly 

 identified, and by being in touch with a central organization 

 where specialists have access to extemsive collections and 

 literature. 



In the matter of entomological educ.itiou also the Com- 

 mittee has been active. Thrse Carnegie scholarships have 

 been assigned to entomologists for the purpose of enabling 

 them to study methods of entomological research in America, 



and the applicatiun of entomological knowledge to practi- 

 cal affairs in that country. (Jne of these was Mr. G. K 

 Bodkin, 1!.A., Economic Biologist, Department of Science and. 

 Agriculture, Hriti.-h Guiana, who has recently returned from 

 a six months tour of study, during which he visited those 

 parts of the I 'nited States where large projects in entomology- 

 are being carried out; he also visited the Experiment Sta- 

 tion at Porto Rico. 



In an article which appeared in the Times Weekly 

 Editiiin for January 3, was given a general account of the 

 Entomological Itesearch Committee. This article refers to 

 the fact that the central bureau organized in England by the 

 Committee has been hon.sed by the hospitality of the 

 authorities of the British Museum, South Kensington. The 

 collections received during the first three years of work from 

 some fifty collectors in Tropical Africa, and many in other 

 parts of the world, amounted to 200,000 insecis of which, 

 nearly 60,006 were actual or potential disease carriers. 

 Nearly all the latter were identified and their distribution, 

 carefully studied. Many sets of these bloodsucking insects 

 have been presented for purposes of in.struction to over 

 twenty i)ublic institutions both at home and abroad. The 

 types of new si)ecies, and all insects of a non-economic kind 

 have been handed over from time to time to the national 

 collections in the British Museum. 



<^>uite lately the Committee has assumed the title of 

 Imperial Bureau cf Entomology, and will serve the 

 entomological needs of the whole of the British Empire, ia 

 a manner similar to that in which the Bureau of Entomology 

 at Washington, serves those of the United States. The out- 

 standing features of the enlarged organization as now con- 

 templated include the following: — _ 



(1) The organization of a system for the prompt 

 identification of all injurious insects sent in by officers 

 attached to Dei)artments of Agriculture or Public Health in 

 the British Empire. 



(2) The publication of a monthly periodical which 

 will give a brief summary of all the current literature, bott. 

 British and foreign, dealing with noxious insects whether 

 agricultui-al pests or disease carriers. 



(3) The compilation of a card index to the literature, 

 past and present, so that any otticial or student requiring; 

 information with regard to any particular pest, may be? 

 promptly supplied with all the knowledge that is available 

 on the subject. 



The development of the wider scheme in connexion with, 

 the Committee is of particular interest to the West Indies. 

 It will be rememl)cred that at the West Indian Agricultural 

 Conference held at Trinidad in January 1912, Mr. Guy .•\. K, 

 .Marshall, Scientific Secretary to the Research Committee, 

 who was one of the delegates at the Conference, explained 

 the functions of the Committee and showed how it was 

 proposed to develop and expand the work. He stated that 

 the self-governing Dominions and Colonies and certain. 

 Crown Colonies not originally included in the scheme were 

 interested, and he enquired whether the West Indian 

 Colonies would join in the movement and contribute to its 

 support a sum sufficient to cover the cost of the extra work 

 likely to be necessary on their behalf. This arrangement 

 has now been made by the several West Indian Colonies. 



The Committee proposes to issue the monthly publicn- 

 tion referred to above, and it is hoped that Government 

 Entomologists in all parts of the P.ritish Empire will submit 

 brief reports at short intervals indicating the main features 

 of current work. 



It will thus be seen that the Entomological Research. 

 Committee has maintained a steady and satisfactory growth^ 



