FIGHTING THE INSECTS 



It seems rather astonishing to me now that, although Cornell 

 was founded upon somewhat utilitarian lines, and included a 

 College o£ Agriculture, the courses in entomology had very 

 little reference to possible practical applications. But perhaps 

 this was not to be wondered at, for, aside from the not very 

 well known writings of Harris, Fitch and Walsh, almost nothing 

 was being done in this direction. In fact, the science of applied 

 entomology was only just beginning. 



There was a young man down in Missouri named C. V. Riley, 

 who had been publishing a few annual reports on noxious insects 

 and had created quite a sensation, partly by the admirable way 

 in which he presented his subject, and partly by the extraor- 

 dinarily clever illustrations. In 1871 or 1872 Professor Comstock 

 managed to have Riley invited to come to Ithaca to deliver two 

 or three non-resident lectures. We boys of the Natural History 

 Society attended in a body. We were much disappointed in the 

 lectures. We cared nothing about agriculture, and were inter- 

 ested only in the strange things about insects. Some of the 

 farmers who came were disappointed because the lectures were 

 not practical enough to suit them. And some of the professors 

 who came out of curiosity were outraged because this young man 

 ventured to criticize the recently published classification by 

 Packard, a representative of the New England School, and a 

 student of Louis Agassiz, then in the height of his fame. The one 

 thing that pleased all of us was Riley's extraordinary ability as 

 a blackboard artist. 



Looking back at the college days, between September, 1873 

 and June, 1877, when I took my Baccalaureate degree, I see very 

 well that entomology was not my principal interest. I played 

 baseball on the class team, and football as well, rowed on the 

 crew of the Tom Hughes Boat Club, and entered into many of 



[8] 



