FIGHTING THE INSECTS 



winter of 1878-79, while I was working with Riley in Washing- 

 ton, Professor E. L. Mark of Harvard, then recently returned 

 from long studies in Germany, published a note in The Canadian 

 Entomologist, calling attention to this rather absurd error. When 

 he read this article Riley called me into his office and with the 

 Missouri report open at the figure in question asked me what 

 I thought of it. I said, "It is a very fine drawing, and I wonder 

 at the accuracy with which the tracheal system is drawn." He 

 thanked me and dismissed me. 



It will be noticed that all along I had studied insects simply 

 because I liked to do so. It was not my prime interest, but it was 

 one of my prime interests. I had no idea of becoming a specialist, 

 and of course the future was all in the air. But everything that 

 I learned about them and, in fact, everything that I learned 

 about other things, was well worth while, and it has all proved 

 of much use to me at one time or another. 



As a matter of fact, I never really worked until the post- 

 graduate year. It is true that I had very good marks on the 

 whole, but that is because I chose only the subjects that were 

 most interesting to me. But when the post-graduate year came 

 and I spent all my time on Natural History, Comparative 

 Anatomy, Histology and the subjects leading up to Medicine, 

 I regretted the hours that I could not spend in one laboratory 

 or another. My eyes were opened to the immense importance of 

 many fields. I must say, however, that the practical importance 

 of entomology did not appeal to me, and I studied insects simply 

 as fascinating forms of life. Of course I was not alone in this, 

 and no one at that time had the faintest idea of what insects 

 were then doing to the human race, and still less of what they 

 were likely to do in the future. In fact, when in the early summer 

 of 1878 Professor Riley began to correspond with me about going 

 to Washington I looked upon this suggested post as simply an 



[18] 



