THE STORY OF AN ENTOMOLOGIST 



When "The Insect Menace" appeared, it was extensively re- 

 viewed in many newspapers, and, in fact, inspired a number o£ 

 good editorials. I was rather annoyed to see that some of the 

 writers, and indeed some of my correspondents, attributed a 

 certain paragraph to me, whereas I had distinctly stated that 

 the idea, and even the general phraseology, really originated with 

 Dr. W. J. Holland, the distinguished entomologist and former 

 director of the Pittsburgh Museum. I have just seen one of 

 these rather annoying references in the "So They Say" pages 

 in the January, 1932, number of The Golden Boo\, and it occurs 

 to me that the whole story has never been told in print. Here it is : 



A good many years ago I gave a lecture at the Pittsburgh 

 Museum on the general subject of Insects, and I dwelt for 

 some time on the subject of the persistence of the insect type, 

 calling attention to the fact that all those forms of life that 

 depended upon great size, defensive armor and brute strength 

 for existence had passed away, and that the type that had suc- 

 ceeded in perpetuating itself was one that depended rather on 

 extremely small size, great powers of rapid multiplication, swift- 

 ness, cunning and powers of concealment. 



I was Dr. Holland's guest, and after the lecture was over we 

 returned to his beautiful home and sat down with our cigars 

 and something to drink to talk it all over. From the depths 

 of his easy chair, the dear Doctor said reflectively and very 

 impressively, "Do you know, Howard, that idea that you stressed 

 about the persistence of the insect type impressed me enormously. 

 I quite agree with you. In fact, I verily believe that when the 

 atmosphere will have become so rarefied that all of the higher 

 animals and all of the flowering plants will have passed away, 

 there, on the top of some dying lichen, chirk and smiling, will 

 be one of your darned bugs." 



I was immensely pleased with this and told him so. He was 



[319] 



