No. 5. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURH. 95 



in the State or country. Records of data have been kept with great 

 care, and these are so valuable that investigators from the Federal 

 Government and some other states have applied to us from time to 

 time for records in our collection, in order to embody the same in 

 their publications, which they wish to make complete. 



In making these collections of insects we desired first to make a 

 complete typical collection of the fauna of Pennsylvania for the pur- 

 pose of study, comparison and identification of others, and, second, 

 to preserve all duplicates possible for the purpose of exchanges, and 

 especially to place them in schools that could make proper use of 

 them. We are now prepared to make up collections of duplicates of 

 beneficial and injurious insects, properly labeled with both scientific 

 and common names, and place them in the schools where they can 

 be seen and studied and made useful, not only for teachers and 

 pupils, but also for the agricultural people of the district who may 

 wish to see specimens of certain insects of which they have been 

 warned, and for which they should watch carefully. We anticipate 

 great good to come from such school collections, and hope to see 

 this line of work pushed to the greatest extent possible. 



IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIMENS. 



The most important means for any school to obtain a collec- 

 tion is to interest the pupils to such an extent that they will collect 

 their own specimens. They, of course, will need help in the methods 

 of collecting and preserving specimens, and for this purpose this 

 office has issued a special bulletin giving directions in the taxonomy 

 or methods of preparing collections. When collectors send speci- 

 mens to us to name we are careful that they are named correctly, 

 with both common and scientific names, and that the full classi- 

 fication and names are sent to the collector. It is advisable for 

 persons wishing such aid to collect duplicate specimens that they 

 know are exactly the same species, keeping one, and sending an- 

 other to this office with the same number on each, so that they can 

 be named by referring to their respective number. 



A collection made in the vicinity of the school is far more in- 

 teresting and valuable than one made elsewhere, and should be the 

 nucleus for more extensive collections. Under the conditions of our 

 aid, as outlined above, it is not difficult for teachers without a 

 technical knowledge of systematic entomology and zoology to get 

 their pupils to make collections of specimens, particularly of insects, 

 and have these properly preserved, classified and named. There is 

 no reason why there should not be a good large collection of both 

 injurious and beneficial insects of the immediate surroundings in 

 every school where agriculture, zoology or biology are taught. In 

 addition to the help that this office gives in naming specimens, it is 

 willing to exchange or donate material for increasing such collec- 

 tions. 



A LIST OF PENNSYLVANIA INSECTS 



There is no one thing needed at the present time by students of 

 Pennsylvania entomology as much as a complete working list of 

 Pennsylvania insects. This should contain illustrations of types of 

 each important family, and state the characteristic marks or features 



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