Relation of Entomologist to the Gardener 



By Thomas J. Headlee, Ph. D. 



Dr. Thomas J. Headlee, w ho addressed the convention 

 of the National Association of Gardeners, is the State 

 Entomologist of New Jersey. Born at Headlee, Ind., 

 he received his elementary education in the public schools, 

 and later in the Normal School of that State, completing 

 it in 1900. He received the lollowing degrees from the 

 University of Indiana, A. li., 1903 ; A. M., 1904. Cornell 

 University bestowed the degree of Ph. D. on him in 

 1906. Dr. Headlee became Assistant Entomologist of the 

 State Agricultural Experiment Station of New Hamp- 

 shire, and severed his connection there to become head 

 of the Department of Entomology and Zoology in the 

 State Agricultural College and Experiment Station, and 

 State Entomologist of Kansas. He took up his duties in 

 Rutgers College, New Jersey, as successor to the late 

 John B. Smith, October 1, 1912, which office he now 

 holds. His researches, with the exception of one piece 

 of work, have been confined to entomological subjects, 

 and there are now over twenty-five bulletins, circulars 

 and papers to his credit. 



THOS. J. HE.xni.EE, Ph.D. 



Dr. Headlee is a member of many scientific societies 

 and also of Sigma XI and .Alpha Zeta. 



In addressing the convention Dr. Headlee said : 

 Gentlemen of the National Association of Gardeners : 

 I am glad to have this ojjportunity of making your ac- 

 quaintance. It is only in a few favored parts of the 

 United States that an organization of gardeners could 

 he maintained. Your occupation is one which becomes 

 possible only when a considerable number of people have 

 passed the pioneer struggle with nature and have ac- 

 cumulated sufficient wealth to permit them to cultivate 

 the beautiful for its own sake. 



■ I quite realize that the gardener's life is not one of 

 leisure — that he is engaged in the delicate and difficult 



task of placing desired plants in strange and frequently 

 hostile environments and making them grow into things 

 of beauty and usefulness. 



The plant is a vital ever changing complex of forces. 

 Its chemical constitution is never the same for any two 

 consecutive periods of time. It is constantly changing 

 in response to stimuli from its environment or from 

 stimuli that represent the inherited effects of former 

 environments. Every change in food supply, in tem- 

 perature, moisture, sunlight, gaseous makeup of the air 

 and in atmospheric pressure causes the plant protoplasm 

 to change for belter adaptation. Activity of the plant's 

 living enemies and friends likewise bring about adaptive 

 changes in its makeup. We must think of the plant 

 organism as a living, moving, changing thing, every 

 change in which occurs better to adapt the plant as a 

 whole to maintain itself and to carry on its life. 



Centuries have been required during which an un- 

 counted number of plant organisms from which the pres- 

 ent form finally sprung perished, because their changes 

 did not enable them to meet the hostile phases of their 

 environment. The plant of today is the form successful 

 in meeting its environment. Plant protoplasm varied and 

 the environment selected those variations that adapted 

 the plant to its surrounding and ruthlessly destroyed 

 those variations that failed to adapt. 



Naturally, then, we may expect the present day plant 

 in its native home to be able to obtain sufficient food for 

 its needs, to meet successfully the hostile phases of the 

 climate and to be able to persist in spite of the activity 

 of its plant and animal enemies. 



When, however, the gardener takes it from its native 

 home and plants it in a new and strange environment, 

 or changes its very being by crossing, budding and graft- 

 ing, is it strange that he should meet difficulty and fre- 

 quent failure? 



From all quarters of the earth he brings the plants he 

 wishes and together with many species native to 

 the region selected by him as the spot for his flora, estab- 

 lishes them as the plant life of a particular place. To 

 do this he must make such an environment for each im- 

 ported species as will permit it to thrive. 



Unfortunately, the creation of a soil and climatic en- 

 vironment does not insure the successful growth of the 

 prized plant. Insect pests and fungus diseases common 

 to the region from which it came may have been brought 

 along and take on more pernicious activity virulency 

 than characterized them at home, or native insects and 

 diseases may find the imported plant a desirable host. 



Gardeners seem to know much more about making up 

 the necessary soil and securing proper climatic condi- 

 tions than they do about combatting insect pests and 

 plant diseases. Furthermore, the writer believes it safe 

 to say that more attention is now being given to the 

 investigation of soil and climatic conditions for growing 

 the gardener's crops than is being devoted to the solu- 

 tion of problems of controlling the insects and the fungi 

 that attack them. 



The Entomologist of New Jersey considers it a part 

 of his regular business to prevent the introduction of 

 serious insect pests along with imported plants, and for 

 the accomplishment of that purpose maintains a careful 

 inspection of all plants (with exception of the group 

 noted later) coming into New Jersey from foreign coun- 

 tries. Exclusively greenhouse stock coming from for- 

 eign countries is not completely inspected, although any 



