THE iUSE OF AP1»LIED ENTOMOLOGY IN THE UNITED 



STATES ' 



Hv L. O. Howard 



At the tenth anmuil lueetinj^' of the Agricultural History Society, 

 held September 13, 1927, my hi«j;hly esteemed friend, Dr. B. T. Gallo- 

 way, presented a review of the development of plant pathi)lo<j:y in 

 the United States; and his introductory paragraphs apply so well to 

 insect damage that they might well be used for the present paper, 

 simply substituting the words "' agricultural entomology " for '" plant 

 pathology." 



It is true that economic entomology is an older applied science, and 

 hence it is true that for many years the entomologists looked upon 

 the plant pathologists in the somewhat patronizing way that an elder 

 brother looks upon a much younger one. In fact, as the years went 

 by a certain amount of good-natured chaff was heard between the 

 men of these different kinds of work. The entomologist was apt to 

 say, " There is nothing of a practical character in plant pathology 

 except the recommended use of the Bordeaux mixture under all con- 

 ditions." I recall that I made that remark once to Doctor Galloway 

 and that he countered immediately by saying " There is, after all, 

 nothing to economic entomology but the application of arsenicals for 

 chewing insects and of dilute kerosene emulsion for sucking insects." 



All that, however, is quite aside from my present purpose. 



I have just returned from a long trip across; the country. I have 

 seen at Riverside and Berkeley, at Seattle, and at Minneapolis, at 

 Madison and at Urbana, large classes of earnest young men and 

 women studying applied entomology; and at five of these places I 

 have seen large corps of teachers, admirably equipped, all good re- 

 search men, engaged in this teaching work. I have seen that the 

 popular estimate of the entomologist has become very high. I have 

 asked some of these teachers whether they felt, on account of their 

 occupation, the faintest indications of an inferiority complex. All 

 replied at once that they were proud of their work, that they were 

 convinced of its great importance, and that they considered them- 

 selves among the most useful members of their respective faculties. 



> Paper road at the twelfth annual moetlng of the Agricultural History Society. Wash- 

 iDRtOD, n. C, Apr. 29, 1929. Itoprlnted hy pfrmlssiou from Agricultural nistory, Vol. Ill, 

 No. 3, July, 1929. 



387 



