1916 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 119 



annual report a few years ago the importance of such co-operation. This could 

 Ibe helped along very much by the use of the press. 



If there is no more discussion on these two papers we will pass on to the 

 next paper on "Forest Insect Investigations in Canada." I regret to say that 

 Mr. Swaine, who was to have read this paper, has been suffering very severely 

 from grippe during the past week or so, and while he hopes to be at the meeting 

 this afternoon he did not feel sufficiently well to give his address this morning, 

 so we will postpone the paper until this afternoon. Therefore, I will take this 

 opportunity of making a few brief remarks in regard to the progress of our work. 



PROGRESS OF ENTOMOLOGY IN CANADA DURING 1915. 



C. Gordon Hewitt, Dominion Entomologist^ Ottawa, 



As I remarked in opening our meetings yesterday I do not consider that it 

 is necessary or even desirable for the President to give a presidential address 

 on re-election, apart from the fact that we have a very full programme. Never- 

 theless, it may be of interest to review the progress of our work in Canada during 

 the past year, especially as we have a number of visitors from other countries. 

 As you may remember, the Minister of Agriculture arranged for a campaign 

 to be carried out shortly after the outbreak of war for the purpose of securing 

 greater production and in this work the Provincial Governments co-operated fully. 

 That this campaign has proved successful is shown by the fact that the other 

 day the Minister of Finance, in Montreal, said that on a conservative estimate 

 our agricultural products would exceed those of last year by three hundred million 

 dollars; such a result at the present time when the question of food supply is a 

 vital one is very encouraging. As entomologists we have played our part in 

 this successful effort to increase our production. Everyone realizes that increased 

 agricultural production is dependent very frequently on the control of insect 

 pests. One of the most important steps to be taken in order to secure production 

 is to reduce or eliminate those factors which check or reduce production ; of 

 these factors insect pests are one of the most important. For this reason we 

 have all endeavoured to exert ourselves harder than ever during the past year 

 with a view to persuading the farmers and fruit growers to take steps in an 

 increasing measure to control those factors which are responsible for loss of 

 production. 



T feel sure that those of our officers who have been working at the Branch 

 Laboratories in the various provinces will feel that their work has been very 

 successful in this direction. In Nova Scotia, the energetic work that has been 

 carried on so successfully by Mr. Sanders has done more than anything else, so 

 I am informed by the fruit growers of that province, to increase spra}ang and 

 spraying along successful lines in the Annapolis Valley. This means more fruit 

 and fruit of a better grade. 



Mr. Petch has been carrying out similar educational work in Hemmingford 

 Oountv in Quebec, with good results, and has shown the value of insect control in 

 the production of more fruit and fruit of a higher grade. 



Our work on Locust Control in the Province of Quebec will be described by 

 Mr. Gibson this afternoon. The depredations of locusts in certain parts of the Pro- 

 vince of Quebec have been serious and extreme during the last few years. In some 



