T56 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 84 



until he was transferred to the University of California and placed 

 in charge of the entomological work at the Citrus Exi>eriment Station 

 at Riverside, but he has had virtual charge of all of the Calif ornian 

 parasite work from the time of his original appointment until now 

 (this is written in February, 1929). During the greater part of this 

 time Mr. Smith has been a paid collaborator of the Bureau of Ento- 

 mology and has been in constant correspondence with Washington, 

 consulting freely concerning practically all of the parasite problems 

 of the State. 



Before leaving this subject it will be of interest to mention an 

 instance in which California attempted to interfere with an important 

 parasite matter. 



In 1905 the State of Massachusetts took up the matter of the 

 introduction of European parasites of the gipsy moth and the brown- 

 tail moth, and appropriated $10,000 for expenditure in each of the 

 years 1905, 1906, and 1907 for this purpose. The work was placed in 

 the hands of the Chief of the Federal Bureau of Entomology. 

 Certain citizens of Boston had been impressed by the claims of the 

 California State Department of Horticulture and were disappointed 

 by the slow results of the work which was carried on during the first 

 two years in Massachusetts. Mr. Cooper told these citizens that he 

 would have his traveling agent send to Boston " the parasite of the 

 gipsy moth " and would guarantee its success provided the State 

 would put the sum of $30,000 in escrow for eventual compensation in 

 case of success. This caused much difiference of opinion in Massa- 

 chusetts, and the legislature of that State appropriated an additional 

 sum of $15,000 to enable the Superintendent in Charge of the Gipsy 

 Moth Work to secure expert advice as to whether the work was being 

 carried on in the right way. With the help of this sum, a number of 

 highly trained American and European entomologists (all acknowl- 

 edged experts) were brought to Boston, examined into the work and 

 reported enthusiastically in favor of the operations as they had been 

 originally planned. This story is told here as an evidence of Mr. 

 Cooper's misguided enthusiasm which caused for a time much con- 

 fusion in the minds of many people and necessitated the expenditure 

 of a large sum of money. 



During the past few years California has gone rapidly ahead in all 

 matters relating to injurious insects. They seem determined to pre- 

 vent the introduction of new injurious species and to control those 

 already within their lx)undaries. Apparently they spare no expense, 

 and it is difficult to see how such matters could be handled in a more 

 efficient way. I have in my hands, for example, at the present moment 



