l66 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL.84 



Witness the following contrast : I am writing this in May, 1929. 

 Within the past two weeks Congress appropriated $4,250,000 in the 

 effort to exterminate a just-discovered outbreak of the Mediterranean 

 fruit-fly in Florida. Two years ago Congress approjjriated $10,000,000 

 in the effort to retard the spread of the EuroiJcan corn borer to the 

 west. Contrast with this the effort made in 1875 to secure an appro- 

 priation of $25,000 to investigate the outbreaks of the Rocky Mountain 

 locust or Colorado grasshopper, an insect which had devastated the 

 growing crops of four western States, causing ruin and starvation 

 among the farmers. Congress finally passed a bill on March 3, 1876, 

 but the pitiful amount (judged by modern standards) of $25,000 was 

 cut down to $18,000. 



Comparing these events, a great change is evident, Ixit there has 

 also been a great change in conditions — in the population of the 

 country, in the area devoted to agriculture, in rapidity of transporta- 

 tion, and in an infinite number of other things — so that it is not at 

 all sure that we have yet reached the proper appreciation of the 

 situation. To my mind, insects must be studied more intensively and 

 by a vastly greater number of men than at present. Looking toward 

 the future, it seems obvious that in the long run the large sums of 

 money now being ap]:)roiiriated in emergencies would be more pro- 

 ductive if more of it were spent in the effort to learn more fundamental 

 things about insects. 



This will be a good ]:)lace to introduce a table showing the appropri- 

 ations for the Bureau of Entomology year by year from 1879 to 1930. 

 What seemed to us then very considerable variations were made, for 

 one reason or another, by Congress during the earlier years, and as 

 an explanation of the comparatively small amounts appropriated for 

 a few years after 1904, it should be said that this was during the 

 second Cleveland administration when instructions had Ijeen given 

 to all departmental heads to scale down their funds to the lowest 

 possible amounts, and that the then Secretary of Agriculture prided 

 himself on the economy with which his Department was administered ; 

 in fact, a distinct effort was made to turn back into the Treasury as 

 much as possible of the amounts actually ai)propriated by Congress. 

 There was apparently a feeling in the Cabinet that the Secretary who 

 was al)le to turn back the most money into the Treasury was the most 

 efficient executive. The following table has been drawn up for me 

 by Mr. A. J. Leister. 



