WHOLE VOL. APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY HOWARD 385 



fornia idea of complete reliance upon the biological method and that 

 he discounted many of the claims made by that school of Calif ornians. 



I have indicated in the following pages something of tlie work done 

 in the different colonies down to the latter part of 1929, and have 

 said something about the earlier publications. Australian activity has 

 continued, and it may be worth while to state that, since the begin- 

 ning of the publication of the Review of Applied Entomology (Lon- 

 don), the editors of that extremely useful publication have reviewed 

 no less than 904 articles from Australia relating to economic ento- 

 mology that were published between January, 1912, and September. 

 1929. 



Tasmania. — It was in this colony that the earliest attempts were 

 made to promote economic entomology. While it is true that the 

 agricultural societies and departments of agriculture in the other 

 colonies turned their serious attention to entomological problems at a 

 comparatively early date, the first Codling Moth Act was introduced 

 in the Legislative Assembly of Tasmania as early as 1874. The provi- 

 sions of this Act were quite as wisely drawn as those of any subse- 

 quent injurious-insect legislation. It was not, however, until 189 1 that 

 a definite Council of Agriculture was created, and not until 1892 

 that an official Entomologist was appointed. The Rev. Edward H, 

 Thompson, a clergyman of the Church of England and a naturalist 

 of some distinction, had been writing in the local press and had come 

 into the public eye ; and in February, 1892, he was appointed Ento- 

 mologist and Pathologist to the Council of Agriculture. It is inter- 

 esting to note that his annual compensation was fixed at 300 pounds, 

 but that in 1894 it was reduced to 200 pounds. He had no funds for 

 expenses and had no assistants. 



In August, 1892, the Council of Agriculture began the publica- 

 tion of a journal undef the title : The Journal of the Council of 

 Agriculture. In 1896 this title was changed to The Agricultural 

 Gazette and Journal of the Council of Agriculture. In this form 

 it was published until 191 5, when it closed with Volume 23. In the 

 first number of the first volume is the report of a lecture by Mr. 

 Thompson on insect pests, and a report of his work since the first 

 meeting of the Council in May, 1892. Printed reports followed in 

 almost every number of the Journal for the first year. Mr. Thomp- 

 son lectured upon insect pests throughout the colony, and published 

 in 1892 "A Handbook to the Insect Pests of Farm and Orchard: 

 Their Life History and Methods of Prevention." This was an excel- 

 lent and up-to-date publication. Mr. Thompson's last publication in 

 the Gazette and Journal appeared in the March, 1896, number, and 

 was entitled " The Horse Bot-Fly." 



