38 THE REPORT OF THE No. 36 



THE TEACHING OF ENTOMOLOGY IN OUR AGRICULTURAL 



COLLEGES. 



Prof. Wm. Lochhead, Macdonald College, Que. 



In the discussion of this subject two points must be clearly kept in view : 

 lirsit, tihe curriculum of the colleges, and second, the object of the courses in 

 Entomology. 



With regard to the first point, it should be borne in mind that the curriculum 

 of our Canadian Agricultural Colleges differs from that of Agricultural Colleges 

 in the various States of the republic to the south of us, in that our colleges for 

 the first two years arrange their courses in such a way that the students are able to 

 apply directly the information received on their home farms on their return. 

 Accordingly, considerable attention is given during the first two years to the study 

 of live stock, agronomy, horticulture, and dairying, where methods and practices 

 and the general principles underlying them are emphasized. But in order to deal 

 effectively with the general principles, some knowledge of chemistry, physics and 

 biology is necessary; hence those sciences are studied with the object of bearing 

 directly on agriculture. 



The presentation of the subject matter in the sciences must necessarily be 

 different in a two-year course from that in a consecutive four-year course, which 

 prevails in the Agricultural Colleges in the States. Our Canadian colleges may 

 justly pride themselves upon the excellent adjustment of their curriculum to the 

 needs of their students. Results, I believe, have justified the wisdom of the 

 establishment of the Diploma Course and the Degree Course, np to the present time 

 at any rate. Future developments may demand a continuous four-year course 

 for the entrance for those who desire a degree in preparation for teaching, investi- 

 gation, etc. ; but I believe the Diploma Course will always be a necessity. 



In view of the fact that our curriculum of the first two years is designed 

 especially for the Diploma Course, it is evident that entomology must be presented 

 in such a way that primarily it will help the young farmer to protect his crops. 

 At the same time we should not forget that entomology is a cultural subject, and 

 should be a means of training the young men to observe carefully, to experiment, 

 and draw conclusions. It should also give them an added interest in the great 

 world of nature about them, and enable them to get a glimpse into the wonderful 

 web of life with all its marvellous inter-linkages. This phase of the subject is, in 

 my opinion, one of the most important from the standpoint of citizenship. From 

 a study of the insect world it is an easy matter to direct their attention to inter- 

 linkages in the social world. 



Another factor must not be lost sight of, and that is the short time available 

 for the study of entomology. We all know how crowded the curriculum is on 

 account of the number of valuable courses that must be given. 



Now the difficult problem for the instructor is to determine the scope of his 

 course — what he should include and w'hat he should leave out. 



In my judgment the main attention should be paid to the chief insects that 

 injure the staple crops, by a concise study of their appearance, life-history, and 

 methods of control. These studies, however, should be preceded by studies on the 

 structure of insects, both external and internal, and on the classification into 

 orders. Some attention should also be given to beneficial insects so that they may 

 be recognized. 



