1915 ExYTOMOLOUrCxVL SOCIETY. 39 



William Saundeks. 



The illness which prevented Dr. Saunders from attending the Ju'bilee Meeting 

 of our Society last year was responsible for his death in September last in his 

 seventy-ninth year. 1 shall have occasion to refer to his influence on Canadian 

 entomology in my address to you. Those of us who had the privilege of coming 

 into close contact with Dr. Saunders, and of working with him, can understand the 

 reasons for the successful development of all he undertook : his private business as 

 a druggist, the progress of our Society and success of our journal The Cavadian 

 Entomologist in the early and more difficult days, and finally the organization and 

 development of the Experimental Farms of the Dominion. The last will ever 

 stand as a lasting monument to his enthusiasm and untiring industry. The signi- 

 ficance of hi.? work i]i connection with tlie development of Canadian agriculture has 

 not been sufficiently recognized by (Canadians generally. No man has ever done- 

 more, and no single man will ever have the opportunity which he had and of which 

 he took the fullest advantage, to increase the production of the land in Canada. 

 The value of such an accomplishment cannot be reckoned in terms of dollars and 

 cents, it is inestimable; but it is appreciated by those who, in all countries, are 

 striving towards the same ends. 



We are concerned with him, however, as an entomologist. He was before all 

 things a lover of nature, and his passion found an outlet in the study of insects and 

 plants. In association with Dr. Bethune he marshalled the scattered workers of 

 kindred tastes and our Society came into being. He was one of the first to realize 

 the practical significance of entomological work, as our records show. In addition 

 to the contributions to our Annual Reports he published in 1883 his " Insects 

 Injurious to Fruits," which for many years was the standard work on the subject, 

 and is now one of our entomological classics. When I undertook, five years ago, 

 the organization of the Division of Entomology under his direction I had ample 

 opportunity of appreciating his kindly thoughtfulness, and though he had grown 

 out of touch with the modern developments of hi? old science, owing to the exacting 

 demands of other branches of agriculture, his interest in the subject which he had 

 done so much to advance in Canada never flagged, and his reminiscences were 

 always full of interest. His career and industry should be an inspiration to 

 all of us. (S'ee Plate, pa'i'e 6.) 



I have chosen as the subject of my address : 



APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY IN CANADA: ITS EISE AND PROGEES'S. 



Several reason? have guided me in the choice of the subject of my address as 

 your President. Last year the Society reached the fiftieth year of its existence, 

 and while our proceedings were enriched with delightful reminiscences of earlier 

 years, no record was given of the gradual development in Canada of the economic 

 or practical side of entomology, the growth of which has been so closely associated 

 with the history of our Society. I have already referred to the loss during the 

 past year of one of our founders. Dr. William Saunders, who. with the co-operation 

 of Dr. Bethune, was largely responsible for the early development of our work. 

 Moreover, it was my desire to pay a tribute to the work of these leaders in applied 

 entomology in Canada by describing its growth and present status. 



The economic aspect of entomology was first recognized "officially" in Canada 

 in 1^56, when the Bureau of Agriculture and Statistics of the Canada of that day. 



