SOCIETIES. 61 



Miss Ormerod has been doing so much good work in Economic Ento- 

 mology, others have not been idle, and vSocieties like our own have, as 

 they ought to do, given it their special attention ; but what we require, 

 and what I trust we shall have before many years expire, is the ap- 

 pointment of a duly qualified State entomologist. I know we have 

 Mr. Whitehead, to whom I have referred in a previous address, but the 

 importance of the subject demands more than Mr. Whitehead is at 

 present able to do. In the first place, I believe that the work he does 

 for the nation is only that over and above what he devotes to his own 

 business. In the next place, his attention has to be divided between 

 purely agricultural matters and Entomology, and also he will not allow 

 himself to be called an entomologist. We are very grateful for the 

 work Mr. Whitehead is paid for doing, but it is not enough. We want 

 a State entomologist suj^iDorted by the nation. In America, as you 

 know. Professor Riley holds such a position, and has done much good 

 service, the immense damage caused to crops in the United States 

 having rendered this a necessity ; and I believe it is only from the 

 ignorance of our Government of the terrible loss to the nation by insect 

 havoc, that we have not long since followed the example. The direc- 

 tions already given by Miss Ormerod have saved the nation millions of 

 money. Before she drew attention to the matter. Miss Ormerod esti- 

 mated the loss from " W^arble Fly," Hypoderma hovis, alone to be from 

 four to six millions annually, and from the " Turnip Ely," Haltica ne- 

 morum and allies in 1881, £747,000. Mr. Mosley states that he is 

 assured by the farmers around Alford in Lincolnshire that the annual 

 damage done by the " Wheat Bulb Ely," Hilemyid coarctata, alone, 

 within 10 miles of that town is certainly not less than £10,000, yet we 

 can do nothing to check it because we do not yet know where or how 

 it passes the year from May to March. In America they would 

 despatch a man to the spot with orders to stay there until he had found 

 it out. Professor Eiley has under him a very efficient staff, and has 

 a State laboratory where insect proldems are worked out. As an in- 

 stance of how they deal with attacks, when Pien's rapce. had been intro- 

 duced. Professor Riley introduced its parasites and thereby put a check 

 to its ravages. Several Marine Biological Stations have been started 

 and received more or less government aid, but we want an Inland Bi- 

 ological Institution where Zoological and Botanical Problems could be 

 worked out, especially with regard to insect depredations, and where 

 farmers' sons could go for courses of practical instruction in such mat- 

 ters. While regTetting that we have no State entomologist as in other 

 countries named, it is gratifying to find that several County Councils 

 having grants of money for Technical Instruction, regard Economic 

 entomology as coming under this head, for they have ajipointed 

 Entomologists as Lecturers — Mr. Newstead, for Cheshire ; Mr. Enoch, 

 for Essex ; Mr. Hooper, for W^orcester ; Mr. Turnbull, for Aberdeen. 

 I understand that some time ago a suggestion was made to Miss 

 Ormerod by Mr. Mosley, viz., that we ought to have a number of 

 Economic Entomologists employed as a kind of missionaries. Their 

 duties should be to go from place to i)lace, examiniug the state of the 

 crops, etc., and to give instructions to farmers and farmers' men how 

 to deal with the attacks. They could not only give evening lectures in 

 schools, and day lessons to the elder jiupils, but should go to the men 

 working in the fields, and show them on the spot what it is that is 



