48 . THE EEPOET OF THE ^V 36 



a man with both qualilications. Sueli a man cannot be familiar with all phases 

 of farming and he is least likely to have a knowledge of the insect problems. 

 It is evident that we must continue our detailed work and must publish our 

 results, but it is equally evident since the conspicuous advent of the county agent 

 that we should write publications which will appeal and be a help to him. The 

 county agent is a busy man, having calls which keep him almost continuously 

 in the field with little or no time for reading and he must therefore have ready 

 references where be can secure the necessary information without having to read 

 laboriously through pages of unnecessary matter. We have reference books which 

 are well suited for this purpose, but these are usually out of date a few years 

 after they have been published, and have in many instances resulted in recom- 

 mendations for insect control which had been superseded by more efficient measures, 

 discovered since the publication of the book. I have in mind a type of publication 

 which should be more nearly what is needed to meet the county agent's require- 

 ments. Such a publication would discuss a certain class of insects, for instance, 

 the more common corn insects, as a group rather than individual insects, and 

 with it would be synoptic tables enabling the county agent to determine the 

 trouble either from the type of injury or from the insect itself. These would 

 be accompanied by typical illustrations of the insect and injuries. A table showing 

 the ■ seasonal appearance of the different insects would enable one to be on the 

 lookout for certain pests. In such a bulletin the reading matter should be brief 

 and concise and consist principally of methods of control and references to 

 available publications where more detailed information could be obtained. To 

 supplement such a bulletin the county agent should be provided with Avell illus- 

 trated leaflets treating of individual insects which could be handed to the farmer 

 and these should contain just the points required by the farmer and nothing more. 

 Since the advent of the county agent there has been a still further specialization in 

 tlic form of extension -entomologists, horticulturists, animal husbandmen, etc. 

 Their duty is to keep closely in touch with the farmers through the county agents, 

 to demonstrate their respective problems and in other ways to show the farmer 

 by personal contact the better methods of farming. One might surmise that the 

 advent of the State extension entomologist would preclude the need of publications 

 for farmers. While this may to a certain extent limit the need of bulletins, on 

 tlie other hand it may and does enlarge the value of the published data. For 

 example, as recently given in a letter following a visit to help the farmers in a 

 grasshopper stricken district, and as has been repeatedly stated to us, the farmers 

 are pleased to know that such assistance is theirs for the asking and they become 

 more receptive to bulletins and are more likely to make use of our puldished data. 

 I have briefly discussed how we may assist the farmer but we have another 

 [problem — how may we assist those who follow our recommendations but whose 

 neighbors continue to disregard the proper methods of control and thus threaten 

 the crops of those about them. Heretofore we have issued the necessary informa- 

 tion by means of bull'etins, institutes and demonstrations, hoping that farmers 

 would aclopt the practices. There are any number of instances, however, where 

 the disregarding of recognized control measures by one has been the means of 

 infesting a neighbor's crops. Two methods seem adaptable. One would consist 

 in furnishing the farmer, from State or County funds, the necessarv materials 

 for combating insect outbreaks. Thus in Kansas, Prof. George A. Dean has found 

 it practical for counties to furnish to farmers, poison bait for use in fighting- 

 grasshoppers. It seems that this is a step in the right direction for the farmer 



