38 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 2 



Another point in regard to giving results statistically, seems to me 

 needs emphasis, although we are all tending that way. With prob- 

 lems requiring extended investigations, the results must be given sta- 

 tistically and with enough fullness to demonstrate the results. Other- 

 wise, the}' are of very little value when compared in different sections- 

 of country and under different conditions. Every important inves- 

 tigation that is made seems to testify to the necessity of such records. 



Mr. Hopkins : Mr. President, I regret that I did not arrive in time 

 to hear all of the address, but I want to emphasize the remarks just 

 made in regard to it and in regard to the importance of making ob- 

 servations on resistant varieties of plants. I think there are great 

 possibilities here. It is one of our projects in the investigation of 

 forest insects. I have urged it upon the Forest Service, and it has 

 finally been taken up. It is a thing which has been almost entirely 

 neglected, especially in forestry work in this country. As an exam- 

 ple, in making sales of timber from a national forest contractors are 

 required to leave a certain number of trees to the acre for seed trees^ 

 without specifying what kind of trees shall be left. Naturally, the 

 worthless scrub trees are left to produce seed. From what we know 

 of the laws governing such things, we can prophesy what will happen 

 if this method is continued. I wish to call especial attention to the 

 Black Hills National Forest, where a very large per cent of the tim- 

 ber has been killed by bark beetles. In that reserve we found trees 

 that had escaped injury. They were entirely immune, apparently. 

 It may have been an accident, but the chances are it was not. These 

 trees are worth thousands of dollars. From what we know of the 

 principles governing such things, these trees should be saved, and the 

 seed should be planted, in order to build up a more resistant race of 

 trees. That is nature's method. The trees more resistant have been 

 pei'petuated. This is very important. It should be considered by 

 the entomologists as well as by the plant pathologists. 



Mr. Summers : Mr. Chairman, one of the points that was of in- ' 

 terest to me was in relation to the protection of one man's property 

 from disease on his neighbor's property. I have not looked over the 

 laws of the different states with this particularly in mind, and I 

 wonder if a good many laws are not so worded today that we have, 

 as inspectors, a good deal of power in that direction — more than is 

 exercised. I know that is true of the Iowa law. It permits the ento- 

 mologist to enter upon and destroy diseased trees that are danger- 

 ous to his neighbors, and that power has been exercised in one or two 

 cases, but the greatest difficulty is that public opinion has not yet 

 reached the point where it will justify any extensive action of that 



