February, '14] ENTOMOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS 33 



Concluding, it appears that a fair proportion of entomological bulletins are read 

 and preserved. There is a demand for brevitj- and simple language. The essentials 

 are, from the standpoint of the practical man, the remedy, a brief life history, and a 

 recognizable description of the insect. 



R. L. Webster. 

 Report from Minnesota 



We have in Minnesota 157,000 farms. Our general mailing list of regular Station 

 bulletins, exclusive of extension bulletins, is distributed among the various Divisions 

 about as follows: 



Bulletins upon horticulture and forestry 4,750 addresses 



" " veterinary science 4,500 " 



" " animal husbandry 5,500 " 



" " agronomy and farm management 5,750 " 



" " agricultural engineering 3,750 " 



" " entomology 3,750 " 



" " botany and plant pathology 4,000 " 



chemistry and .soils 4,200 " 



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Many of the above figures represent duplications and the Station bulletin mail- 

 ing list, exclusive of the Extension Division, is probably in the vicinity of 15,000 

 names, and practically one-fourth of this number have called for bulletins upon 

 Entomologj'. Since this nimiber was specifically a.sked for, it is fair to assume that 

 the entomological bulletins are appreciated, though not necessarily thoroughly read. 



Turning to another class of literature, more elementary in language, brief, to the 

 point, and severely practical, namely, the Farmers' Library Bulletins, issued by our 

 Agricultural Extension Department, we find there is a mailing li.st of approximately 

 40,000 addresses in Minnesota (about 45,000 all told) representing approximately 

 26 per cent of the farmers in Minnesota. This list naturally includes the regular 

 Station list. Judging from the inquiries amongst recipients, from observations at 

 the State Fair and from the demand, as well as from the nature of the publications, 

 as above indicated, it is safe to conclude that these bulletins are more generally read 

 and understood than those on the regular mailing list, which fact might be regarded 

 as a suggestion for simplicity and directness in the preparation of all of our bulletins 

 intended primarily as aids to the agiicultural classes. 



The following we obtained from our Bureau of Farm Economics: — Out of 167 

 farms visited in a cut-over timber coimtry by our men, recently, 26% received our 

 Extension or Station bulletins and, in a farming county of the Red River Valley, 

 out of 203 farms visited, 34% received Station or Extension bulletins, — the latter 

 being in an agricultural district — showing a little rise, as one would expect, over the 

 cut-over district. 



In November, 1911, we published a Fai'mers' Library Bulletin, about 40,000 

 copies of #23, dealing in a simple and elementary way with some of our most in- 

 jurious insects and their control. This issue was exhausted long ago, and there is 

 evidently a demand for information in this line, since we have been asked by the 

 Director of the Extension Division to prepare copy for a reprint. 



Turning to another class of our constituents, namely, the State Horticultural 

 Society, with its 3,000 odd members, it is safe to say that they make much more 

 intelligent use of our bulletins than the general farmer; and the results secured by 

 Mr. Gossard in Ohio and reported by him would probably be duplicated in Minnesota. 



However, under favorable circumstances, it is very evident that, so far as our con- 

 stituents in the various states are concerned, out of a mailing list of 40,000, not one 

 in 10,000 read everything. Even the better educated of the recipients, while they 

 may glance over our publications casually, seek only what they need, what fits their 

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