February, '10] britton : entomologist and farmer 13 



set that the official entomologist is an economic entomologist, because 

 men are not usually employed by nations, states, or even universities 

 and colleges to investigate the purely scientific aspects of entomology. 

 Such an official, therefore, is supposed to be in readiness to impart 

 information at all times and places regarding insects and their injury, 

 and how to suppress them. 



For the purpose of this discussion we should not limit the term 

 ' 'farmer" to the man who tills the soil as his chief business, but 

 should rather give it a broader interpretation and make it include 

 the "gentleman farmer" and the resident of the village and city; in 

 fact, anyone and everyone who can be helped by the official entomolo- 

 gist or who seeks his aid. In other words, the title might read, "The 

 Official Entomologist and His Constituency." 



What are the qualifications of a model official entomologist? For 

 the first essentials we can probably do no better than to quote from 

 Mr. F. M. Webster's excellent paper before this Association at the 

 Baltimore meeting a year ago in regard to the requisites of an 

 assistant. 



"With all of us who have the management of men there comes a 

 time when an emergency arises and someone must be detailed to a most 

 difficult piece of investigation, where only the most resourceful, per- 

 severing and trustworthy are to be employed, and lucky is the man 

 who gets the opportunity. Now if I were to be asked to indicate some 

 of the most essential qualifications for such a man I should say, first, 

 honesty, and, second, common sense. "^ 



Let us adopt these qualifications as being the two most important 

 ones also for the official entomologist. Indeed, lacking them he can 

 never be a real success in this or any other profession. The impor- 

 tance of training should not be overlooked, and right here let me 

 say that many, perhaps most, of us have gone into our work and our 

 positions with very scanty training. In fact, the great demand for 

 workers during the past few years has necessitated the acceptance of 

 many otherwise excellent men who are not sufficiently trained in 

 entomological methods and technique. This cannot be helped, and in 

 such cases the men must get their training through actual experience 

 in their work, which is perhaps after all the best school. If these men 

 have honesty, common sense, energy and a little ingenuity, or resource- 

 fulness, they will soon outstrip others w^ho have had far better training 

 in whom these qualities are lacking. 



The entomologist must do something more than gather facts ; he 



^Journal of Economic Entomology, Vol. II, p. 99, April, 1909. 



