February, '10] britton : entomologist and farmer 15 



their own state, and who are entirely ignorant of all such matters. 

 They must be informed. I say must because their own welfare and 

 the public interests are at stake. The public health demands it. 

 Health officers and medical men are now calling upon official entomolo- 

 gists for expert evidence and advice about the breeding places of 

 mosquitoes and flies, and this support should be given them wherever 

 possible. Ignorance of the law — man's law — excuses no one; but in 

 ignorance of nature's laws our greatest dangers lie. The compara- 

 tively recent discoveries of the spread of human diseases by insects 

 make it imperative that no opportunity be neglected to place the 

 proper instruction regarding entomological sanitation before the peo- 

 ple. This should be done, however, in a dignified way, and the 

 commonest method is by means of publications. Lectures, illustrated 

 by lantern slides and by insect specimens, are also an important 

 means of getting the facts before the people. The press is our most 

 powerful ally, but the modest entomologist shrinks from the publicity 

 acquired if he is interviewed too often by the reporter, and also hesi- 

 tates to send information to the papers. Perhaps some of this public- 

 ity can be avoided if the information is given out as coming from the 

 institution instead of from any particular individual connected 

 with. it. 



I believe that educational exhibits at fairs and agricultural meetings 

 are of the greatest value in educating the people. They should be 

 arranged in an attractive manner, and supplied with neat descriptive 

 labels that give real information. In an exhibit of this kind at a Con- 

 necticut fair in September, twenty cages of living insects attracted 

 more attention and excited more interest than any other portion of 

 the exhibit. The living insects shown included mosquitoes, both. 

 Anopheles and Gulex, in larval, pupal and adult stages, and a number 

 of caterpillars, which could be readily procured at that time of the 

 year, most of them being common pests of the field or garden. 



We should avoid the vaudeville methods practiced by some zealous 

 workers for the betterment of mankind. Dignity and good taste 

 should be maintained, or we had better dispense altogether with this 

 means of educating the public. 



In order to do effective work, an official entomologist must have the 

 confidence of his clientele. It is not always easy to gain this confi- 

 dence. Personal contact with the farmer, honesty and frankness 

 regarding entomological matters, and prompt attention to the details 

 of each inquiry will help much. It is always better to say ''I don't 

 know," if that indeed be the truth, than to allow the farmer to learn 

 that fact from some other source. 



