August, '10] GOSSARD: FAIR EXHIBITS 323 



generally then begins to look, ^vith some interest, over the other 

 cases which he would not have noticed at all had not his progress 

 been arrested by this flash of color and beauty, which it would be 

 very hard to fit into any special place in a purely utilitarian scheme. 

 Our Eiker series of life histories are especially serviceable in this 

 way; yet any one who undertakes to build up a large collection of 

 these life-histories will make slow progress if he does not take at once 

 whatever offers and whenever it can be taken. As the collection 

 enlarges one can, of course, discard the less interesting sets of mounts 

 and can reach some sort of system in grouping them for exhibition. 

 But though our collection has been the gradual accumulation of 

 several years of work, we have thought best to use all material of 

 this sort that we were able to prepare, notwithstanding the fact that 

 the interest attaching to many of the sets is purely biological. The 

 cotton boll weevil and the Texas fever tick are of little or no interest 

 to the Ohio farmer from a utilitarian standpoint, but we had so many 

 inciuiries if we had them on exhibition that we have added the full 

 life series of each, as well as of the gypsy moth and of the brown-tail 

 moth, none of which are found in the state, but the latter two of 

 which may appear in our borders at any time. Some of the sets 

 have little value except as beautiful specimens and illustrations of 

 purely biological principles. Again, in setting up the exhibit, we 

 always give consideration to the esthetic idea as well as to the utili- 

 tarian grouping scheme, and an effort is made to keep the general 

 effect of the exhibit, as a whole, in harmonious balance. In fact the 

 attractiveness of our exhibit is partially due to our steadfast resolu- 

 tion not to permit the economic idea or any other ironclad notion to 

 completely dominate the makeup or the arrangement of the exhibit. 

 It is difficult to properly distribute credit among the different workers 

 whose ideas have entered into the composition of this display. To 

 consider them chronologically, we must mention that a few cases 

 w^ere in order when the writer entered upon his duties as Entomologist 

 of the Ohio Station, and there were evidences that some exhibition 

 work had been prepared several years before this. Some of these old 

 specimens are still in the exhibit and serviceable, though in new cases, 

 and in new groupings to harmonize with the general plan of the 

 expanded exhibit. Some good material was prepared under Pro- 

 fessor Parrott's supervision and, transferred to new cases, is still 

 in use. IMr. Houser has contributed some good pieces to it. Mv. Her- 

 bert T. Osborn has prepared most of the Riker life-history sets and 

 many of the other cases of entomological specimens. His patient and 

 painstaking labor upon it deserves high praise, for it carried to com- 



