10 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 12 



The Bureau has also maintained, throughout the period of the war, thorough co- 

 operation with the Surgeon-General's office in the matter of experimental work on 

 insect problems. Practically all of the work on the body-louse has been conducted 

 in the Bureau or through a committee of the National Research Council of which 

 Doctor Howard is chairman; and reports of these investigations have been sent, as 

 fast as ready, to the Surgeon-General's office. By direction of the Surgeon-General, 

 arrangements were made with Major F. B. Granger for cooperative experiments in 

 certain phases of the itch-mite problem. A large part of this investigation was carried 

 on in cooperation with the Quartermaster's Department, and, as a result, extensive 

 reports were made on the value of laundering and dry-cleaning processes against the 

 body-louse. A very promising cooperation was established with several officers of 

 the Chemical Warfare Service. In one line of research experiments were made to 

 learn the fumigation value of all gases used in chemical warfare, and in another, to 

 determine the effect in controlling vermin of substances used to protect the body 

 against the poisonous gases. 



Indirectly the Bureau was asked to render considerable service to officers handling 

 sanitary problems by means of the duplicated proceedings of a class formed for the 

 study of the entomology of disease, hygiene, and sanitation. Copies of these pro- 

 ceedings were sent to every camp library in the United States at the request of the 

 Camp Library Association, and were also sent personally to many officers. 



In its own direct operations your committee was somewhat hampered by the un- 

 deniable fact that, although representing an important national association, we were, 

 in a military sense, simply citizens offering assistance to army officers presumably 

 competent to the discharge of their duties, however special and numerous these might 

 be, and by the further fact that we had in the beginning no definite information of 

 conditions existing at that time in our own camps and cantonments which we could 

 submit as convincing evidence that the services of entomologists were actually needed 

 in the American Army. It seemed, therefore, to be our first duty to arrive, if possible, 

 at a knowledge of these conditions, and we proposed a system of unofficial visits by 

 the entomologists of certain selected states to camps and cantonments within their 

 territories, with a view to ascertaining whether insect problems were really being 

 handled successfully, and to serving as unofficial advisers to the medical officers in 

 charge if occasion were found for such advice. We had in view, also, the fact that a 

 critical inspection of entomological conditions in the neighborhood of military estab- 

 lishments was an immediate duty of entomologists interested in the protection of the 

 health of the people in their states against insect-borne diseases, and for this no special 

 authorization was needed. We proposed, of course, to send to the Surgeon-General 

 informal reports of observations made and recommendations which seemed to be 

 called for. 



Through the willing and interested courtesy of Colonel F. F. Russell, of the U. S. 

 Medical Corps, who wrote us under date of February 23, "I think that we all agree 

 that a survey made in this way is a very desirable and satisfactory solution of one of 

 our difficulties," an arrangement of this character was made, and letters of intro- 

 duction were given, at our request, to the various medical officers concerned, of which 

 the following is an example : 



From the Surgeon-General, U. S. Army 



To The Division Surgeon, Camp Sherman, Ohio 



1. This will introduce to you Professor Herbert Osborn, of Ohio State University, 

 Columbus, Ohio. Professor Osborn is one of the best known economic entomologists 

 in the country. It is believed that direct cooperation between you and Professor 

 Osborn will result in the prompt correction of sanitary difficulties due to insect pests, 



