42 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 12 



SOME NEW PHASES OF THE ENTOMOLOGY OF DISEASE, 



HYGIENE AND SANITATION BROUGHT ABOUT 



BY THE GREAT WAR 



By W. DwiGHT Pierce 



Since the great war began in Europe a branch of entomology long 

 neglected has suddenly grown from infancy to maturity. Five years 

 ago we had a few text books of medical entomology, and two or three 

 universities presented courses of study in the subject. But medical 

 or sanitary entomologists were so Httle known or thought of, that no 

 place was made in any of the armies for men trained in the subject. 

 Little by little, however, in the various armies there has been an infil- 

 tration of entomologists and it is my firm belief that the day will come 

 when every army will have an entomological unit in its sanitary corps. 



When our nation entered the war the men who were well informed on 

 the subject of this phase of the entomological science could not have 

 exceeded a score. But all entomologists were thinking of their part in 

 the great struggle, and when it was announced in a three-line statement 

 in an emergency circular that a class had been formed to study the 

 entomology of disease, hygiene and sanitation, and that mimeographed 

 proceedings would be sent to those who enrolled, the nation-wide 

 interest of the entomological profession was immediately demonstrated. 



The class kept on growing steadily until its enrollment exceeded 500, 

 and many universities and colleges announced the founding of special 

 classes in the subject. But it is not only the educational side of the 

 subject which has grown. Hardly a day passes but that some new 

 contribution to the science comes to hand. The technical phases of 

 the problem are fast maturing. 



Just arrived at maturity, we cannot yet prophesy the future of this 

 branch of entomology, but it is well to see what kind of a ground work 

 it has and what some of its new, outstanding features are. This paper 

 is intended to serve as a setting forth of some of the basic principles of 

 this phase of entomology. 



Our science embraces the study of all the relationships of insects to 

 the causation and carriage of disease, whether of plant or animal, 

 because the principles are the same, and the technique is similar; the 

 role of insects in materia medica; and the maintenance of hygienic and 

 sanitary conditions for man, animals and plants, against all insects 

 which threaten the health of these individual organisms. We touch 

 in the various angles of the complete science many other sciences and 

 must maintain our own entity without arousing antagonism of other 

 sciences, but rather with a perfect accord and cooperation with them in 



