February, '19] DISCUSSION OF PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS 51 



while for the members of the association. A few years ago Professor 

 Herrick made the text of his presidential address that the worst weed 

 in corn might be corn and the worst thing in a course in entomology 

 might be too much entomology. The entomologist needs a broad 

 foundation. I doubt very much if there are many other fields where 

 a broader foundation is needed. This foundation should be laid in 

 biology. At the present time there is too much emphasis on the more 

 technical phases of agriculture and not enough upon the broad general 

 principles of biology. 



Secretary A. F. Burgess: It seems to me that we are all agreed 

 that the entomologists should have a broad, liberal training as a founda- 

 tion. After that has been secured, specialization is not only necessary 

 but very desirable. In the field of entomology we find the activities 

 greatly specialized. As time goes on entomology will become more 

 and more specialized. The man who becomes expert in a special line 

 of investigation must follow that line to the exclusion of other special 

 activities. Dr. Ball brought out the fact that the San Jose scale had 

 been responsible for the enactment of many of the state laws relating 

 to insect control. Inspection work requires some things in which many 

 entomologists have not been trained. A good inspector ought to have 

 a short course in business administration. 



Mr. T. J. Headlee: Doesn't he get it? 



Secretary A. F. Burgess: He undoubtedly gets it by hard 

 knocks but he gets it not only at his own expense but at the expense 

 of the people that he is attempting to serve. There is another point 

 brought out by the address of Dr. Ball relative to conditions in the 

 future, and that is that our leaders or leader should be a man with 

 broad vision. 



I believe that is absolutely correct. The practical side of the prob- 

 lem, however, cannot be ignored. No matter how much vision a man 

 may have, if he is tied down with a thousand' and one duties which he 

 has to perform in order to earn his daily bread, he does not have the 

 time to work out and put in force ideas that may come to him and 

 which would be of benefit to us all. It may help but it does not secure 

 the goal for which you are striving unless it is somebody's business who 

 has time to attend to that business to put the ideas into operation. 



Mr. W. D. Pierce: Mr. President, Dr. Ball brought up some 

 points in his address that have interested me very much. He brought 

 before us visions of some of the big fields that entomology is to come 

 to in the future; for instance, the extermination of the boll-weevil in 

 the south, by the temporary suspension of cotton growing. This 

 question has been considered a great many times. I don't doubt but 

 that Dr. Ball is prophesying something that will take place some 



