February, '22] entomologists' dinner 25 



tho it may be possible to get there. I feel it incumbent however, to make this 

 statement to you in order that you may communicate the reason of my absence should 

 I fail to appear. 



From the time of your first mention of plans to me last fall I looked forward with 

 delightful anticipations to the opportunity of meeting and recounting some of the 

 pleasantest of my scientific associations and friendships. Among entomologists 

 were Comstock, Riley, Lintner, Bethune, Fletcher, Smith, Howard, Webster, and 

 others whose friendship I greatly cherish. 



Thanking you personally for having noted my name among those participating in 

 the original meeting, and hoping yet that I may be able to join you at Toronto in this 

 reunion, believe me, 



Yours truly, 



Chas. W. Hargitt 



Now some of you know, at least who will be one of the speakers on 

 the program to-night, because it is a paper left over from one of the 

 meetings, and the gentleman who is to give it needs no introduction to 

 you. However, I am going to introduce him. I have known Dr. 

 Howard for some twenty -five years and we have always gotten along 

 very well together. We have nearly always agreed, but there have 

 been a few times when we disagreed. And when he gets as many 

 gray hairs in his head as I have, then he will see wherein he was wrong. 

 (Laughter) 



Dr. Howard has built up a large organization of entomologists, the 

 largest in the world, I think. I never knew how he managed to do it 

 and get along with all these fellows, but I suspect that it is because he 

 calculates the ecological relationships between his various men, not 

 by the slide rule but by the golden rule. Dr. Howard. (Applause) 



Dr. L. 0. Howard: Dr. Britton doesn't know whether, if I had any 

 hair, it would be gray or black or red! (Laughter) I'll tell you a 

 secret though: When Einstein came to Washington this spring and 

 exhibited that big head of hair, I was strongly tempted to let my hair 

 grow again; but my wife dissuaded me! 



I am right in the middle of my cigar and I feel about like Professor 

 Bateson did at the Naturalists' Dinner last night. Bateson's cigar 

 went out while he was making his address, and he stopped the speech 

 until he lighted it again. One of the men met him at luncheon today, 

 and suggested that he was hard at work on an invention whereby a man 

 could speak and smoke at the same time. Bateson was greatly interested 

 and said, "What an extraordinary people you are!" (Laughter) 



This ought to be an occasion for joyous speech such as the Toast- 

 master has given you, and to take an adjourned paper from the morning 

 session of yesterday and read it at this timie would hardly seem quite 

 right — but it is all right. There are good reasons for it. Very great 

 things deserve treatment with circtmistantiality of detail. Daniel 

 Defoe's story of the great plague in London, and Pepys' Diary, are 

 full of details, but they relate to an extremely interesting event and 

 period. Now this is a paper of details, but refers to an extraordinary 



