26 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 15 



organization — The Association of Economic Entomologists. This 

 is its beginning. It grew from a Httle bit of a thing. Therefore these 

 details should be interesting. Of course a great many of you are not 

 at all interested, but after what I have just said you are obliged to be 

 interested. 



THE ORGANIZATION MEETING OF THE ASSOCIATION OF 

 ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGISTS AT TORONTO, AUGUST, 1889 



By L. O. Howard, Washington, D. C. 



On the 1st of November, Doctor Felt wrote me suggesting that a 

 brief note concerning the organization of this Association could ap- 

 propriately be presented at this present meeting, since the organization 

 occurred at this place, and since in the interval of more than thirty- 

 two years the Association has not met here. 



The idea of such an association as ours was first suggested in an 

 editorial note in Insect Life in January, 1889. I am not quite clear as 

 to who wrote the note, although I judge, from certain peculiarities of 

 construction, that it was Professor Riley. At all events, the idea of 

 forming such an association was surely his. In this preliminary note, 

 he asked for the opinions of different entomologists, and a month later 

 published extracts from letters from Prof. A. J. Cook and Professor 

 Osbom endorsing the idea. Later, letters were received from T. D. 

 A. Cockerell and a few others. 



Professor Riley went to Europe in the late spring and remained 

 abroad until the following October, and during his absence the organi- 

 zation was effected. 



In anticipation of the coming Toronto meeting, James Fletcher of 

 Ottawa had been made President of the Entomological Club of the 

 American Association for the Advancement of Science. On May 

 23d, I wrote Fletcher as follows: 



"About the proposed entomologists union: Prof. Riley, in making the proposition, 

 put it out as a tentative wording of an idea he had long entertained and which we have 

 often discussed; his object being to see how the idea would be received. We have 

 been much disappointed with the result, and if it has met with general favor most 

 entomologists have kept their opinions to themselves in spite of the fact that we 

 plainly asked for a general expression of opinion. The result at which I have arrived 

 in my own mind is that on the whole the actual workers are lukewarm and that 

 perhaps the idea has been broached too soon * * * I should like very much to see the 

 question brought up at Toronto and thoroughly discussed and perhaps a committee 

 appointed to draft a plan of organization." 



On June 17th I wrote Fletcher again — ■ 



"I have just received a letter from Professor Riley, who is of the opinion that it will 

 be better for you to make the call as President of the Entomological Club and to 

 go ahead under that call and organize at the forthcoming meeting of the American 

 Association. He thinks that it will be better to confine the association to 



