258 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 4 



The midwinter Ohio Apple Show at Columbus, held in conjunction 

 with the annual meeting of the State Horticultural Society, affords 

 an opportunity of Avhich we are glad to avail ourselves to exhibit our 

 spraying results to the public. We purchase whatever apples are 

 necessary from the orchardists, with whom we cooperate, to show 

 the results of spraying upon insects, the effects of different sprays in 

 causing russeting, etc. Our State Horticultural Society always expects 

 a report from the station entomologist, and from the state inspector 

 of nurseries and orchards as well, upon the observations and results 

 of the year's work. 



The agricultural newspaper furnishes an easy means for exploiting 

 station work, but I am obliged to confess that I have utilized it far less 

 than I should have done for this purpose. While I have occasionally 

 volunteered an article for the Ohio Farmer and for other agricultural 

 papers printed in the state, I have, for the most part, confined myself 

 to answering such questions as were submitted to me by the editors 

 with the request that I answer them. As between too much or too 

 little publicity through newspaper writing, I believe too little is 

 preferable, but am satisfied that I would help more people if I con- 

 tributed at least one good practical article each month. One disad- 

 vantage about too much pubhcity, especially of the kind gained through 

 newspaper writing, is that departmental correspondence is apt to 

 become too burdensome and encroach too much upon the time of the 

 staff. We are now obliged to anwer from 5,000 to 7,000 entomological 

 queries per year at the Ohio Station and we almost wish it were 

 unnecessary to ever increase the number. I am now asking the Legis- 

 lature for the means to hire a clerk who can be trained to ansAver a 

 large fraction of these without consulting the entomologists except 

 to make certain the identification of insects. To enable him to do this 

 the more readily, we expect to prepare short printed accounts of the 

 life histories and habits of the more important economic insects with 

 recommendations for treatment against the same. I am satisfied that 

 this will be more satisfactory to all parties than our present method 

 and at the same time, cheaper than sending out a bulletin or circular 

 in answer to each inquiry. In whatever way such inquiries are 

 answered, enough of detail must be given to enable the inquirer to ob- 

 tain a complete answer to all the questions he had asked and besides 

 these, to all that he ought to have asked. If this care is taken to 

 inform inquirers, the correspondence of the entomologist will increase 

 fully as fast as is desirable, and I sometimes think faster. I keep 

 small slips just large enough to fit into our letter envelopes, having 

 printed directions on each for making one of the various sprays, for 

 using poisoned bait for cutworms, for treating cabbage worms, for 



