ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 197 
will not pursue the subject; should, however, the surmise be 
correct, as I greatly fear, the ‘Entomologist’ will contain a 
further note. I will not meet evils half way in these bad times. 
Maldon, Essex, May, 1879. 
HCONOMITC HNTOMO LOGY: 
By StepyHen Firzwitiiam. 
(Continued from p. 179.) 
Not only the ‘Times’ of this and other dates, but the 
‘Morning Post’ and other daily papers, might be quoted as 
showing that Mr. Murray’s suggestions had attracted popular 
attention. Scientific papers and periodicals took the subject up, 
and as a matter of course it was discussed in journals specially 
devoted to agriculture and horticulture. Since the conference 
of June 5th, 1877, however, nothing whatever has been done— 
nothing towards the further discussion of the subject, and 
nothing towards keeping the matter under the consideration of 
the Government. Two years have been wasted. 
I have received some information, since the appearance of 
the first part of these notes, about the collection of Economic 
Entomology made for the Devon and Exeter Albert Museum by 
the Misses Ormerod and Mr. D’Urban, to which I hope to refer 
later on; but at present I wish to keep under the consideration of 
entomologists the question whether Andrew Murray’s efforts to 
arrange concerted action against our insect foes should be allowed 
to pass into oblivion or not. 
As I said above, perhaps insect damage in England may be 
overrated. Possibly Mr. Murray may have overrated it when he 
urged upon the Privy Council that it was a matter requiring their 
intervention in some way to direct combined action. The fact 
that the press spoke at the time of the importance of the subject 
does not prove much, because the writers had no statistics to go 
upon. Can any one furnish a statement based upon calculation— 
not opinion, but calculation, however rough—as to the annual 
losses.to the agriculture of our country from insect damage? In 
the ‘Morning Post’ of April 5th, 1877, it was said that a rough 
estimate had been made that the annual losses equalled the cost 
of the Abyssinian war. It seems that what we especially want 
