REPORT OF STATE ENTOMOLOGIST, 1898 155 
time when field work could most profitably be undertaken, original 
investigation was necessarily somewhat limited. 
Office work. The routine office work of the division during the past 
summer has been heavier than at any time since my connection with the 
office. Without attempting any radical innovations, it has been my aim 
to render services of the greatest practical value to the public. The 
numerous calls for information from all quarters indicate that my efforts 
have been greatly appreciated. The demand for press notices, mainly 
agricultural, has been greater than that recorded any previous year. 
Abstracts of my principal publications, 72 in number, are given in a sub- 
sequent portion of this report. The presentation in agricultural and 
other journals of reliable information regarding insects should be encour- 
aged, as it brings the recommendations before farmers and others at a 
time when they are of the greatest value, which is not always true of bul- 
letins and reports. Considerable attention has been paid to this branch of 
the work with most gratifying results. A large portion of these notices have 
appeared in the Country gentleman, one of the best agricultural weeklies, 
but in no case has preference been shown to any paper. Every request 
for information has received due attention. ‘The correspondence has 
been unusually heavy. The number of letters received since January 1 
is 748%, and the number written is 1199. Most of the queries resulted 
from a general desire for information, though some were due to exces- 
sive ravages by tent caterpillars and other insects. 
The work of the division has been greatly facilitated by the assign- 
ment to it of a junior clerk, Miss M. I. Bull, whose services, though she 
had no previous entomologic training, have been a great aid, relieving 
me of considerable clerical work and thus allowing time for more import- 
ant duties. The purchase of a good field camera constitutes a valuable 
addition to the equipment of the office. 
Collection of insects. The state collection of insects remains prac- 
tically as it was at the beginning of the year, with additions as given later 
in this report. The pressing duties of the office during the past few years 
have prevented much desirable work being done on the collection. 
Since my connection with the University, a number of new boxes have 
been bought, most of the insects referred to their various families, and in 
a few instances, those of a family have received their generic and specific 
labels. A beginning has also been made on a biologic collection, some- 
thing the late Dr Lintner had been laboring to bring about for years. 

a The death of Dr Lintner at the time the rath report was issued, deterred many from 
acknowledging its receipt, thus reducing the number of letters received. The cardsaccompanying 
the reports were counted, as previously, hence the discrepancy between the letters received and 
written. 
