90 SOME INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FORESTS. 



attention of the man in the woods, sawmill, factor}', or trade who is 

 in direct touch with the local conditions and business methods. 



There is a special need of more experts in forest entomology, and 

 there will be an increasing demand for such experts in the future, 

 to organize and take charge of insect-control policies in state forests, 

 in public parks, in the more extensive private or commercial forests, 

 and in extensive manufacturing enterprises, and to give instructions 

 to students in forestr}' schools and forestry departments in state and 

 other institutions of learning. 



The need of trained and experienced experts in forest entomology 

 for all of this class of work can not be too strongly urged. There 

 is perhaps no branch of economic or applied science which requires 

 more technical knowledge and practical experience as a basis for 

 proper investigations and authentic instructions and advice than 

 forest entomology, and there is perhaps no other feature in the 

 science and practice of forestry in which advice and application based 

 on insufficient knowledge is so dangerous. 



There is quite a general recognition of the importance of guarding 

 against contagious diseases, of the necessity of consulting a physi- 

 cian in cases, of serious illness, and of relying on authorized phar- 

 macists to fill the prescription, and then administering the prescribed 

 treatment according to directions, but it is a notable fact that there 

 are comparatively few persons who, even when deeply interested in 

 preserving the health of the forest, have heretofore recognized the 

 importance of guarding against insect epidemics or of consulting an 

 expert forest entomologist in case of a threatened or existing out- 

 break. It has often happened that when such advice has been sought 

 and received, the treatment was not administered according to the 

 recommendations but changed to suit the ideas of some one entirely 

 ignorant of the facts and principles upon Avhich it was based. This 

 has often resulted not only in failure to accomplish the desired end, 

 but has contributed to an aggravation of the trouble and increased 

 loss. The determination of the cause of specific troubles affecting the 

 individuals of a given species of forest tree or an injury to a given 

 type of product is just as complicated and requires the same elements 

 of experience, training, and skill as that required for the determina- 

 tion of the cause of a given disease or the character of a given in- 

 jury affecting man. It is just as important to know the cause or 

 character of injury in the former as it is in the latter, in order to 

 prescribe the specific treatment which will yield the desired results. 



Therefore, in order to make the best progress toward preventing 

 future waste of our forest resources from depredations by insects, 

 every one interested in the subject, and especially those in authority 

 in the public and private institutions of investigation and learning, 

 should see to it that the instructions to students and the information 



