LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



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State Experiment Station, 

 St. Anthony Park, Minn. 



December 31, 1903. 

 To His Excellency, S. R. Van Sant: 



I take pleasure in presenting you herewith my second 

 Annual Report, the eighth of the series. 



With the exception of a serious loss over a limited area 

 occasioned by an unusual number of Chinch Bugs, the year 

 has been characterized by exemption from marked insect 

 injury. This is evidently due in a great measure to the pe- 

 culiar climatic conditions which prevailed in different parts 

 of the state during last spring and summer, and in part to 

 the growing appreciation of modern methods of farming 

 among our citizens. I believe, as time goes on, and the farm- 

 ers of the state become more conversant with tlie life history 

 and habits of our leading pests, such as the Chmch Bug, they 

 will learn to adopt remedies and methods of prevention of 

 injury which are suggested and will be able to largely control 

 the attacks upon their crops. Naturally, emergencies will 

 arise from time to time, unforseen because it is impossible 

 to. predict them, when appeal must be made by farmers to 

 some authority on economic entomology, whose resources 

 ;may be taxed to the utmost in coping with some unexpected 

 and unprecedented insect attack. It is for these emergencies 

 that this department of the Experiment Station, in addition 

 to its regular routine work, must ever stand prepared, and I 

 wish to assure you, sir, that it Avill always be our aim to be 

 of practical aid to those interested in agricultural pursuits. 



During June, July, August and September a1)(mt 600 letters 

 were written, largely in reply to inquiries about insects, either 

 identifying and advising in regard to some specimen sent, or 

 giving remedies for some pest known to the correspondent. 

 Some of the principal inquiries in this line are listed elSwhere 



