14 



which our conclusions are drawn, along with the bulletin to be sent to 

 the general reader, or shall we publish in bulletins results only, and 

 reserve tables and other exact data for publication in annual reports ? 



We are all interested to know to what extent the various horticul- 

 tural inspection laws are efficient in the States passing them. What 

 portions are specially valuable, and what portions do you consider of 

 little or no use ? Further laws are to be enacted the coming winter, 

 and we want to know what to recommend in our various States in 

 regai'd to them. 



Lastly, we are ' ' to promote the science and advance the study of 

 entomology." 



The usefulness of any applied science depends upon man's knowl- 

 edge of the natural laws operating in that science. An astronomer 

 could not determine the very day, hour, and minute when an eclipse of 

 the sun would be visible at a particular spot on the earth's surface, or 

 the exact date of the return of a comet, if he did not thoroughly 

 understand the operation of the laws by which these marvelous phe- 

 nomena are brought about. Neither can applied entomology accom- 

 plish its highest mission in the world for man's benefit until he succeeds 

 in thoroughlj' working out and interpreting aright the laws which 

 prevail in the insect world, and they are many and intricate, and some 

 of them difficult of solution. Whatever we can do to interest others 

 in the study of insect life in any of its phases, to the end that new 

 facts are recorded, will help to the more perfect understanding of our 

 favorite science and consequently to its usefulness. We are greatly 

 indebted to the pure systematist in entomology who never attempts to 

 make a practical application of his knowledge. 



It would greatly promote the science of entomology if each member 

 of this Association would make a special systematic study of some 

 group of insects, however small, and publish the results as a personal 

 contribution to the pure science of entomology. We would be better 

 workers in economic problems for so doing. A study of the habits of 

 insects in nature's laboratory fits one for a grade of systematic work 

 that he never could attain as a closet naturalist. 



A knowledge of food plants, of broods, of local variations, and of 

 variations occurring among the ofi^spring of a single pair, determined 

 by careful observation in nature's haunts or by breeding in the labora- 

 tory, is as essential to enable one to establish true specific diti'erences 

 as is a thorough knowledge of structural character. 



To promote a science it is necessary to make known its relations to 

 human interests. If men can be shown that their health, wealth, or 

 happiness depends upon a knowledge of insect life, there will be no 

 trouble to interest people in the study of entomology. Show the 

 farmer, the gardener, and the horticulturist the importance of know- 

 ing the habits of insects in order to successfully combat the pests that 



