WINTER MEETING. 243 



While in the office of the Prairie Farmer he pursued his entomo- 

 logical studies with great enthusiasm and with especial reference to 

 the species most destructive to agricultural and horticultural products, 

 and here began the collection that at his death was such a munificent 

 gift to the National Museum. 



His love of gardening and his realization of the value to his 

 health ot systematic out of door exercise, led him to undertake the 

 care of Mr. Emery's suburban garden, in which he was only too wel- 

 come to plant and cultivate and experiment to his hearts content. He 

 was also quite an athlete, practicing regularly in the gymnasium, and 

 a daring swimmer, enjoying almost daily a morning tussle with the 

 cold waves of Lake Michigan. In riding and driving he had become 

 expert while on the farm, so that, although a close student, his tastes 

 and development were more "all around" than those of most profes- 

 sional men. 



During the years 1866-7, the Colorado beetle ravaged the potato 

 fields of the Mississippi valey ; wheat and corn suffered severely from 

 chinch bug; the curculio was worse than ever before on plums and 

 peaches, and many other pests appeared in field, garden and orchard. 

 Agriculturists began to awaken to the necessity of taking some meas- 

 ures to defend themselves against the unnumbered hosts of insect 

 foes that seemed to threaten the destruction of all their crops. Illi- 

 nois had already voted a small sum of the public money to compensate 

 Mr. B. D. Walsh for experiments in treating injurious insects and the 

 preparation of articles for the enlightment of the public on their 

 habits. Massachusetts and New York had also each employed an en- 

 tomologist on very small salaries to do similar work. This had sug- 

 gested the importance of some similar officer in Missouri — a State 

 which, from its geographical situation, could not fail to be overrun 

 with insect pests. Accordingly, early in 1868, through the efforts of 

 Col. N. J. Colman, then a prominent member of the State Legislature, 

 Dr. L. F. Morse, of the Journal of Agriculture, and my father, who 

 had just taken an editorial position on the Rural World; an appropri- 

 ation was obtained from the State, the office of State Entomologist 

 was created and Mr. Riley was invited to fill it, a position which he 

 accepted in April of the year Tnentioned. 



Missouri has never been considered by her sister states as espe- 

 cially progressive in which, in many respects, they do her injustice, 

 but of one enterprise she certainly may be proved, viz : that it was 

 she who furnished the pecuniary means for the development of the 

 tallents and capabilities of such a man as Prof. Riley, who may not 

 only be justly regarded as the originator of the profession of economic 



