REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 211 



Bird rilijir.'itioTi in the Mississippi Yallev lias, liowever, been prepared 

 by Prof. W. W. Cook, aided by Ut. OttoVidman and Prof. D. E. Lantz, 

 and will be published as Bulletin 10 of the Division. 



The J)! incipal Avays of getting information desired mnst be (a) by per- 

 sonal obser^•ation of field agents; (h) by the co-operation of intelligent 

 t)bt;ervers on the larni, and in field, orchard, and forest, in ail parts of the 

 country; (c) by the collection and analysis of stomach contents, and (d) 

 by the collation of ^chat has already been published on tlie subject. 

 With those objects in view, circulars and schedules have been prepared 

 and sent out to about one thousand of the regular observers of the 

 Ainerit-an Ornithologists' Union, to the editors of agricultural papers 

 and poiiodicals throughout the country, and to a large number of far- 

 mers. IJepiies are L-oniing in very fast, and a special bulletin devoted 

 to this branch of the inquiry will soon be prepared. 



The collection of birds' stomachs has already resulted in the accumu- 

 lation of more than fifteen hundred bottles of gizzard contents, and it 

 will take a great deal of the time of the Division to have them properlj^ 

 examined and determined. In order to secure exact data concerning 

 ea(;h bird Avliose stomiich is preserved, blank forms, asking for tlie num- 

 ber, name of tlte bird, si-x, date, hour of killing, locality, character oi 

 place where killed, name of collector, and remarks, were sent to all col- 

 laborators. The very cursory examination made at the time of collect- 

 ing this material has developed facts before unsuspected, and results of 

 imjiortance may confidently be anticipated from its final elaboration. 



Another investigation added to the Divisional work during the year 

 has been in relation to bee culture, which has hitherto received little or 

 no attention in the Depart ment. The first work required of this Division 

 by the farmers of the country was the protection of their crops from in- 

 sect rav;i,ues. Hence the chief energies of the Division, since under my 

 direction, have been devoted to the improvement of insecticide appli- 

 ances and the discovery of improved insecticides, as well as to thorough 

 investigation of the chief insects injurious to vegetation. As some of 

 these have been com])leted or are drawing to a close, I am able to devote 

 more time to new fields. Apiculture, as an important branch of econ- 

 omic entomology, deserves attention, and there are some questions which 

 the Department can, perhaps, better consider than private individuals 

 or associations. Mr. ISTelson W. McLaiu was, therefore, appointed as 

 special apicultural agent of the Division. His headquarters have been 

 at Aurora, 111., a locality which is well suited for the work. 



Among the subjc^cts which I desire to have investigated in addition 

 to some of more luirely scientific interest, are the following: 



(1) To secure the introduction and domestication of such races of bees 

 as are reported to possess desirable traits and characteristics ; to test 

 the claims of such races of bees as to excellence, and to prove by ex- 

 periments their value to the apiculturists of the United States, and their 

 adaptation to our climate and honey-producing flora. 



(2) To make experiments in the crossing and mingling of races already 

 introduced, and such as may hereafter be imported, and by proper ap- 

 plication of the laws of breeding endeavor to secure the typo or types 

 best adapted by habit and constitution to uses of practical bee-keepers 

 in the United States. 



(3) To make experiments in the methods of artificial fertilization, and, 

 if possible, demonstrate the best process by which the same may be 

 accomplished. 



(4) To study the true cause or causes of diseases yet imperfectly un- 

 derstood, and the best methods of preventing or coring such difieases. 



