12 PROTECTION OF PLANTS, 1916-17 



PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS 



MASTERPIECES OF AMERICAN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 

 By W. Lochhead, Macdonald College. 



The purpose of this paper is to discuss some of the publications of work 

 of great merit done by economic entomologists of America, which I am desig- 

 nating by the term "masterpieces." In these days of many workers and many 

 bulletins one is apt to focus his attention over much on recent publications 

 and to overlook the older ones. Aware of my own failing in this regard I 

 thought that on an occasion of this kind a review of some of the older works 

 on Economic Entomology^ would be not only interesting but also profitable, 

 for I am convinced that we can learn a great deal in methods of work and 

 presentation from a study of some of the masterpieces which too frequently 

 lie neglected on our shelves. The criteria used in the selection were: (1) 

 the completeness of the investigations; (2) the economic value of the 

 investigations; and (3) the literary value of the publication. 



The progress of economic entomology during the last ten years has 

 widened our conception of the term "monographic completeness." The life- 

 history of an insect involves not only a close study of the embryonic develop- 

 ment and subsequent metamorphoses but a study of its relations to other 

 organisms and to external factors. In other words, the ecological relations 

 of insects are more closely studied than formerly, and this study demands 

 a knowledge of and the application of biological processes and principles. 

 The problems of inter-relations between insects and plants, between insects 

 and birds, between insects and their parasites, between insects and disease, 

 are very important from an economic standpoint, and their solution, often 

 most difificult, is engaging the attention of many workers. 



It is scarcely to be expected that the selection of the masterpieces I 

 have made will meet with the approval of every person who is acquainted 

 with the literature of economic entomology. The personal equation enters 

 largely into a selection of this kind as in other matters, for I must confess 

 that it is difificult to adjudge the merits of works apart from the men them- 

 selves. Every one of us is in some degree a hero-worshipper, no matter how 

 much he may disclaim the title, and this mental attitude precludes an abso- 

 lutely correct and fair judgment of the relative merits of the works of men 

 even in the field of economic entomology. 



