18 PROTECTION OF PLANTS. 1916-17 



The absence of Canadian works among the masterpieces of economic 

 entomology selected requires some explanation, perhaps. Canada has been 

 tardy in her recognition of the importance of the study of economic entomo- 

 logy, and the meagre aid given by the federal and provincial governments 

 until recent years has prevented the prosecution of investigations that re- 

 quire close continuous observations and experimentation for a series of 

 yearg. The most her entomologists could do, working as they did under 

 unfavorable conditions, was to solve minor problems and to record observa- 

 tions that would be of value to later workers. Of late years, however, 

 many valuable bulletins have been published, and the probability is that in 

 the near future masterpieces will be produced which will rival those men- 

 tioned in the preceding paragraphs. 



