REPORT OF THE SOCIETY 13 



3. The work of the U. S. Department of Agriculture and of the newh^ esta- 

 blished Agricultural Colleges and Experiment stations, which gave 

 a tremendous impetus to the study of plant diseases and control mea- 

 sures from 1885 onward to the present. 



Economic Entomology occupied a place in the public mind before Plant 

 Pathology, because insects were studied long before fungi and the losses by 

 insects were more obvious. They were readily recognized as causal agents of 

 injury to plants, and were always interesting subjects for study. 



While much investigation had been devoted to the structure and habits 

 of insects, but little progress had been made in the control of injurious forms 

 until the sixties and seventies of last century. In those decades the United 

 States suffered serious losses from the Rocky Mountain Locust, the Potato 

 Beetle, the Cotton Worm, and the Federal Government appointed specialists 

 to investigate conditions. As an outcome of the reports of Riley, Thomas and 

 Packard, strong efforts were made to devise methods of controlling these and 

 other minor pests. 



The establishment of State Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations 

 about the same time gave a further stimulus to Economic Entomology, and as a 

 result the United States have maintained the lead in this branch of science for 

 the last fifty 3^ears. 



Canada has always been in close touch with the work done in the United 

 States, for many of the economic problems are identical. However, with her 

 limited appropriations for the study of such problems, she has been plodding 

 lalong in her own way, but at the same time profiting by the experience of the 

 workers in the United States. 



The economic entomologist of to-day studies the insect as the plant patho- 

 logist does the fungus and the disease. He tries to determine all the interac- 

 tions and responses between the insect and its environing factors, such as food, 

 temperature, moisture, etc. Moreover, he studies the habits of the insect cri- 

 tically in all stages of its life-history — all with the object of discovering the 

 best method of control. As both the entomologist and the plant pathologist 

 must seek their main facts in the field where the injuries are being done, it was 

 found necessary to establish field stations or laboratories where the investiga- 

 tors carry on their work. Such a departure is new, but already the results 

 show the wisdom of it. 



It is obvious, the^, that the more fully the entomologist can scrutinize 

 and analyze the various ecological factors that, play upon insects, the more 

 likely will he be able to secure important results. He should, therefore, have 

 a fair working knowledge of botany, pathology, chemistry, geology, meteo- 

 rology, physiology and agriculture, but he should confer frequently with ex- 

 perts in these subjects, for such conferences may often correct wrong conclusions 



