62 PROTECTION' OF PLANTS 1923-24 



In the first place it has not satisfied the demand for a less expensive course 

 In addition to this it has been found that, since the science instruction is neces- 

 sarily of a simpler character than that required by the degree students, the 

 instructors in the purely agricultural subjects have found that they have more 

 time than is absolutely essential for the adequate presentation of their subjects. 

 Without going into the merits and demerits of the alternative plans suggested, 

 I maj^ say that the one finally accepted calls for a course consisting of two three 

 months periods given in two successive years, the term extending from Jan. 1st 

 to April 1st. The course is to be an intensive one and of the most practical 

 character. An earnest effort will be made to adapt the instruction to the stu- 

 dent. He will be encoui'aged to bring forward his own special problems for solu- 

 tion. In his farm bookkeeping, farm management and kindred subjects, the 

 instructors will endeavor to direct his assigned problems so that the student is, 

 as far as possible, studying his own business instead of a purely imaginary one. 

 An essential part of the scheme will be the working out by the student of cer- 

 tain simple problems between his first and second term. The nature of these 

 problems will be determined entirely by the needs and ability of the student and 

 rare good judgment will doubtless be required in assigning these problems. 

 So much for the general statement of the course. 



The foregoing explanation enables us to discuss intelligently the character 

 and quantity of entomological work which will be taken up in connection with 

 it. In stating my ideas as to what these should be, it should be understood that 

 I am speaking only for the type of student and for the set of conditions with 

 which I am familiar. The following then are what might be considered the 

 essential features of such a coiu'se: 



1. There should be an abundance of good material. — It is as impossible 

 to teach literature without books as to teach entomology without specimens, 

 and yet an insufficiency of material is a very common fault with elementary 

 courses. The speaker knows of one institution whe'-e one battered codling 

 moth served five different classes of students. At the end of that period the 

 thorax and one wing was all that was left, but the specimen was still doing duty. 

 At another institution, where scores of students took the elementary courses 

 every year, there was one Ytry indifferently mounted shde of a horse fly head 

 supposed to show the mouthparts of this insect. 



Many instructors who are very particular about the kind of material they 

 give the advanced students, put aside poor or damaged material for their ele- 

 mentary classes. This is exactly the reverse of the proper practice. If it is 

 necessary to use poor material the advanced student is more likely to be able 

 to make something out of it than the beginner, who all too often has serious 

 obstacles to his mastery of the subject placed in his path from this cause. For 

 him the instructor should consider nothing too good. 



This naturally entails an immense amount of work on the part of the 

 teacher, but it is work that he must be prepared to do. All of us are acquainted 



