6 



them out they might have saved a loss of perhaps 75 per cent of their 

 crop from the ravages of cutworms. In short, that by foHowing the 

 advice of entomologists, those who study tlie habits of what they had 

 always called indiscriminately " bugs,'' they might have saved much 

 that had disappeared from under their very eyes. 



But I need not now pursue this thought further. Encouraged by 

 the apparent interest taken in the subject by the audience, one is some- 

 times tempted to speak too long; but we must be discreet. Farmers, as 

 a rule, prefer a few new thoughts at a time and to have these plainly 

 put. Having finished, we perhaps sit down amidst ajiplause and 

 requests to go on, and perhaps hear such complimentary remarks 

 exchanged as " I tell you what it is, there is something in what he 

 says," or, in a tone of surprise, "that bug man was pretty good." No. 

 Farmers and ordinary individuals throughout the country who are de- 

 pendent upon them for food do not know, nor as a class appreciate, 

 what they do now, might, and will in the future, owe to the labors of 

 the entomologist. The consequence is that those who do take up the 

 study are few and isolated from each other. Moreover, I maintain 

 that there is no branch of natural science or practical agriculture to 

 which it is second in importance. The amounts lost and the value of 

 produce which might be saved every year in our staple crops alone, 

 by following the advice of a comj^eteut entomologist, are so enormous 

 and of late years have been so often proved, that before long the value 

 of these studies must certainly be recognized. The chief hindrance is 

 the widespread and incomprehensible ignorance on the part of both 

 growers and consumers of agricultural produce of the present genera- 

 tion. This ignorance is raj)idl3^ being dissipated by means of the vari- 

 ous agricultural colleges and experiment stations all over the world, 

 where the rising generation is being trained. 



It will soou be seen that the scientific or accurate study of the habits 

 of insects, by which we are enabled to prevent the injury or loss of ex- 

 isting crops, of which we have already learned the use or necessity, con- 

 fers far greater benefits on the community at large than the discovery 

 or introduction of new products of which we have not as yet felt the 

 need. But there is no natural study which presents so many different 

 aspects, or which provides so many subjects concerning which its 

 students, although they must know something, find it quite impossible 

 to inform themselves thoroughly, which, in short, demands that its 

 different branches must be taken up by several specialists bound to- 

 gether by some bond, so that the knowledge gradually accumulated by 

 one may, at need, be available for all. Such a bond 1 believe we have 

 in the Association of Economic Entomologists, where members have an 

 opportunity of meeting once a year a large number of colleagues work- 

 ing in the same field, but upon different lines, with whom they can com- 

 pare experiences and particularly can discuss any difficulties which 

 may have arisen in the prosecution of their work during the year. 



