10 



kuowledpfo which wc do not possess is a constant menace, which, if once 

 detected, is never forgotten. It is the old tale, " honesty is the best 

 l)oIicy;" but this must not end the matter; we must be honest with 

 ourselves, and having once detected our lack of knowledge upon any 

 subject which comes under our notice, we must use every means in our 

 power of supplying the deficiency, and if we make a systematic study 

 of every investigation which we undertake, taking all the time careful 

 records of what we see, even with regard to the commonest insects, we 

 shall frequently have the satisfaction of finding that not only have we 

 observed all that others have, but many other things besides which will 

 raise our simple investigation from a mere study into a scientific record. 

 No man can possibly know everything even about his favorite study, 

 and the sooner he knows it the better for his work. 



A subject frequently referred to, but which can not too often be 

 repeated, is the necessity, or even, if we put it in another way, policy, 

 of making the fullest acknowledgment of all assistance received from 

 others, whether it be from their writings or otherwise. I know of noth- 

 ing which so belittles a man's work as to find that it is derived without 

 acknowledgment from some one else. It is not at all infrequent, I am 

 sorry to say, to find whole sentences and clauses inserted in published 

 writings without even quotation marks. An evidence of this is found 

 in the innumerable mistakes which are perpetuated and handed down 

 from author to author before they are detected as errors. Again, too 

 great stress can not, I think, be laid upon the propriety of invariably 

 acknowledging the source of all illustrations used. These are of the 

 greatest assistance, and yet they are frequently used without a word of 

 acknowledgment. 



Now, all of this is essentially unwise from the base standpoint of 

 policy alone ; for although nothing maj' be said about the matter, be 

 sure that ever3^ instance is noticed and stands forth as a black blot on 

 the face of good work. 



A defect which is occasionally discernible in some writings upon 

 economic entomology is the want of a thorough grounding in the first 

 elements of the science. This is easily detected ; there is an uncertainty 

 and indefiniteness about the work. It is like that of an artist who be- 

 gins to paint pictures before he has learned to draw well. A far greater 

 blemish, however, which has, I think, seriously impeded progress and 

 effective work, is the fact that entomologists as a rule do not know 

 enough about the collateral subjects which affect their studies. Their 

 efforts are for the most part directed towards the protection of farm 

 crops, and yet how few make a study or have much knowledge even of 

 the elements of farming and horticulture, the growth and management 

 of the various kinds of crops, the effects of different fertilizers, early 

 and late planting, the rotation of crops, and the pruning and cultivation 

 of trees and shrubs. 



All of these are of paramount importance. The knowledge is neces- 



