424 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1959 
known animals living in little-known places? I do not believe this 
question to be irrelevant, for I am not one of those who maintain 
the sanctity of ivory towers, either scientific or otherwise. On the 
other hand, let us not make the error of thinking that all knowledge 
which is not immediately applicable is valueless. The value of fun- 
damental biological inquiry les in the greater insight it gives us 
into the way organisms work; and better understanding of any process 
permits more effective control. If we wish to manipulate the balance 
of nature, we must first of all understand its principles. In partic- 
ular, the value of work on survival in hot dry climates lies in its ulti- 
mate application to the utilization of those vast areas of the earth’s 
surface which are at present uninhabitable by mankind. For those 
who require applicability as an end to their endeavors, that must be 
the answer. 
REFERENCES 
ADOLPH, Ki. F., and Di11, D. B. 
1938. Observations on water metabolism in the desert. Amer. Journ. 
Physiol., vol. 128, pp. 369-378. 
BEAMENT, J. W. L. 
1959. The waterproofing mechanism of arthropods. I. The effect of temper- 
ature on cuticle permeability in terrestrial insects and ticks. Journ. 
Exp. Biol., vol. 36, pp. 391-422. 
DELAUNAY, H. 
1931. L’excrétion azotée des invertébrés. Biol. Rev., vol. 31, pp. 265-301. 
Di11, D. B.; Bock, A. V.; and Epwarps, H. T. 
1933. Mechanisms for dissipating heat in man and dog. Amer. Journ. 
Physiol., vol. 104, pp. 36-43. 
Dpney, E. B. 
1957. The water relations of terrestrial arthropods. Cambridge Monographs 
of Experimental Biology. 
1958. The micro-climate in which woodlice live. Proce. 10th Internat. 
Congr. Entomol. Montreal, 1956, vol. 2, pp. 709-712. 
EDNEY, FE. B., and SPENCER, J. 
1955. Cutaneous respiration in woodlice. Journ. Exp. Biol., vol. 32, pp. 
256-269. 
HERRICK, C. J. 
1946. Progressive evolution. Science, vol. 104, p. 469. 
HoupeGater, M. W., and SEAL, M. 
1956. The epicuticular wax layers of the pupa of Tenebrio molitor L. 
Journ. Exp. Biol., vol. 33, pp. 82-106. 
Merap-Brices, A. R. 
1956. The effect of temperature on the permeability to water of arthropod 
cuticles. Journ. Exp. Biol., vol. 33, pp. 737-749. 
MELLANBY, K. 
1932. The effect of atmospheric humidity on the metabolism of the fasting 
mealworm (Tenebrio molitor L., Coleoptera). Proc. Roy. Soc., B, 
vol. 111, pp. 376-390. 
