66 



Natural History ; and appropriations in its support were there- 

 after regularly made in connection with those for the Labora- 

 tory. By the transfer to the University, and the subsequent es- 

 tablishment of an Agricultural Experiment Station there, its 

 opportunities and resources were, of course, greatly increased, 

 and it now receives separate appropriations to the amount of 

 $27,000 per annum, $5,000 of which are set aside each year for 

 the expenses of its inspection and insecticide work. 



It has on its stafif at the present time, besides the entomolo- 

 gist himself, ten regular assistants, a draftsman, a chief in- 

 spector, four sub-inspectors on temporary engagement only, and 

 a foreman of insecticide operations with about a dozen laborers 

 under his charge. 



The principal suljjects now under investigation are the life 

 histories and economic control of the various species of May- 

 beetles and click-beetles, and their larv?e, the white-grubs and 

 wireworms; the economic control of the corn root-aphis; the 

 forest insects of the state ; those affecting shade trees and other 

 ornamental vegetation in cities and towns ; insect pests of 

 greenhouses and the truck-farms in the vicinity of Chicago; 

 the house-fly pest in cities and towns, upon which a large 

 amount of experimental work was done last summer ; and vari- 

 ous insects injurious to fruits whose life histories have not yet 

 been worked out, and whose economic control presents prob- 

 lems requiring special investigation. 



The published reports of the office are twenty-four in num- 

 ber, thirteen of which have been prepared by the present in- 

 cumbent. The twenty-fifth report is now going through the 

 press. The twenty-four now jirintcd contain, in all, 4827 pages, 

 of which 104 were contributed by Walsh, 419 by LeBaron, 1187 

 by Thomas, and 3117 by Forbes. Their contents are too varied 

 to be capable of a brief classification. They consist mainly of 

 miscellaneous articles on single topics, worked out to the 

 j)ractical end of an economic control of some form of insect 

 injury, usually verified by repeated trial in the field; or of 

 comprehensive, monographic articles on all the insect injuries 

 to some single crop, with elaborate recommendations for gen- 



