N. S. ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



ADDRESS. 



Dr. A. H. MacKay 



Dr. A. H. MacKay in his address referred to the great advance in the attention to 

 Entomology in Nova Scotia within the last forty years when at the Teachers' Provincial 

 Convention he first outlined for schools object lessons on insects. Since then the Nor- 

 mal College developed its practical science teaching enormously. The College of Agri- 

 culture itself not only came into existence, but has expanded into a splendid cluster of 

 buildings and scientific laboratories greater than all the equipment of our universities 

 at that time taken together. 



In 1887 he had introduced school entomology in the Educational Review, which 

 now under Professor Perry has grown into a practical course in biology of great peda- 

 gogical value. 



Then, what a splendid corps of scientific and economic entomologists we have in 

 the present Provincial and Dominion staffs in this Province; and what a valuable mass 

 of original research work has been already done by them, much of it already completed 

 and published in various reports! Indeed the papers in our own Annual Report in- 

 dicate as much being done here now as was being done in all Canada a little over forty 

 years ago. 



And we have already developed entomologists who stand high as scientific scholars 

 outside of the Province of Nova Scotia like Matheson at Cornell, Swaine in Ontario, 

 Ruggles in Minnesota and to name the latest (whom we have pleasure to see present) — ■ 

 Dr. Edna Mosher, of the University of Illinois. If, in one short life-course of forty 

 years such a grand development of practical science has taken place in the Province, 

 what may we expect the next forty years to do with the present equipment to start 

 with. 



He had always been recommending Entomology to the schools as a suitable, con- 

 venient and useful branch of observational work, for all young people. Because: — 



1. The objects are always at hand everywhere for observation. 



2. For elementary biological study they can be conveniently obtained, observed 

 and mounted for preservation. 



3. Their life history, dynamic effects on human interests, and their control can 

 be studied without expensive apparatus. 



4. In addition to the cultivation of the observing and reasoning habits character- 

 istic of scientific training it tends to develop an intelligent interest in increased food pro- 

 duction which will always be one of the most important problems of human industry. 

 The most of our insects are the inveterate, truculent and insatiable enemies of men. 



5. For the agricultural, horticultural and foresty industries, protection against 

 insect depredations comes next to production itself. 



6. It is a most effective introduction to general scientific method not only in the 

 larger domain of general biology but in the observational or inductive science generally. 



He therefore recommended every teacher to become a member of the Nova Scotia 

 Entomological Club, whose publications with little other aid would supply them with 

 information for a start. 



He acted on this advice hirmelf forty years ago, when he joined the Ontario Ento- 

 mological Society. Membership in the Nova Scotian Society to-day is worth more than 

 double the value of his earlier experience. 



