SPECIAL PROBLEMS OF INSECT CONTROL 149 



As a nation we are paying about $25,000,000 annually for 

 the discovery and dissemination of just this sort of informa- 

 tion. If we are not " getting our money's worth," it is our 

 own fault. One truth with regard to an insect which causes 

 disease or levies a tax of often hundreds of millions of dollars 

 on some staple crop may be worth the entire annual cost of 

 the scientific departments of the government, as soon as the 

 knowledge is put to use. 



With hundreds of experts working at these problems, knowl- 

 edge is growing so fast that statements are likely to be super- 

 seded before the ink of a book is dry. In order to keep up to 

 date, every biological laboratory should have available for all 

 students two important publications, the Monthly List of Pub- 

 lications and the Experiment Station Record, both issued by 

 the United States Department of Agriculture. These will 

 keep the student informed of every advance in our knowledge 

 of insects, as well as of a great many other matters of interest. 



Make a list of the most important insects of the neighbor- 

 hood, or those about which you wish to learn, and follow them 

 through the indexes of the Experiment Station Record. Send 

 to your State Experiment Station or to Washington for the 

 bulletins you need, and, after studying them and collecting 

 and observing your specimens in the field, mounting them so 

 that they will tell as complete a story as possible, be ready to 

 report your results to the class. 



Working independently and without consultation, let each 

 member of the class prepare a list of the insects which he thinks 

 every member of the community ought to know in order to 

 prevent annoyance, spread of disease, damage to household 

 goods, stock or crops. This should be done after working 

 through the laboratory types given in Chapters X-XIII, read- 

 ing bulletins and books assigned, and studying the lists given 

 below. After comparing and discussing individual lists, pre- 

 pare a class list which shall include the most important local 



