Entomology 



The life histories of several insect pests 

 of economic significance in N.H. were 

 studied during the 1920's by W. C. 

 O'Kane and P. R. Lawry in Entomol- 

 ogy. Ways of controlling infestations 

 of these insects were investigated and 

 in some cases recommendations for 

 control were developed. During the 

 1930s, O'Kane, Lawrry, J. G. Conklin, 

 R. L. Blickle and others conducted a 

 series of some 15 basic investigations 

 with contact insecticides and ovicides. 

 They fabricated equipment and refined 

 techniques for appraising proposed 

 contact insecticides, determined rates 

 and amounts of penetration of chemi- 

 cals through insect integuments and 

 eggs, found that the nature of a leaf or 

 stem is important in the performance 

 of a contact agent, and assessed the 

 influence of the carrier on the perfor- 

 mance of a toxicant — information 

 necessary for developing more effec- 

 tive materials. This research brought 

 national and international recognition 

 to them and to the institution. 



"The White Pine Weevil in New 

 Hampshire" was a Station Bulletin 

 (No. 247) written by C. C. Plummer 

 and A. E. Pillsbury in 1929. The white 

 pine weevil, an insect of major impor- 

 tance in the state, reduced the timber 

 grade and value of attacked trees by 30 

 percent. Of four possible control mea- 

 sures, they recommended dense 

 plantings (1,800 trees per acre), since 

 trees attacked were better able to re- 

 cover from injury because competi- 

 tion for light and space stimulates 

 straighter growth. 



Botany and Bacteriology 



Dr. O. R. Butler served as head of the 

 Botany Department from 1912 until 

 his death in 1940. During this 28-year 

 period, his research focused mainly 

 on control of fungus diseases of apples, 



potatoes and beans using the fungi- 

 cides Bordeaux mixture, Burgundy 

 mixture, and others. 



Butler's papers on copper fungi- 

 cides were classics and he became a 

 world authority on copper compounds 

 in relation to fungus disease. His re- 

 search on apple scab was particularly 

 noteworthy. Apparently he set high 

 standards for himself, and his investi- 

 gations were not doubted as to accu- 

 racy. 



S. Dunn, appointed Assistant 

 Botanist in 1927, collaborated with 

 Professor Butler on research of bitter- 

 pit, conducted apple and potato re- 

 search and was involved in certifica- 

 tion of some 80 acres of seed potatoes 

 then grown in the state. 



In 1936, Botany had assumed the 

 title of Botany and Bacteriology. Fol- 

 lowing Professor Butler's death, both 

 Botany and Bacteriology were listed in 

 the University catalog as sections which 

 together with Zoology constituted the 

 new department of Biology in the 

 College of Liberal Arts. Botany as a 

 separate unit returned to the College of 

 Agriculture in 1947. 



Other appointees in Botany dur- 

 ing this period were M. E. Mills (1929) 

 and A. R. Hodgdon (1932). 



Horticulture 



How light intensity influences the type 

 of growth of leaves and roots and the 

 reproductive process of fruit trees and 

 herb-aceous plants was the subject of 

 Technical Bulletin No. 18 (1922) by J. 

 H. Gourley and G. T. Nightingale in 

 Horticulture and preceded extensive 

 experimentation on the effect of light 

 on plants by S. Dunn in Botany many 

 years later. G. F. Potter, Horticulture 

 department head from 1921 to 1938, 

 examined the role of fertilizer and its 

 major elements, cover crop, early thin- 

 gs 



