1086 PROCEEDINGS OF THE THIRD ENTOMOLOGICAL MEETINO 



I do not think there is any difference of opinion regarding the neces- 

 sity for permanent Provincial Staffs in addition to the Staff of the 

 Central Entomological Institute, but there is a sharp difference of 

 opinion, clearly shown in the note of dissent appended to the Committee 

 Report by Messrs. Ramakrishna Ayyar, Kunhi Kannan and Rama- 

 chandra Rao, regarding the employment of those Provincial workers. 

 The majority of the Committee consider that such Provincial Staffs 

 must work under the Provincial Officers (Agricultural, Forest, or others, 

 as the case may be) whUst the minority consider that these men, although 

 permanently stationed in the Provinces, should work directly under 

 the Central Institute without any direct subordination to the local 

 authorities. This latter scheme would not work in practice in my 

 opinion, because it would lead to constant friction with the Provincial 

 authorities and because it would be extremely difficult for the Central 

 Institute to keep in sufficiently close touch with the various local workers 

 scattered all over India and Burma. 



As regards the location of the proposed Entomological Institute, 

 there is also considerable difference of opinion, which again is clearly 

 shown in the various notes appended to the Report of the Committee 

 My own view is that Coimbatore is the most suitable locality that has 

 yet been suggested. It is not ideal altogether, but it approaches the 

 ideal more closely than any other locality that I know of. If a more 

 central place could be found, climatically and otherwise equally or 

 more advantageous than Coimbatore, such a place would undoubtedly 

 be preferable,. but I do not know of any such place nor has anyone else 

 as yet made any really useful suggestion regarding this. The main 

 objection which is usually raised regarding Coimbatore is its supposed 

 inaccessibility but I think that this bugbear of inaccessibility has been 

 greatly exaggerated and this will be minimized in the near future when 

 air transport has come in as a regular method of travel and despatch 

 of mails. I just ask you to consider for a moment the facilities for 

 transport in India one hundred, or even fifty, years ago and compare 

 them with the present day and I will further ask you to try and look 

 ahead another twenty or fifty or a hundred years and try to imagine 

 the way in which distances will be reduced by improvement in means 

 of transport. It would be folly to my mind to put up large and expen- 

 sive buildings in any locality which we are not absolutely satisfied will 

 be thoroughly suitable. We have found that out by bitter experience 

 at Pusa and have no wish to repeat an experiment of that sort. I hold 

 no special brief for Coimbatore and, if anyone can satisfy me that another 

 locality will be more suitable, I am quite willing to be convinced. 

 The Committee Report is now before you for consideration. 



