December 30, 1921] 



SCIENCE 



651 



day his greatest rivals in the control of na- 

 ture. They threaten his life daily; they 

 shorten his food suppli^, both in his crops 

 while they are growing and in such supplies 

 after they are harvested and stored, in his 

 meat animals, in his comfort, in his cloth- 

 ing, in his habitations, and in countless 

 other ways. In many ways they are better 

 fitted for existence on this earth than he is. 

 They constitute a much older geological type, 

 and it is a type which had persisted for 

 countless years before he made his appear- 

 ance, and this persistence has been due to 

 characteristics which he does not possess and 

 can not acquire — rapidity of multiplication, 

 power of concealment, a defensive armor, 

 and many other factors contribute to this 

 persistence. With all this in view, it will be 

 necessary for the human species to bring this 

 great group of insects under control, and to 

 do this will demand the services of skilled 

 biologists — thousands of them. We have 

 ignored these creatures to a certain extent 

 on account of their small size, but their 

 small size is one of the great elements of 

 danger, is one of the great elements of suc- 

 cess in existence and multiplication. 



Let all the departments of biology in all 

 of our universities and colleges consider this 

 plain statement of the situation, and let 

 them begin a concerted movement to train 

 the men who are needed in this defensive 

 and offensive campaign. 



In closing, I can not refrain from quoting 

 a remarkable paragraph from Maeterlinck: 



The insect does not belong to our world. The 

 otieT animals, even the plants, in spite of their mute 

 existence and the great secrets which they nourish, 

 do not seem wholly strangers to us. In spite of all, 

 we feel with them a certain sense of terrestrial fra- 

 ternity. They surprise us, even make us marvel, but 

 they fail to overthrow our basic concepts. The in- 

 sect, on the other hand, brings with him something 

 that does not seem to belong to the customs, the 

 morale, the psychology of our globe. One would say 

 that it comes from another planet, more monstrous, 

 more energetic, more insensate, more atrocious, 

 more infernal than ours. ... It seizes upon life 

 with an authority and a fecundity which nothing 

 equals here below; we can not grasp the idea that 



it ia a thought of that Nature of which we flatter 

 ourselves that we are the favorite children. . . . 

 There is, without doubt, with this amazement and 

 this incomprehension, an I know not what of in- 

 stinctive and profound inquietude inspired by these 

 creatures, so incomparably better armed, better 

 equipped than ourselves, these compressions of 

 energy and activity which are our most mysterious 

 enemies, our rivals in these latter hours, and per 

 haps our successors. 



L. O. Howard 



U. S. DEP.4RTMENT OP AGRICULTURE 



ADDRESS AT THE LAYING OF THE 

 CORNER STONE OF THE CHEMICAL 

 LABORATORY OF THE COR- 

 NELL UNIVERSITY 



The great chemical laboratory, the comer' 

 stone of which we lay to-day, will not be with- 

 out its effect upon the life of the university. 

 Its influence may be good or it may be bad. It 

 is sure to be profound. 



Chemistry has many aspects. Sordidly 

 treated, as a mere bread and butter subject, it 

 might conceivably tend to degrade our teach- 

 ing to a low, materialistic level. Idealist- 

 ically treated, as becomes a great fundamental 

 science, it will promote the noblest purposes in 

 education. 



Are we out of touch with life? Chemistry 

 has the most varied and intimate contacts with; 

 life of any of the sciences. 



Do we wish to inspire, in our teaching, ai 

 passion for truth? The pursuit of science is 

 an unending quest for truth. 



Are we inclined to shun specialization lest 

 we lose a certain breadth of training for our 

 students ? Let us remember that to really know 

 something of any one of the many branches of 

 a science like chemistry one must use several 

 languages, must be something of a mathemati- 

 cian and physicist and must be acquainted with 

 many allied subjects. 



There are few things so broad as a " narrow 

 specialty " — if you follow it down to the ends 

 of its wide spreading roots ! 



As for the training of the imagination and 

 the building of character, is it not inspiring to 

 turn from the pitiful struggles of the human 

 race as depicted in a world's history whose 



