October 16, 1896.] 



SCIENCE. 



545 



the third part of his work on the gypsy 

 moth, published in 1761, discusses the meth- 

 ods of destroying this insect in a manner 

 equal to Harris or Fitch, while Pastor Eim- 

 rod, in his paper published in 1781, on the 

 same insect, handles the subject with equal 

 ability. These papers were rare exceptions 

 in those times, and probably made little im- 

 pression on the public mind because they 

 were so much in advance of the times. On 

 the other hand, there are men to be found 

 in all ages who are very much behind the 

 times, and we may even now find men who 

 believe every invasion of insects to be an 

 Israelitish plague sent upon us because of 

 the sins of the people. 



In 1875 Governor Harding, of Missouri, 

 issued a proclamation appointing a day of 

 fasting and prayer for the interposition of 

 Divine Providence to relieve the calamities 

 caused by the devastation of the Kocky 

 Mountain Locust. Many of us well remem- 

 ber the newspaper accounts of the terrible 

 suffering and starvation in some of the West- 

 ern States caused by this insect in those 

 times, and it need not surprise us so very 

 much if, after having tried every plan that 

 human ingenuity could devise, they should, 

 in their final extremity, have appealed to 

 Almighty God. This is about the way 

 with us all. In the supreme hour, when 

 everything else fails, we remember and ap- 

 peal to the Overruling Providence. If I 

 may be permitted here to express a personal 

 opinion along these lines I would say that, 

 while it is exceedingly helpful to the human 

 soul to trust in the Divine Creator of 

 heaven and earth, I cannot rid myself of 

 the conviction that in economic entomology 

 God helps those most who most help them- 

 selves ; those who make themselves most 

 conversant with his laws as exhibited in 

 the life and habits of the insects they have 

 to deal with, as well as the climatic and 

 other conditions which affect them — in fact 

 the whole environment — and make the best 



possible use of this knowledge in their at- 

 tempts to destroy insects or hold them in 

 check. 



Last year the Chairman of the Board of Se- 

 lectmen in a Massachusetts town refused to 

 use any of the public money for the protec- 

 tion of the trees along the streets, from the 

 canker worms, because the idea of fighting 

 insects was ^ agin natur.' This year that 

 same man's apple trees are as bare of leaves 

 as though a fire had run through his or- 

 chard, and therefore I am of the opinion 

 that it will be '■ agin natur ' for that man to 

 gather a crop of fruit from his trees this 

 fall. 



The establishment of agricultural experi- 

 ment stations by the general government in 

 1888, with entomologists in a large propor- 

 tion of them, gave a wonderful impetus to 

 the study and development of economic en- 

 tomology in this country. At first it was 

 thought that, because of the lack of a suffi- 

 cient number of well trained and experi- 

 enced entomologists to fill these positions, 

 very poor work, would be done until a suf- 

 ficient time had elapsed for young men to 

 become educated and trained in this line, 

 when they would crowd the more inferior 

 material to the wall. To me it has been a 

 matter of pleasure and pride to see the 

 young men coming to the front so rapidly, 

 filling these places so satisfactorily and 

 publishing bulletins and other papers of 

 such rare value. I am deeply impressed 

 with the idea that, unless those of us who 

 are older and have been in the work for a 

 long time look well to our laurels, we may 

 soon find ourselves crowded up against the 

 displacement wall and younger, perhaps 

 more competent, men standing ready to take 

 our places. Nevertheless it is a great pleas- 

 ure to me to help and encourage any prom- 

 ising and modest young man who is thor- 

 oughly in earnest in the study of entomol- 

 ogy. 



In this connection I cannot too highly 



