only incidentally economic: while the purposes of the Experiment 

 Station are essentially economic, and its scientific work must naturally 

 be regulated with close reference to practical results. In cryptogamic 

 botany, for example, the Laboratory is engaged in a general survey 

 of the State intended to give us the species, the classification, and the 

 life histories of all our flowerless plants, whether economically im- 

 portant or not, and the relations of these to agriculture will come in 

 as a purely secondary matter; while in Experiment Station work, on 

 the other hand, little attention will probably be paid to any species 

 except those having economic relations. All practical botanists are 

 agreed, however, that the economic species and those of no economic 

 importance are so intimately related in classification, habit, and life 

 history, that a full and exhaustive knowledge of the whole subject is 

 very helpful, and often indispensable, for the solution of merely econo- 

 mic problems. The more, in short, the State Laboratory is able to 

 do in technical and biological botany, the easier and more fruitful 

 will be the economic work of the botanical department of the Station. 

 The former should, in fact, supply a broad and strong foundation on 

 which the latter may build elaborately. 



As much of the work in the two directions requires substantially 

 the same facilities, methods, skill, and knowledge, the two may be 

 easily combined in a way to economize labor and expense and to in- 

 crease results, the only requisite being a common scheme of sub- 

 division and adjustment of subjects of research, and a proper arrange- 

 ment with respect to assistance, separate and conjoint, in the two de- 

 partments. 



Substantially the same may be said of the entomological work, 

 except that here the State has provided fairly well, for many years, 

 for both scientific and economic entomology. The line of division 

 and co-operation naturally suggested is that of the practical applica- 

 tion in the field, of economic results obtained in the office. This is 

 so essential a part of our economic work that I have felt compelled 

 to take it up, and have conducted in southern Illinois several field 

 experiments relating to insect injuries to wheat. But this field ex- 

 perimentation does not properly belong to entomology; it is very ex- 

 pensive in time and money; and I shall be glad to be wholly relieved 

 from it. On the other hand, I have undertaken to determine insects 

 referred to me as of economic interest by those engaged in the Ex- 

 periment Station work; to study their life histories; and to make 

 officH experiments with respect to them, as far as our resources will 



