AGRICULTURE. l03 



lame and impotent conclusions at last, my reply is : T am not 

 responsible for the situation, and it is better not to attempt to fill 

 our bellies with the east wind. It is no part of the duty of the 

 Commissioner of Statistics to make original discoveries in ento- 

 mology or any other science. It is not my fault that the thing is as 

 it is, but it will be the fault of the generation, and its reproach be- 

 sides, if it is allowed to remain as it is. AH I have attempted is to 

 make a survey of the ground in order to get at the situation and 

 see how the thing stands. 



The first thing to be done in any new enterprise is to find out 

 what has been done, and then build or improve upon that. 



The following table, prepared by A. S. Packard, Jr., will show 

 at a glance the states and territories of the United States, and also 

 of Manitoba, that have been visited by locusts since 1818. 



The solidity of the columns of figures since 1872 will afford an 

 indication of the extent and duration of the evil, and may suggest 

 whether it be not time to take the matter in hand. 



