10 



like to know when I am abused, and it usually gives me a pleasurable 

 sensatiou, wbicli is the reason why I always enjoy Mr. Grote's ideasant 

 IDroduetions. It always gives me tlie opportunity of seeing my name 

 at least once on every page, always associated with some pleasant com- 

 pliments, and it gratifies me that I am able to afford him the delight 

 which heobviousl^^ takes in writing them. 



But, to return to the matter in hand, is there not some feasible way 

 of interchanging auiong the members of this association records of all 

 articles containing original or useful information'? Can we not devise 

 some plan by means of which we can keep informed of w'nat is going on 

 without tlie necessity of wasting time in examining everything and 

 then missing it after all ? In view of the unfortunate discontinuance of 

 Insect Life, I woukl suggest that each member send in every month, or 

 at least quarterly, a list of economic articles published by him. Per- 

 haps Entomological Xews may be available for the purpose; but at all 

 events I Avish to present the matter to the association as one which, in 

 my opinion, merits attention. 



There are several unsettled problems concerning publications and 

 the matter to be contained in them; but the discussions heretofore 

 had have not resulted in any agreement, and i^olicies seem rather to 

 be diverging than otherwise. I have decided opinions on the subject, 

 of course, but can not see any j^rospect of getting satisfactory action 

 at the i)resent time, because in many cases we are not free to decide 

 the matter for ourselves. There are some directors who labor under the 

 delusion that they have the decision in matters of this kind ; and, what 

 is worse, they frequently act on that belief. 



The matter of cooperation among station workers is still discussed, 

 still declared desirable, and still as far from being i)ut into actual prac- 

 tice as ever before, and comes up before us now on the re])ort of a 

 special committee presented last year. What I have already spoken 

 of concerning the necessity for a si^ecial study of all problems for each 

 region or locality may be at first deemed an argument against coopera- 

 tive work in most directions, and yet it will be only by combining all 

 the results that we will ever get any clear understanding of some of the 

 matters now puzzling us. We can, however, do at least one thing men- 

 tioned in the report in the line of uniformity, by agreeing upon some 

 recognized method of conducting exx:>eriments, so that results may be 

 comparable. I have seen or have been informed concerning the outfits 

 of many of our stations and have inquired closely concerning the 

 methods of experimentation, and scarcely two are even nearly alike. 

 The elaborate and costly outfits of some stations are in striking contrast 

 with the cheap makeshift apparatus to be f()und in some others; so 

 that results obtained under such differing conditions are not always 

 to be regarded as of equ^^l authority. I do not mean to suggest that 

 good and reliable work is not or can not be done with even indifferent 

 tools; but the chances of error are decidedly increased. Different 



