40 



Mr. Gillette expressed the opinion that this material was of little 

 value for the destruction of insects. 



Mr. Martin stated that an orchardist in Tennessee had used it and 

 reported good results. Mr. Martin had not been able to make an 

 examination of the orchard, but the owner had inspected the trees in 

 May or June and failed to find many live insects. 



Mr. Burgess said that several peach trees had been treated experi- 

 mentally with red seal lye in the spring of 1903 in Ohio; 7 and 15 

 pounds of this material were used to each 50 gallons of water. The 

 trees became so badly infested by the middle of the following Sep- 

 tember that they were destroyed by the owner. Several parties had 

 used the same material on an extensive scale last spring, and it had 

 proved worthless for destroying the San Jose scale. 



The following paper was then read : 



THE RELATION OP THE SYSTEMATIST TO THE ECONOMIC 

 ENTOMOLOGIST. 



By F. M. Webster. Urbana. Ill 



[Withdrawn for publication elsewhere.] 



A general discussion of this paper followed. 



Mr. Osborn considered that it is the duty of the systematist not 

 only to describe species but to determine their relation to other 

 known species and genera. He believed that described species should 

 be considered as something that exists in nature, and that such as are 

 not known from types, or can not be found in nature, should be 

 classed as lost species. Several instances were cited of insects that 

 are now described and listed, but which are not represented in collec- 

 tions, and have never since the time that they were described been 

 found in nature. 



Mr. French stated that species were often described from a single 

 specimen, and that he had in his collection possibly the only specimen 

 known of Apantesis shastaensis. Whether this is an aberrant form 

 of some known species or a species that may still be found in the 

 Shasta Mountains is a question for future investigation. 



Mr. Hine suggested that by continual study the systematist was 

 able to detect minute characters easily, whereas a person unfamiliar 

 with a particular group would fail to observe them. 



Mr. Summers remarked that although the systematist lays the foun- 

 dation for economic work, so far as accurately determining the species 

 is concerned he is not dependent upon the economic worker, and there- 

 fore very often fails entirely to consider his needs. During the 

 progress of systematic work, there must necessarily be many changes 

 in the nomenclature of the older species, and the economic entomolo- 

 gist must accept these changes after time has proven them to have 

 been well considered. 



