SCOPE AND STATUS OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 9 



another, or else upon animals of other groups, and all are so knit 

 together that it is impossible to estimate the far-reaching effects that 

 might follow any change in the numbers of the most obscure species. 

 So, too, in their relations to vegetation, while many attack plants of 

 no apparent value to us, it is impossible to say when such plants and 

 their insect dependents with them may become important. But 

 suppose one-half of the existing species of myriapods, arachnids, and 

 true insects were of recognized economic importance, an account of 

 them, together with an adequate discussion of remedies, would re- 

 quire 3,500 or 4,000 volumes of text. 



I am sometimes asked to recommend a volume containing accounts 

 of all the insects. If the 25,000 and more known species from North 

 America were described and the life history of each recorded it 

 would fill not less than 150 volumes; and I have been compelled to 

 refer my friends to such imperfect single volumes as we have, ex- 

 plaining, in apology, that our entomological literature is scattered 

 at present in numerous serials and in volumes relating to special 

 groups of insects, and that no single volume contains more than a 

 small fraction of acquired entomological lore. 



And here I may be allowed to say a few words with reference to 

 our special literature. It contains much useful material, some of it 

 representing as good work as is done by any class of naturalists. In 

 six of the best known American publications — the Canadian Ento- 

 mologist, Entomological News, Psyche, Transactions of the American 

 Entomological Society, Journal of the New York Entomological 

 Society, and Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washing- 

 ton — over 1,500 pages of matter, largely relating to life histories 

 and descriptions of species, have already been published this year 

 (1905). About as many more pages have been published by our 

 fellow-workers of the British Islands, and the entomologists of 

 France, The Netherlands, Scandinavia, Germany, Eussia, and other 

 European countries have contributed numerous others. Even little 

 Japan now publishes at least one creditable entomological journal. 

 Including all nationalities, it seems safe to estimate the number of 

 pages on species and life histories at 8,500. Probably one-half of 

 this published matter is of immediate value as economic entomology, 

 and perhaps 4,000 pages more should be added to this as the output 

 of entomologists engaged on the more strictly, practical side of ento- 

 mology. Say, then, 8,000 pages represents the average annual prod- 

 uct relating evidently to practical entomology, and you have 16 

 volumes published each year on our specialty. Unfortunately, a 

 good deal of this — too much of it — is repetition by compilation. 

 Judging by the publications of our own country, about one-fourth of 

 the matter relating to strictly economic entomology is repetition, 

 being either compilation or repeated observation. At the present 



