Given a small appropriation of say $25,000 annually, it will become 
necessary to adopt some law, like that in force in California, whereby 
much less frequent inspection may be made, and the committee will have 
to rely in part upon voluntary observers for information. Moreover, 
they will be unable to conduct spraying operations upon a large scale, 
and the expense of the destruction of insects will have to be assessed 
upon the owners of the property upon which the insects are found, pro- 
vided such owners will not themselves undertake the destruction of the 
insects. There will be many disadvantages from such a course, and in 
the case of unproductive lands the expense will be so great that the 
owner will prefer confiscation. Between some such course as this and 
the continuance of the present methods, however, there seems to be lit- 
tle choice, since if the appropriation were taken away the insect will 
not only speedily reach its former destructive height, but will spread 
far and wide over the country. It may be urged that it will be only a 
few years before the insect will take its place as a naturalized member 
of our fauna and will become subject to the same variations of increase 
and decrease as our native species, and that it will, in fact, become lit- 
tle more to be feared than species already existing with us, particularly 
if its European natural enemies are introduced. Against this view, 
however, it must be urged that the gypsy moth seems an exceptionally 
hardy species and that even in Europe it is a prime pest. The caterpillar 
is tough and rugged and seems little subject to disease and to climatic 
drawbacks and is wonderfully resistant to the action of ordinary insec- 
ticides. The gypsy moth larva will feed for days without apparent 
injury upon trees which have been sprayed with Paris green or London 
purple in a solution so strong as to somewhat burn the leaves. In fact, 
the committee, in the spraying which they are carrying on at present, 
have found it necessary to use arsenate of lead in as strong proportion 
as 10 pounds to 150 gallons of water. The well-known vitality of pre- 
viously introduced European injurious insects is apparently increased 
to a striking degree with this species, while the fact that it feeds on 
nearly all plants renders it a much more serious pest than any of its 
forerunners. Under these circumstances, therefore, any course other 
than an energetic and well-directed effort to keep the insect within its 
present boundary will be shortsighted in the extreme, although it is 
very doubtful to my mind whether absolute extermination will or can 
ever be brought about. 
Xew York. — It is rather a stretch of the facts to classify Dr. Harris 
as an official entomologist. The first scientific man to receive a true 
official commission for the investigation of injurious insects was Dr. 
Asa Fitch, of iTew York. The New York State legislature, during its 
session of 1853-'54, made an appropriation of $1,000 for an examination 
of insects, especially of those injurious to vegetation, and authorized 
the appointment of a suitable person to perform the work. The matter 
was placed in the hands of the New York State Agricultural Society, 
