214 



louse and its enemies. Yet they were all called for, and awakened strong 

 interest in the subject, especially in the part relating to beneficial 

 insects, as I know from the many letters received, asking for further 

 information. 



I believe no station can do more to arouse interest and incite to valu- 

 able study to give real valuable results to the people, and so to make 

 friends, than to engage vigorously in this important work. We can 

 hardly appreciate the value of this kind of work done by Dr. Riley, our 

 president. This generation will never appreciate the debt of gratitude 

 which they owe him. I believe that this part of our duties, carefully 

 studying the life histories of all our insects, will Lake no second place in 

 importance. How much we owe to Dr. Harris and to Thomas iSay, for 

 the admirable work they did in this direction. With the numerous 

 workers now in the field, we ought to make great progress in this direc- 

 tion. Such work will not be ephemeral in its influence, but will keep 

 on blessing mankind in all the coming years. 



DIRECT EXPERIMENTATION. 



In the discovery of new insecticides, and new uses of old ones, and 

 of new and better methods of application of such substances, we 

 have a simple means of conferring, it may be, an exceeding benefit upon 

 the farming population. So numerous are our insect foes, and so dif- 

 ferent are their susceptibilities to various insecticides that very exten- 

 sive and careful experimentation is called for in this direction. The 

 arsenites, so fatal to most mandibulate insects, seem impotent as weapons 

 against the rose chafer or the flea beetles. Tobacco decoction, though it 

 fails to exterminate most beetles, is our best specific against the destruc- 

 tive flea beetles. Successful work in this direction may and surely will 

 bring great aid to the farmers and fruit growers, and can but be thor- 

 oughly appreciated. 



Thousands of experiments are needed for each insecticide now known 

 and yet to be discovered, for each must be used on every noxious insect. 

 To many this will seem an uninviting field, and yet I can not but think 

 that he who fails to put earnest thought and work into this department 

 of our duties will miss a rich opportunity to do just what the law con- 

 templates, to confer much practical benefit on the farmers, and to ad- 

 vance the popularity of his station, and so of the whole scheme. Such 

 experiments have given us remedies that are of immense benefit. We 

 can not believe but that such discoveries are yet to be made ; far more 

 and very likely far better than we yet have. This then is a very desir- 

 able line of work which gives full opportunity for us all. We can also 

 improve or suggest improvements in our apparatus for applying insecti- 

 cides. We must have simple spraying apparatus that shall be conven- 

 ient and durable. If we could arrange to have gravity do our pump- 

 ing, how much labor and expense might be saved. 



