predators, or pathogens--will attack only the 
pests we want to destroy. There is the possi- 
bility that the pests may also develop resist- 
ance to the natural organisms we use for control 
purposes, There is also the possibility of 
misuse or improper use, 
One of the major difficulties is that it costs 
so much to develop biological control tech- 
niques... and it takes so much time. There 
are thousands of pests in every conceivable 
environment, All of them prey on man or his 
plants or animals, All of them have different 
habits and metabolic behavior. All of them 
resist our best efforts to control them. Each 
one requires individual exhaustive study--a 
truly monumental effort. Research costs to 
develop biological means of control will likely 
be several times those for chemical means-- 
and we know the relatively high costs of the 
latter. We have already taken the first few 
steps with the recent launching of a greatly 
intensified program of research and education 
on pesticides. 
This program--one of the strongest in 
Department history--will enable us to do the 
basic and applied work that has long been 
necessary. The State agricultural experiment 
stations will cooperate in this stepped-up 
effort. That cooperation will continue, as both 
of us are seeking the same end--the safest 
and most effective pest-control methods that 
human ingenuity can devise. And, as always, 
we will have the cooperation and assistance of 
the chemical industry. 
Joint effort in entomology, by the way, is 
not limited to the United States. The Depart- 
ment of Agriculture has been fortunate in 
sharing the closest working relationships with 
scientists here in Canada, especially on studies 
dealing with biological control techniques. We 
look forward to enjoying a continuation of that 
excellent relationship. 
May I list briefly the major features of the 
expanded program, since it may help alleviate 
some of the difficulties I outlined in the earlier 
part of this paper: 
(1) Basic research on the pests themselves, 
their life cycles, growth habits, physiology, 
ecology, genetics, etc. 
(2) Basic and applied research on biological 
methods of control. 
(3) Research to refine andimprove chemical 
methods of control designed to decrease the 
64 
chances of polluting nontarget areas of our | 
environment. 
(4) Research on the fate of pesticides and 
on their toxicity to farm animals. 
(5) Economics research to identify the true 
economic importance of pest control. 
(6) Improvement in regulatory and control 
procedures, including the monitoring of agri- 
cultural areas for pesticides. 
(7) An expanded library service to provide 
scientists and educators in all fields with a 
monthly digest of current research and de- 
velopment programs dealing with pesticides. 
(8) An expanded extension education pro- 
gram to train people in proper handling of 
pesticides. These programs are being de- 
veloped for homemakers who use pesticides 
in their homes, gardens, and lawns. Special 
training sessions are being set up to instruct 
farmers, commercial spray operators, and 
personnel in the pesticide industry on the 
proper way to handle pesticides. We will be 
trying to reach everyone--city people as well 
as farm people. We want to get across two 
ideas: (1) Effective pest control is essential 
if we are to maintain our high standard of 
living and if this abundance of quality food and 
relative freedom from the hazards of pests 
are to be enjoyed by all mankind; and (2) pesti- 
cides must be used safely, in the same way as 
medicines, atomic energy, or any of the other 
modern techniques that make this a more 
satisfying world. 
There is no mistaking the work that has been 
cut out for us in the field of pest-control 
studies. The challenge is clear. It is not going 
to be answered quickly. There may not be any 
"final solutions.'’ Nature is dynamic, changing, 
and fluid in its manifestations. Our methods 
for dealing with pests will have to go nature 
one better. We will have to anticipate its intri- 
cate movements, and be prepared to handle 
situations as the need arises. 
We will not, like the scientists in Jonathan 
Swift's famous fictional Academy of Ladago, 
be concerned with brilliant inventiveness on 
wildly impractical things--like building houses 
from the roof downward to the foundations, or 
extracting sunbeams from cucumbers and 
sealing the beams in bottles to warm the air 
on cold and rainy days. Science in Swift's 
fictional country is brilliantly and wastefully 
preoccupied with esoteric problems while the 
