332 
and  the  results  and  I believe  it  to  be  just  to  acknowledge  that 
much  has  been  accomplished  in  that  country,  much  more  perhaps 
than  in  all  other  countries  combined ; nevertheless,  notwithstand- 
ing the  number  of  persons  occupied  with  agricultural  entomology, 
notwithstanding  the  favor  with  which  their  advice  is  accepted  and 
put  into  practice,  it  is  known,  from  an  approximate  calculation  by 
Dr.  Marlatt,  vice  director  of  the  Entomological  Bureau  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture,  that  the  annual  loss  due  to  the  work 
of  insects  amounts  in  the  United  States  to  a sum  of  seven  hundred 
million  dollars ! 
$ ^ ^ ^ ^ 
We  have  to  deal  here  with  an  enormous  sum  which  many  will 
at  first  perhaps  consider  greatly  exaggerated  but,  if  they  will 
examine  industry  for  industry  and  take  the  difference  between  the 
crop  that  might  be  had  and  the  actual  crop,  even  with  the  present 
cultural  methods,  they  will  find  that  this  sum  falls  perhaps  behind 
the  truth. 
It  is  a real  fact,  I believe,  however  painful  the  fact  may  be, 
that  the  majority  of  agriculturists  have  been  used  for  years  to  sec 
crops  reduced  by  one  insect  or  another  and  that  they  have  become 
reconciled  to  such  losses  believing  that  there  is  no  way  of  pre- 
venting them. 
On  the  other  hand  it  would  be  well  if  our  farmers  could  be 
convinced  that  up  to  date  agricultural  economy,  if  provided  with 
sufficient  personnel  and  means,  is  in  the  majority  of  cases  in  a 
position  to  devise  if  not  perfect  methods  at  least  such  as  are  apt  to 
diminish  the  injury  caused  by  insects.  There  will  be  cases  in 
which  the  entomologists  will  not  be  able  to  propose  in  a short 
time  sure  and  practical  methods  of  fight ; but  I believe  that  it  is 
hardly  posible  that  atfer  prolonged,  profound  and  conscientious 
study  of  a given  question  and  with  all  the  means  at  hand,  they 
should  not  arrive  at  some  practical  result.  Our  agriculturists 
should  have  greatest  confidence  in  science,  because  it  can 
always  return  hundred  fold  what  it  receives,  but  at  the  same  time 
they  must  support  it  with  their  good  will  as  well  as  with  their 
means ; it  is  in  this  that  they  are  now  lacking  in  our  country, 
and  the  consequence  of  this  lack  (and  not  of  willing- 
ness and  genius)  is  the  lack  of  persons  who  can  give  their  whole 
lives  to  the  study  of  pure  and  applied  sciences. 
i|j  ;■£  s|c  jjc  >|s 
Confining  mvself  to  mv  own  field  of  agricultural  entomology  I 
affirm  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  entomological  sec- 
tion of  the  Ministry  of  Agriculture,  besides  some  administrative 
employees,  should  be  composed  of  a technical  director  with  about 
fifteen  entomological  assistants.  Some  of  these  should  be  located 
in  the  Ministry  proper  in  order  to  occupy  themselves  particularly 
with  the  systematic  study  of  insect  parasites  of  scale-bugs  and  of 
some  other  insect  families  which  require  on  account  of  the  number 
