14 
Psyche 
[March 
from them. This is well illustrated by the supreme efforts 
made to curb the spread of the Mediterranean fruit fly fol- 
lowing the recent discovery of its establishment in Florida. 
Many persons were even led to believe that the extermina- 
tion of this pest in the United States was a foregone con- 
clusion instead of a hoped-for miracle. Certainly long ex- 
perience in connection with the establishment of exotic in- 
sect pests of cultivated plants holds out little prospect of 
their eradication. Another unfortunate circumstance in this 
connection is the great menace of repeated introductions of 
the same insect. I do not wish to pose as a critic of the leg- 
islative activities of entomologists but feel that it is our 
duty to view such matters in an unbiased attitude and to 
shy clear of the idea that all evils may be remedied by the 
enactment of laws and the expenditure of money. The use 
of the quarantine has increased at such a rapid rate that 
we should be sure of our ground before allowing it to usurp 
the foreground of entomological practice. Another grave 
danger lies in the fact that perfectly sane scientific pro- 
nouncements may be easily perverted by legislative enact- 
ment and subsequent enforcement by persons far less expert 
than the entomological authorities who formulated them. 
Certainly the importance of these problems and the threat 
which they hold over our future comfort and welfare de- 
mand that we as entomologists approach them in an al- 
truistic spirit. 
