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CONSTRUCTION AND USE OF TABULAR KEYS 
I* W. Newell (Dept, of Life Sciences, Univ. of California, 
Riverside, CA 92502) has just published a paper under the title 
above, in Pacific Insects, vol. 12, 1970, pp. 25-37. There have 
been a series of efforts by taxonomic workers to improve upon 
the standard dichotomous keys traditionally employed by systera- 
atists, but they often fall between the cracks. Quite a few of 
them are almost immediately convertible into computer compatible 
data matrices, even though the authors do not regard them as 
steps in the direction. One of the major problems for translation 
into computer matrices is the diversity of techniques used in 
coding characters. Newell has designed what he calls "cogni¬ 
tive character codes," designed to provide recognition of the 
characteristic through key words or letters that act as recog¬ 
nition devices. This produces a variety of symbols in the table, 
which may accelerate use visually, but lead to difficulties for 
a computer. A paper by several of us who have been working on 
this specific problem for some time will appear in Biosciences, 
probably in February, 1971, and will hopefully provide some basis 
for development of standard coding methods in the continued devel¬ 
opment of tabular keys and computer matrices. A shortened ab¬ 
stract of Newell's paper follows.--JAP. 
"Tabular keys differ from dichotomous keys in that the 
statements of characters and variants are separated from the 
names of the taxa to be identified. This is done by applying 
cognitive code symbols to the character variants, and recording 
the distribution of the variants for each of the taxa in a table. 
The use of Key Groups (KGG) in which carefully selected charac¬ 
ters are presented in groups of about five, makes possible the 
handling of taxa of any size. Tabular keys are open-ended, so 
expansion of the key can be accomplished by adding new groups 
* 
of taxa and groups of differentiating characters at the open 
ends, eliminating the need for complete revision of the key. 
Selection and coding of characters as well as preparation of 
the tables and the data card file are described.” 
AUTOMATED CONSULTING SYSTEM DEVELOPED 
An "automated consulting" system for evaluating and in¬ 
terpreting technical farm production and pest control information 
is being developed cooperatively by the Departments of Agri¬ 
cultural Economics and of Botany and Plant Pathology at Michigan 
State University. This system offers a practical method for 
providing computer access for field-based- extension personnel. 
Currently, it is being used on a trial basis by 10 Michigan 
extension agents who serve commercial agriculture and urban 
backyard garden enthusiasts. 
The use of computers in extension education is considered 
a major step in establishing a closer link with the local prob¬ 
lems of both the rural and city communities. Several computer 
programs have been designed and tested which provide immediate 
interpretation, evaluation, and comparison of alternatives avail- 
