February, ’23] graham & ruggles : economic entomology and forestry 55 
today. For years the entomologist has attacked forest insect problems 
with the well established conviction that insect control under present forest 
conditions is practically impossible. He does not really expect to control 
forest insects until such time as forest trees in America are as carefully 
cared for as they are in the most highly developed European forests. 
His work with farm and horticultural insects has led him to exaggerate 
the place of our mechanical means of insect control and if spraying or 
some other such method cannot be applied he is prone to say in a most 
hopeless tone “then what can we do?”. We are all equally culpable. 
ATTITUDE OF THE FORESTER TOWARD ENTOMOLOGY 
Is there any wonder that the forester looks askance at entomology. 
He has come to think that the entomologist is either unable to help 
him or else is uninterested. He finds that most of the suggestions which 
the entomologist gives him are impractical. It is natural that he should 
conclude that to call upon such a source for help is useless. Forestry 
has no constructive plan for the protection of forests from insect attacks, 
not because it is not sadly needed, but because the entomologist has usually 
been unable to make any practical suggestions for such a plan. There¬ 
fore the forester calls on the entomologist for help only after all other 
means have failed. 
The entomologist then answers the call and investigates the situation, 
but what does the forester get. He gets a report. Sometimes a vol¬ 
uminous piece of literature with figures, plates, and tables. The con¬ 
tent of these reports has become so well established that one can almost 
unfailingly predict its general character. It will start out with a dis¬ 
cussion of the importance of the outbreak, and perhaps a little historical 
data regarding the insect in question. Then follows descriptions of 
the various stages with figures, preferably colored. Next comes the 
life history in detail in which the most personal affairs of the insect are 
disclosed and finally comes a section headed control. 
Under control there will be something like this. “Unfortunately 
under our present forest conditions it is impossible to control this pest. 
If sometime in the future economic conditions so improve that we can 
expect a much larger return per acre from our forests and can therefore 
spend much larger amounts in cultural practices we may be able to 
suggest something that the forester can afford to try. At present we 
are forced to let things take their course much as it pains us to do so.” 
The very iking that the forester needed most the entomologist did not give him. 
PROBLEMS IN FOREST ENTOMOLOGY WHICH SHOULD BE SOLVED 
In the United States as a whole there are hundreds of forest entomo- 
