February, ’20] 
BUSINESS PROCEEDINGS 
15 
the fruit crop or of the wheat or corn crop may be and often is wholly dependent on 
the effectiveness of artificial or natural control measures. The prevalence of many 
human diseases is wholly dependent on the prevalence of one or another insect. 
Importance of the Museum to Economic, Scientific and Popular Entomology 
The systematic study of insects is directly related to all phases of entomology, 
indeed the foundation of all insect studies is the classification. We must know the 
insect before deeply engaging ourselves with the problem. In the case of newly 
introduced insects early recognition is of greatest importance and this fact alone 
justifies the building up of a collection representative of the entire world. Federal, 
state, experiment station, and other entomologists throughout the country depend 
largely on the experts working in the U. S. National Museum for identifying insects, 
especially those little known. 
Financial Support. The National Museum supports the Division of Insects to 
the extent of furnishing one associate curator and two preparators which amounts to 
an expenditure of approximately $4,200. The Bureau of Entomology furnishes 
about fifteen entomologists and as many preparators, an amount approximating 
$39,000, whose work consists primarily in keeping the collections of the various 
orders and determining the material for workers of the Bureau and for entomologists 
elsewhere. The funds furnished by the Bureau amount to about 7 per cent of their 
total income for general expenses, while the amount paid by the National Museum to 
the Division of Insects is only 1.4 per cent of its income for the preservation of col¬ 
lections. 1 For the past fiscal year the Museum was allotted $300,000 for the preserva¬ 
tion of collections. In general it might be assumed that each of the three depart¬ 
ments of the Museum would get $100,000. Certainly the Biological Department not 
less since the preservation of their collections is a larger item than the similar needs 
of the other two departments, and since there are seven divisions in the Department 
of Biology we should expect the Division of Insects to receive not less than one-seventh 
of the total income or $14,285. On the basis of importance, from the standpoint of 
human interest, economically and otherwise and the needs of taxonomic work on 
insects this division should receive a much larger proportion of the funds available. 
In justice to the other divisions it should be added that the above comparison is 
made not to minimize the importance of any division. There is not a division of the 
Museum work which does not deserve all of the funds at present allotted and more. 
Needs of the Museum Summarized 
From a study of the Insect Division of the U. S. National Museum and personal 
observations and facts offered by those in a position to know, your committee sum¬ 
marizes the needs of the Museum as follows, listed in the order of their importance: 
1. More space for workers, including students as well as regular employees, and 
for the collections and popular exhibits. The Museum rooms are greatly crowded, 
the rooms are poorly lighted, and we are informed were marked “attic” on the 
architect’s plans and were never intended for scientific work-rooms. 
2. More custodians to care for the collections and to handle the large volume of 
material sent in for identification. Promptness in the identification of insects has a 
direct bearing on the prosperity of the country since delay may result in the secure 
1 In addition to the salaries indicated the National Museum expends between 
$1,000 to $3,000 per year on cases, supplies, etc., bringing the total support to about 
$7,000, but apparently this does not reduce the per cent of total income as the 
National Museum budget calls for a separate appropriation for “Furniture and 
Fixtures,” and for “books.” 
