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MONTHLY LETTER OF THE BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY. 
U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
ae | March, 1916. 
TIBRARY | 
} RECEIVED | 
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| itis with great regret that the death of Theodore Pergande, the oldest assist- 
ant in continuous service in the Bureau, is announced. He was born in Germany 
December 28, 1840; was an expert machinist; came to this country as a young man at 
| the time of the Civil War; entered the northern army, and served through the war. 
At the close of the war he secured a position in St. Louis, and when Otto Lugger 
resigned as assistant to Prof. C. V. Riley, at that time State Entomologist of Mis- 
“souri, Mr. Pergande, who had always been an ardent collector and observer of insects, 
Was appointed as his successor. He came to Washington with Riley when the latter 
| Was appointed Entomologist of the U. S. Department of Agriculture in June, 1878. 
For many years he had charge of the rearing work of the entomological service, kept 
| the notes, and made the great majority of the biological investigations upon which 
the entomological publications of the Department were based. Twenty-five years ago 
an observant expert in one of the other bureaus of the Department remarked that the 
Division of Entomology without Pergande would be like the play of Hamlet without 
Hamlet. He died March 23, 1916, after a confinement to his house of less than two 
weeks. He was not so well known to the younger men in the service, but was held in 
high respect and affection by the older ones. His publications, especially on the 
Aphididae, are so well known as to need no special mention here. Funeral services 
were held at his late residence March 25th. 
RELATION OF TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY TO 
INSECT DEVELOPMENT. 
| The attention of the Bureau men is invited to the paper by Mr. Pierce entitled, 
"A new interpretation of the relations of temperature and humidity to insect develop- 
ment”, in the Journal of Agricultural Research, vol.5, No.25. A general discussion 
Of this paper will undoubtedly be profitable. I+ is desired to publish such comments 
as other agents may like to make in the forthcoming issue of the News Letter. 
Dr. C. Gordon Hewitt, Dominion Entomologist, of Ottawa, Canada, visited the 
“Bureau on March 16th. 
COMMITTEE ON PROMOTIONS OF SCIENTIFIC EMPLOYEES 
IN THE BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY. 
In accordance with Paragraph 26 of the Administrative Regulations of this De- 
partment, a committee on promotions of scientific employees in the Bureau of Ento- 
mology has been named by the Chief of the Bureau, consisting of Messrs. Quaintance, 
‘Marlatt and Hunter. Similar committees have been established in most of the Bureaus 
of the Department and their assistance has been found to be of much value to the 
Chief of Bureau in connection with recommendations of employees for promotion. 
Careful investigation has been made of methods of work of these committees in 
other Bureaus and a plan adopted which it is believed will best meet requirements. 

