v 
mly incidentally economic; while the purposes of the Experiment 
station are essentially economic, and its scientific work must naturally 
ye regulated with close SENET: to practical results. In cryptogamic 
jotany, for example, the Laboratory i is engaged in a general suryey 
f the State ititended to give us the species, the Abrraineteie and the 
ife histories of all our flowerless plants, whether economically im- 
jortant or not, and the relations of these to agriculture will come in 
is a purely secondary matter; while in Experiment Station work, on 
he other hand, little attention will probably be paid to any species 
xcept those having economic relations. All practical botanists are 
igreed, however, that the economic species and those of no economic 
miportance are so intimately related in classification, habit, and life 
iistory, that a full and exhaustive knowledge of the whole subject is 
ery helpful, and often indispensable, for the solution of merely econo- 
nic problems. The more, in short, the State Laboratory is able. to 
16 in technical and biological botany, the easier and more fruitful 
will be the economic work of the botanical department of the Station. 
The former should, in fact, supply a broad and strong foundation on 
which the latter may build elaborately. 
__ As much of the work in the two directions requires substantially 
she same facilities, methods, skill, and knowledge, the two may be 
lay combined in a way to economize labor and expense and to in- 
crease results, the only requisite being a common scheme of sub- 
Rivsib i and adjustment of subjects of research, and a proper arrange- 
iment with respect to assistance, separate and conjoint, in the two de- 
partments. 
Substantially the same may be said of the entomological work, 
except that here the State has provided fairly well, for many years, 
for both scientific and economic entomology. The line of division 
and co- -operation naturally Suge gested is that of the practical applica- 
tion in the field, of economic results obtained in the office. This is 
30 essential a part of our economic work that I have felt compelled 
to take it up, and have conducted in southern Illinois several field 
experiments relating to insect injuries to wheat. But this field ex- 
perimentation does not properly belong to entomology; it is very ex-. 
pensive in time and money; and I shall be glad to be wholly relieved 
from it. On the other hand, I have undertaken to determine insects 
referred to me as of economic interest by those engaged in the Ex- 
periment Station work; to study their life histories; and to make 
office experiments with respect to them, as far as our resources will 
ee 
