REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR, 1922 37 
The lack of a second assistant has seriously restricted the work of 
the office and it has been necessary to defer matters which could be 
put to one side. This has resulted in very little systematic work 
being done upon the collections. These latter should be kept in the 
best possible condition and the numerous specimens identified, since 
they are most important aids to speedy identification and the deter- 
mination of the economic status of an insect. At present much of 
the material is simply labeled and put away in the hope that some 
time it may be properly classified. There is in addition considerable 
accumulations of earlier years which should be treated in the same 
way, if due regard be had for the development of the state collections 
and the maintenance through a considerable series of years of satis- 
factory records along all lines. 
Horticultural inspection. The nursery inspection work of the 
bureau of plant industry, Department of Farms and Markets, has 
resulted as in former years in a number of specimens representing 
various stages of developments, some in very poor condition, being 
submitted to this office for identification. The satisfactory deter- 
mination of specimens originating from various parts of the world 
requires an intimate and wide knowledge of the literature and insects 
in both this and other countries and illustrates in a concrete manner 
the need in entomological work of both training and experience. 
This type of work also emphasizes the importance of a thoroughly 
classified collection mentioned above. 
The general work of the office has been materially aided as in past 
years by the identification of a number of insects through the cour- 
tesy of Dr L. O. Howard, chief of the bureau of entomology, United 
State Department of Agriculture, and his associates. The Entomolo- 
gist in turn has been able to render some assistance to Doctor 
Howard and his professional associates in various states and other 
parts of the world through the identifications in the group in which 
he is recognized as a specialist. 
There has been very effective and close cooperation with the State 
Department of Farms and Markets, particularly the bureau of plant 
industry, the State College of Agriculture at Cornell University, the 
State Experiment Station at Geneva, the State Conservation Com- 
mission, the State Department of Health, the county farm bureaus 
and various public welfare organizations, A number of correspond- 
ents have donated material and rendered valuable service by trans- 
mutting local data respecting various insects and assisting in other 
ways. There has been, as in the past, most helpful cooperation on 
the part of all interested in the work of the office. 
