would be present in the fruit, are now very extensively used by fruit growers, and are a means of increasing the yield enormously. The effect of spraying is so plain that the most ignorant and most obstinate are convinced of its value by a single demonstration. In his Report for 1917 the Chief of the Bureau states that studies are being pursued with a view to determining the effect of the use of arsenicals upon bees at the time apple trees are in bloom and after the falling of most of the petals.

Purposes and Methods of the Bureau. "The Bureau of Entomology studies insects with special reference to methods of control, experiments with the introduction of beneficial insects, makes tests with insecticides and insecticide machinery, and identifies insects sent in my inquirers." The emphasis of the work, it will be noted, is upon economic rather than upon systematic entomology. This should be the char acter of the functions of an entomological agency connected with the executive branch of the government. Yet the theoretical aspects of the science cannot be wholly neglected even by a public agency because the practical benefits are very frequently a direct outgrowth of theoretical investigations.

In order that the most satisfactory methods of the extermination of injurious insects may be evolved it is necessary to study the life histories of insects. This will disclose at what particular stage of development their destruction is most likely to be affected. Variation in the habits of different insects has brought about a variety of methods of control as is shown in Farmers' Bulletin, No. 835, which summarizes briefly the methods necessary for the detection, elimination, and control of the principal insects, such as the Hessian fly, chinch bug, army worm, cutworms, grasshoppers, white grubs, billbugs, wireworms, and the corn root-aphis, affecting cereal. crops. The control of insects infesting fowls and cattle call for the method of dipping or the use of a powder. Orchards, vineyards, and some field crops are sprayed and in other cases specific methods of cultivation are necessary. The problems therefore are many and require the attention of a public body

1List of Workers, 1917, U. S. Dept. of Agriculture.

working for the benefit of all. When it became known that spraying was efficacious private enterprise soon produced the necessary machinery with which to distribute the insecticides. One of the important functions of the Bureau is to test the efficiency of such machinery.

Besides these various methods used to control injurious insects "the introduction of beneficial insects" has been rather extensively relied upon. These insects feed upon the injurious ones and thus, according to Nature's way, keep down menacing pests. A striking example of this method is the introduction in 1889 of the ladybird (Novius cardinalis) from Australia into California under the direction of the Division of Entomology for the purpose of destroying the white or fluted scale, "an insect which had damaged the citron crops of California to the extent of hundreds of thousands of dollars, and which threatened the extinction of the citrus industry on the Pacific Slope." The plan proved so successful that the scale was utterly destroyed and that the international use of such beneficial insects was called "epoch-making." 1

The Cotton Boll Weevil.-The cotton boll weevil first made its appearance in Mexico, becoming a serious pest by about 1848. About the year 1892 it was carried across the Rio Grande, perhaps in unginned cotton, and gained a foothold at Brownsville, Texas. By 1901 the weevil had traveled 500 miles north of Brownsville. In 1903 it made its appearance in Louisiana, and in 1907 reached Mississippi. Three years later it had traveled two-thirds of that State and entered the southwestern part of Alabama. "In 1914 the weevilinfected territory included the eastern half of Texas, the southeastern part of Oklahoma, the southern half of Arkansas, the whole of Louisiana and Mississippi, and the southwestern half of Alabama. By 1917 the infected territory had increased so as to include also the whole of Alamaba, two-thirds of Georgia, and northern Florida.' The boll weevil has been responsible for a very large loss to the cotton growers and the

' Vide article by Howard, Yearbook, 1899, p. 153.

* Vide article by W. D. Hunter, Yearbook, 1901, p. 369

* Yearbook, 1917, p. 329.

country, and has caused concern in foreign countries, some of which have passed laws prohibiting the importation of American cottonseed.

The spread of the cotton boll weevil has baffled the entomologists. Some progress has been made in discovering ways of reducing the severity of its ravages. Early planting, and other cultural methods have proved of value in combatting its ruinous effects. In 1917 experiments applying arsenicals in a certain way were begun and since then these have been used extensively. The time to apply the poison is late in the evening, at night, or early morning so as to avoid as much breeze as possible and secure the best results.1 Cotton is so intimately connected with our economic welfare that it is to be hoped some method of control as efficacious as that of the potato beetle may be evolved.

Preventing Spread of Moths.-At various points throughout New England with headquarters at Melrose Highlands, Massachusetts, the Bureau studies the gipsy moth and browntail moth with a view to exterminating them. Congress made a special appropriation to prosecute the investigation in 1906 and has since then continued it. The states infested have also liberally appropriated funds to help in the extermination of the moths. The Bureau has cleared highways of all brush, etc., to prevent caterpillars from being carried by vehicles; trees have been banded and sprayed at the proper time, and extensive importations of parasites preying upon these moths have been made. So far as shade trees and city parks are concerned the former methods, it is believed, will bring the desired results, while in the forests the hope for success must depend almost wholly upon the efficiency of the parasites imported from Europe and Japan.

The only regulatory function performed by this Bureau is done in connection with the prevention of the spread of the gipsy and brown-tail moths. All nursery, forest, and quarry products from infested areas in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, are

1 Vide Weekly News Letter, August 13, 1919.

inspected before they are allowed to be shipped to points outside the infested areas. The work is carried on in cooperation with State entomologists.

Other Important Activities.-It is not the purpose here to discuss all the activities of the Bureau. The aim is merely to show the relation of the Bureau to the farmer and other classes and to point out the principal beneficial results. A feature of the work carried on by the Bureau has to do with insects affecting the health of man. Thus studies with respect to carriers of malaria have thrown much light upon how the disease is contracted and has made possible the taking of steps to check its ravages upon farm labor and upon people generally. Not only has the mosquito's relation to malaria. and yellow fever been ascertained, but the relation of the house fly to typhoid fever and other human problems are being studied. An important study is concerned with the human louse. The Bureau cooperates with charitable institutions and tests various methods of control. This work is a phase of the larger problem of sanitation so important among the ignorant classes in congested districts of our cities. The control of the human louse became a matter of great importance among the armies of the European War. "Delousing" stations were necessary to maintain the fighting efficiency of the soldier. The "cootie" among the soldiers of all armies became so prevalent that "having them" ceased to be a disgrace. It is thus seen that entomology had a practical place in the conduct of the Great War, and that "military entomology" was a course of considerable content value to those entering the service.

All economie entomological activities, with the exception of bee culture investigations, have to do directly or indirectly with the destruction of injurious insects. Besides making studies of improving results of the domestic species, foreign bees are imported. Demonstrations in beekeeping are made in cooperation with county agricultural agents of the States.

As already stated the work of the Bureau is primarily economic, yet it also names, classifies and establishes syste

matic relationships of all insects that are being studied in the laboratories or sent in by experiment stations and scientific workers.

With this brief review of the work of the Bureau of Entomology its practical and scientific importance is obvious. The maintenance of the Bureau as a public agency is well worth while.

BUREAU OF BIOLOGICAL SURVEY

Establishment of the Bureau of Biological Survey.-In their economic aspects ornithology and entomology are closely related. To the extent that birds eat injurious insects they are beneficial to the farmer, and it is therefore not surprising to find that the first work undertaken by the Government in the field of ornithology was performed by the Division of Entomology under which a section of ornithology was established on July 1, 1885. Congress appropriated $5,000 for the purpose of studying the relations of birds to agriculture. This work had already been begun a few years before by the American Ornithologists' Union; but inasmuch as the necessarily elaborate investigations required large funds which are usually not available to the private investigator, the Union addressed a memorial to Congress and asked for government aid to continue the work.

A year later, on July 1, 1886, Congress enlarged the scope. of the work so as to include mammalogy, and placed it under an independent body designated Division of Ornithology and Mammalogy. The purpose of this appropriation was "for the promotion of economic ornithology and mammalogy, an investigation of food habits, distribution, and migrations of North American birds and mammals in relation to agriculture, horticulture, and forestry."1

A still greater scope of the work of the Division was provided for by Congress in 1896 when the name of the Division was changed to that of Biological Survey. Its duties included the study of the geographic distribution of animals and plants, the mapping of the natural life zones of the country, the

1 Yearbook, 1899, p. 264.