g evidence of the increased attention
paid to applied entomology; and while modern legislation of this kind
has been, on the whole, far more intelligent than similar efforts in
years gone by, many of the laws passed have nevertheless been unwise,
futile, and impracticable, and even unnecessarily oppressive to other
interests. The chief danger here is the intervention of politics or
political methods. Expert counsel should guide our legislators and the
steps taken should be thorough in order to be effective. We have had
of late years in Germany very good evidence of the excellent results
flowing from thorough methods, and the recent legislation in
Massachusetts against the gypsy moth (_Ocneria dispar_), which at one
time threatened to become farcical, has, fortunately, proved more than
usually successful; the commission appointed to deal with the subject
having worked with energy and followed competent advice.

PUBLICATION.

On the question of publication of the results of our labors it is
perhaps premature to dwell at length. Each of the experiment stations
is publishing its own bulletins and reports quite independently of the
others, but after a uniform plan recommended by the association with
which we meet here; and with but one exception that has come to my
notice, another important recommendation of the same association--that
these publications shall be void of all personal matter--has been kept
in mind. The National Bureau of Experiment Stations at Washington is
doing what it can with the means at command to further the general
work by issuing the Experiment Station Record, devoted chiefly to
digests of the State station bulletins. There is a serious question in
my mind as to the utility of State digests by the national department
of results already published extensively by the different States and
distributed under government frank to all similar institutions and to
whomsoever is interested enough to ask for them.

Such digests may or may not be intelligently made, and, even under the
most favorable circumstances, will hardly serve any other purpose than
helping to the reference to the original articles, and this could
undoubtedly be done more satisfactorily to the stations and to the
people at large by general and classified indices to all the State
documents, made as full as possible and issued at stated intervals.
Only a small proportion of the bulletins have been so far noticed by
digest in this record, w