At the time the JOURNAL was established it was desired to publish the report of the annual meeting and the papers and discussions early in the year in order that they might be available for use. With the increase in the length of our programs it will soon be impossible to publish the papers at all promptly unless the early issues of the JOURNAL are very large. It would appear, however, that this must be done, or that some time in the future when our finances will warrant, it might be well to consider the publication of an annual report separate from the JOURNAL.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

The following statement shows a good balance in favor of the Association. Practically all the bills are paid, except the cost of printing the last issue of the JOURNAL and the balance is sufficient to cover that charge.

The bills for dues and subscriptions covering the year 1913 were sent to members in October and many of these have been paid. This explains the reason for the balance being larger than in previous years.

On motion the report was received and the financial part referred to the auditing committee.

PRESIDENT W. D. HUNTER: I will now read the report of the Executive Committee.

REPORT OF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The Executive Committee has held no meetings, but several matters have been considered by correspondence.

A formal invitation to send a representative of the Association to the centenary anniversary of the founding of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia was received. Dr. L. O. Howard was selected for this mission.

A delegate to the International Entomological Congress at Oxford in August, 1912, was appointed. A formal memorandum containing the invitation of the Association to the Congress to hold its next annual meeting in the United States was prepared and placed in the hands of Prof. Herbert Osborn, who represented the Association at the meeting.

In September the Secretary received an invitation from the President of the National Conservation Congress to send a delegate to the annual meeting of the organization at Indianapolis in October.

In October the Secretary received a communication from the Secretary of the Farmers National Congress with the suggestion that delegates be appointed to attend the meeting at New Orleans on November 7 and proposing some form of affiliaton.

In both of these cases, on account of the shortness of time, the subject was not referred to the Committee on Affiliation with Agricultural Organizations. The committee decided that it would be unwise to enter into any sort of coöperation. The committee considers that the Association has certain definite aims that are only indirectly connected with the functions of the Country Life Federation and the Farmers National Congress. To extend the activities of the Association in the direction of such cooperation would be a revolutionary change in policy. It would tend to detract from the entity of the Association and to congest still further the business to be conducted at the annual meetings. The committee recommends that the matter be referred to the Committee on Affiliation with Agricultural Organizations for further consideration.

The executive committee was charged with devising means of incorporation. It is to be regretted that the committee has been unable to make any satisfactory progress. One possibility which was investigated was incorporation in the District of Columbia. It was found upon consultation with an attorney and with the District authorites that the present laws would render such incorporation impossible. These laws require that at least a majority of the members of an organization incorporated in the District shall be residents thereof.

As an alternative, incorporation by act of Congress has been considered. The American Society of Florists was incorporated by this means some years ago. We find by correspondence with the men who were connected with this matter that many obstacles were encountered, and it was practically eleven years from the time the idea was first projected until the charter was obtained. During all this time the plans of the Society were agitated by Mr. William R. Smith, superintendent of the Botanic Gardens in Washington. In spite of Mr. Smith's activity and the advantages of his location in Washington, the matter moved very slowly; in some cases it was refused consideration, and in one instance was defeated in one house of Congress after it had passed the other. It was opposed on all sorts of grounds by representatives

and senators from different quarters of the country. Finally it passed both houses of Congress, but was vetoed by President Cleveland. Later Mr. Smith ascertained that President McKinley would sign the bill if it should come to him. After a repetition of the vicissitudes that the previous bill had experienced, it was finally passed and signed by the President. Mr. M. J. Stewart, who was secretary of the Society at the time of incorporation, has written, "It is our conviction that no other human being but Mr. Smith could have accomplished what he did, and, without any reason to discourage you, would say that I think you would find it very difficult to get incorporation by act of Congress."

The Executive Committee recommends that a special committee be appointed to consider further the matter of incorporation.

Under instructions from the Associations the committee referred to the A. A. A. S. a list of the active members with the suggestion that they be made fellows of that association.

W. D. HUNTER,

T. J. HEADLEE,

R. A. COOLEY,

A. F. BURGESS,

Executive Committee.

By vote of the Association the report was accepted and the recommendations adopted.

PRESIDENT W. D. HUNTER: We will now listen to the report of the Committee on Nomenclature by Prof. Herbert Osborn.

MR. HERBERT OSBORN: No list of insect names has been submitted to the committee during the year and, therefore, we have no list to report to the Association. The committee feels that an improvement in the use of common names has resulted from its work. Several books and other publications that have appeared recently have used the names suggested in the lists. We have no further report to make at this time.

By vote of the Association the report was adopted.

PRESIDENT W. D. HUNTER: We will now call for the report of the committee on affiliation with other agricultural organizations. Mr. F. M. Webster is chairman of this committee but as he does not seem to be present, I will call on Professor Forbes for the report.

MR. S. A. FORBES: The members of this committee which included Professor Webster, Professor O'Kane, and myself have never had a meeting. I have just received a letter from Professor Webster in which he says that he will approve any report which Professor O'Kane and myself may make. This being the case I beg leave to report that inasmuch as the present arrangement, whereby this Association holds its meetings at the same time and place with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and its related societies, is working very satisfactory and that it does not seem advisable to make a change. The committee is of the opinion that the present arrangement in regard to holding annual meetings should be continued.

By vote of the Association the report was accepted and the recommendations adopted.

Owing to the absence of Mr. Sanderson and Mr. Symons the reports of the committees, of which they were chairmen, were postponed until the next session.

A report was read by Mr. Wilmon Newell in behalf of the Association of Apiary Inspectors, as follows:

APIARY INSPECTORS COMMUNICATION

To the Association of Economic Entomologists: The Association of Official Apiary Inspectors of the United States and Canada, through the undersigned committee, request permission to affiliate with your Association as a "section" thereof, the chairman of such "section" to be a vice-president of your Association, and the proceedings of the "section" be published as are other proceedings of the Association of Economic Entomology.

WILMON NEWELL,

S. J. HUNTER,
T. J. HEADLEE.

Committee.

In view of the absence of Mr. Symons, chairman of the Committee on Affiliation, action on this request was postponed until the next session.

PROF. W. D. HUNTER: We will next listen to the report of the committee on entomological investigations, by T. J. Headlee.

REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON ENTOMOLOGICAL

INVESTIGATIONS

Fellow members of the Association:

Your Committee on Entomological Investigations for the year 1912 herewith presents its report.

At the outset this committee desires to thank the entomologists who have cooperated with it for the courtesy and encouragement with which they have aided its work.

In accordance with the usual custom an information slip was transmitted to the active membership of this society and to all other working entomologists in the United States and Canada, except to those who are connected with authorities that in the past have not seen fit to furnish information. Incidentally some workers now in our active. membership list, but employed in other countries, have been reached. The committee felt that the fact that their work and interest have been such as to place them in the active membership is in itself sufficient to render the inclusion of their investigations highly desirable.

At the suggestion of Prof. R. H. Pettit of Michigan and Director C. P. Gillette of Colorado, the committee included in the slip an inquiry looking toward the formation of a taxonomic directory, which it is hoped may aid those of us who need aid in identification and those who are engaged in taxonomic studies.

The response to this inquiry has been very representative, very few of the states in which entomological work is being done failing to reply. The replies clearly indicate, however, that a considerable number, perhaps a little over half, prefer to give merely a statement of names of projects under consideration. No correspondent raised any objection to the taxonomic directory and some warmly commended it.

In accordance with the custom, a preliminary report, including a list of projects and the taxonomic directory, was prepared and has been published in the December issue of the JOURNAL. A few of the replies came after the copy of the preliminary report was sent to the printer, and the data contained in them will be found at the close of this report.

Comparatively few statements were made relative to point No. 4 of the inquiry which was "if you can find time please prepare a brief statement of what you believe to be the characteristic marks of worthy entomological investigation," and such as came indicated such a diversity of opinion that no attempt will be made to review them. In fact, your committee feels that this phase of the inquiry has not received much encouragement.

At the time the Committee on Entomological Investigations was created, it was understood that it should not only further coöperation by making known to all the different lines of study each was pursuing, but that it should stand for ideals of economic entomological investigation. The first part of its duty this present committee has discharged in its preliminary report and in the supplement with which this is closed. The second phase it now proposes to treat.

"Scientific investigation" may be defined as the collection of data relative to a certain definite matter for the purpose of advancing human knowledge of that matter beyond previous limits, and usually involves the formulation and statement of results. Of course, in entomological investigation the data collected relate primarily to insect life, and in economic entomological investigation the data refer to some phase of insect life in relation to human welfare.

No single investigator can exhaust any one department of entomological study and his investigation must necessarily, if it is to serve human kind to best advantage, form one of the building units in the edifice of knowledge. His investigation must, therefore, be so planned, conducted and especially so reported that his co-laborers in