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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 885
20 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
Of these duties the second is by far the most important, it can only be done on the spot, and it alone points the way along which remedial measures—if such be required-must be followed.
The Entomological Collection at Lagos (? and elsewhere) should be developed. As each insect is determined, a named specimen should be sent to this collection and, should the number of specimens allow, to each of the Schools of Tropical Medicine in Great Britain.
The Government of each Colony should supply, within reasonable limits, its officials with the necessary apparatus for making the entomological collections.
(b) The collectors in the Colonics cannot be expected to accurately determine the specific names of the specimens they collect, They have neither the necessary books of reference at their disposal nor the types or co-types of the great museums at hand.
It is in this respect that the co-operation of workers in England is urgently needed, and since the number of species of insects is so prodigious it will be necessary to have recourse to several specialists, each of whom might be asked to deal with one order, or better, with one family, or, it may be, with a single genus, Even if the collectors ignore because, according to our present knowledge, they exert but little influence on human affairs—such orders as the Lepidoptera, the Neuroptera, the Hymenoptera, &c., we are still left with such a mass of unworked material that it would be beyond the powers of any group of workers in England to sort out and determine accurately all the species within a reasonable time. Hence, in my opinion, it would be wise at first to confine attention to such insects that bite or "sting" man or his domesticated animals with their mouth-parts, or, otherwise, are parasites of man and domesticated animals, also to such as may be responsible in other ways for the dissemination of disease, and to those which are at present. and patently, destroying crops and timber, and to the ticks.
As a very tentative proposal, I would suggest that the following be asked to undertake the naming of insects which come in the order or family or genus appended to their names :—
The Honourable N. C. Rothschild, Tring; SIPHONAPTERA—fleas.
Mr. F. P. Jepson, Quick Laboratory, Cambridge; Cimicida--bed-bugs. Mr. R. Newstead, Liverpool University; Stomoxys and Hæmatobra. Professor Carpenter, Royal College of Science, Dublin; Oestride-bot-flies. Mr. F. V. Theobald, South-Eastern Agricultural College, Wye; Culicida—
gnats and mosquitoes.
Dr. Gordon Hewitt, The University, Manchester; other Muscidæ—true-flies,
and the Simulidæ-sand-flies.
Mr. E. G. Lamb, The Museums, Cambridge; Tabanidæ—breczo-flies, cleggs. Professor Nuttall, The Museums, Cambridge; IXONOIDEA—ticks.
Mr. C. Warburton, The Museums, Cambidge; ACARINA-mites, and Araneina
-spiders and lice.
I think each of these gentlemen should have a small retaining fee (say, £25), paid annually, and a small fec (say 2s.) for each animal determined, or for this latter might be substituted a further annual sun calculated, roughly, upon the amount of work done during the year.
A more
There would further he necessary a publication in which the results of the work done could be rendered accessible to those at work and to the public. This need not necessarily be of an expensive type. If paper, suitable for the reproduction of process blocks be used, it would, with rare exceptions, suffice to illustrate the insects and ticks in all stages of their life-history, and if this were secured, a journal on the lines of the "Kew Bulletin" would meet all reasonable demands. important point, however, is that of an editor. It would require to be edited in England, and the editor should be paid (say, £50 a year). (? For the first few years no one would be better than Mr. D. Sharp.) Further, some entomologist will be required to receive the collections, to sort them and to send them to the several specialists; this duty might, possibly, be combined with that of the editor, mentioned above, but whether this be so or not, the holder of it should have some remuneration (say, £30 to £50 a year).
The whole cost of establishing some such bureau would, I think, be covered by an appropriation of £1,000 a year, at any rate, for the first three years.
Finally, I should like to add that, in my opinion, a similar scheme for investi- gating the vermian and protozoan parasites of man and domesticated animals in the same Colonies is urgently to be desired.
A. E. SHIPLEY.
18th January, 1909.
3541
No. 3.
MR. F. B. SMITII to MR. READ (COLONIAL OFFICE
DEAR MR. READ,
(Received February
+
1909.)
Savile Club, 107, Piccadilly, London, W. WITH reference to our conversation of this morning upon entomological work in the Crown Colonies of Africa, and to Dr. Shipley's Memorandum upon the subject which you kindly showed to me, I am very glad indeed to think you are going to place economic entomology in the African Crown Colonies upon à sound basis.
It is difficult to over-estimate the importance of entomology in countries with warm climates, inasmuch as the great majority of diseases affecting man and beast in such countries are conveyed from man to man, or from beast to beast, by insects.
In some cases diseases like sleeping sickness in human beings or horse-sickness in horses, or east coast fever in cattle, or surra in both, completely devastate a country. In other cases diseases exist which, whilst not so fatal to persons or live- stock reared in the country, are yet very trying to newcomers, and render the intro- duction of persons to govern and develop the country, and of animals to improve the live stock therein, risky and expensive.
There are many other ways in which insects affect a country, sometimes adversely and sometimes beneficially, but they need not be discussed now, though I trust that in the course of time the study of all insects of economic importance will be included within the scope of your operations.
A weighty argument in favour of the systematic study of injurious insects is the effect they may have upon military operations. For instance, if at the commence- ment of the late Boer War as much had been known about biliary fever and horse- sickness in horses and mules as is known now, and we had been able to inoculate these animals against such diseases, the losses of horses and mules would have been enormously reduced, and the movements of the troops rendered much easier.
A knowledge of the insects capable of causing or carrying disease to man or beast to be met with in any part of the world, and particularly of course in Africa, where they are so prevalent, may be considered essential to a well-equipped army.
Dr. Shipley's suggestions are very sound and reasonable, and I trust you will soon be able to give effect to them.
The study of the life histories of insects on the spot is very important, and must in no case be omitted.
I also like his proposals for keeping the men in the field in touch with the authori- ties at home.
It has always been a weak spot in our Colonial Administration, that, whilst we have sent good Governors, judges, and clerical staffs to the Colonies, until recently we have done very little to assist them in developing their agriculture, or in rendering the countries more habitable, and the Colonies have either had to work out their own salvation as best they could, or to look to other countries for guidance and for men. For instance, in the Transvaal we have had to rely very largely upon Continental and American models as regards the organization of our Department of Agriculture, and we have also had to draw very largely upon the Departments of those countries for men to staff our Department with.
This is not as it should be, and I am very pleased to think you are taking steps to remove the reproach.
In the Transvaal we have devoted a good deal of attention to the study of the relation of insects to diseases of animals, and of the immunisation of animals against diseases of the blood-stream, and if we can co-operate with you in any way we shall be only too pleased to do so.
At Pretoria we have recently erected an up-to-date and well-equipped bacterio- logical laboratory and experiment station at a cost of £55,000, at which we shall be pleased to welcome post-graduate students or qualified persons wishing to conduct research.
Apologising for these crude remarks,
22756
I remain, &c.,
F. B. SMITH.
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