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certain insect relationships which will be noted below, that Africa is indicated as the original home of the ping bollworm.

The support of this theory of African origin based on the fact that the only near relative of the pink bollworm, P. malvella Zeller, is known from Africa as well as Southern Europe should be given very little weight, inasmuch as a more accurate knowledge of the distribution of this related insect may show it to range, as it probably does, throughout southern Asia in addition to its now known range in Africa and southern Europe. In fact, it would be most astonishing that an insect having a range already as wide as that indicated, should not occur also in contiguous Asia, and, furthermore, entomological collections and explorations in Asia have not been made with any such thoroughness as to give this argument any substantial support.

On the other hand, Fletcher (1917), reviewing the pink bollworm situated in India, states that "Gelechia gossypiella occurs throughout the plains of India, Burma and Ceylon, as a pest of cotton, serious in most localities, especially in the United Provinces, Punjab, and the Northwest Frontier Provinces. In all districts exotic varieties seem to be most subject to attack." He further notes that “ Gelechia gossypiella was first described from India in 1842, and is probably endemic in India. It has since been introduced into other cottongrowing areas and has proven a serious pest, apparently worse than it is in India as a whole."

In this connection it is interesting to note that the record, as reported by Durrant,2 indicates a wide distribution of the insect throughout southern Asia, including India, Ceylon Berma, Straits Settlements, Philippines, Japan (?) and Hawaii-records, most of them, antedating from eight to seventy years, the first report of the insect in Egypt. Looking at the question, also, from the standpoint of cotton culture in Egypt, if it is true, as has been so strongly urged, that this

4 Fletcher, T. Bainbrigge, Rep. Proc. Sec. Ent. Meeting. Pusa., February, 1917, pp. 10, 111-14, 1917.

insect is of African origin, and reached India from Egypt, it must follow that during the last seventy-five or one hundred years, it has had ample opportunity to demonstrate in Egypt, throughout the whole period, its maximum destructiveness. The record of the cotton crop in Egypt up to and subsequent to the first recognition of the pink bollworm in 1911 certainly gives no support to the theory of Egyptian origin; on the other hand, the evidence of its recent entry into Egypt as given by Ballou and others is circumstantial and practically determined, both as to time and place of introduction. Briefly, there were large importations of imperfectly ginned or of seed cotton from India in the years 1906 and 1907. Much of this cotton was distributed to towns near Alexandria for ginning. The discovery of the pink bollworm in the Delta region in Egypt was in the lower Delta, in the vicinity of towns where this seed cotton went for ginning. It was first noted in 1911 at Foueh, and in the following year at four other points, three of which were very close to Foueh. The first substantial general field injury observed from this insect was in 1912 near Alexandria. By the end of that year, 1912, however, the insect was found pretty well throughout the Delta and also north of Cairo to a distance of a hundred miles or more, but in no case except the one field referred to was it abundant enough to do any material injury. The increase of the damage in Egypt by this insect from that period has been steady in spite of the enforcement of the most strenuous field and other control operations.

The possibility of the importation of this insect from India with a large quantity of cotton seed imported into Egypt in 1906-7 is perfectly patent in view of the known occurrence of this insect in India for three quarters of a century.

From the evidence, herein reviewed, it would seem to be well established that the native home of the insect included India and perhaps other countries of southern Asia. If its natural range extended to Africa it must

5 Ballou, H. A., Jour. Econ. Ent., Vol. XI., pp. 236-45, 1918.

have been limited to equatorial Africa and certainly it had not reached prior to 1906 or 1907 the cultivated district of the Nile Valley where cotton has been a commercial crop of importance for at least a hundred years. This point of view is now held by the experts who have studied this insect in Africa and India such as Willcocks, Fletcher and Ballou.

C. L. MARLATT

HARRY KIRKE WOLFE PROFESSOR HARRY KIRKE WOLFE, head of the department of philosophy in the University of Nebraska, died suddenly on July 30 last at Wheatland, Wyoming, whither he had gone for a brief outing. Dr. Wolfe was born in Illinois, in 1858, but he was a Nebraskan by rearing and he received his collegiate education in the state university. In 1883 he went to Berlin to carry further the study of the classics, which was then his interest, but while in Germany he was won to psychology, and changing to Leipzig became one of the group of young Americans who had been attracted by the fame of Wilhelm Wundt, and who were to revolutionize the teaching of the science upon their return to America. Dr. Wolfe was in the vanguard of this movement. He received his doctorate in 1886, and in 1889 he was made professor of philosophy in his alma mater, where previously this field had been the prerogative of the college head. Immediately he began to build up the physiological and psychophysical foundations of his subject, creating the first laboratories in psychology open to undergraduates in the country-a feature of the instruction which to the end was distinctive of his work. From 1889 to 1897 Dr. Wolfe's work was attended with a truly phenomenal success, not only in the immediate strength of his department but also in its influence, for he started not a few young men toward the adanced cultivation of his science among them Professors Pillsbury of Michigan and Bentley of Illinois-as well as of the broader field of philosophy. It was in this period, too, that he published a number of monographic articles in psychophysics (out of a great series planned), and he was connected with the appearance of

the American Journal of Psychology. Unhappily the career thus splendidly begun was interrupted by one of those accesses of bigotry which sometimes seize college authorities; and under absurd political and religious charges he was asked to resign in 1897. In the period from 1897 until 1905 Dr. Wolfe was engaged in public school work, with the result that his interest in secondary education became the predominant one for the remainder of his life. In 1905 he was called to the University of Montana, and two years later back to the University of Nebraska, where again he became head of the department which years before he had founded. This position he held until his death. In this latter period, while his old interest in experimental psychology was as keen as ever, it had constantly the bias of the secondary school needs in mind, and his laboratories became the training grounds for scores of young men and women who were to enter the public school field. Certainly there are few, if any, teachers in the middle west who have so profoundly and beneficially influenced the later development of its secondary education.

Such in brief is the outward career of a man whom all who knew him knew to be possessed of a genius for teaching. There are few qualities which the teacher should possess which he did not own in exalted measure: keenness and kindness, unfailing humor and patience and generosity of soul, and the power to inspire, all these were his; and he was loved by those under his influence as few men are loved. It is an irony-perhaps attaching to his quiet yet steadfast personality, for he was above all a man of principle-that such a man should twice in his career have come under the charges of malicious ignorance. The first occasion was in 1897. Ten years later, when he was returned to his old position his vindication came (as it was bound to come), though meantime the character of his life work had been once for all altered. The second occasion was in June of 1918, when through idle gossip his name was dragged before the inquest into loyalty forced upon the university by the State Council of Defense. He was, of

course, immediately vindicated; but the cruel fact of the charge was a hurt which-humorously as he passed it off-made the more precarious the heart trouble from which he suffered, and led quickly to the end. Dr. Wolfe was one of the few men to whom, in action and motive and principle, the word "noble" can be clearly applied. He was a lover of truth and righteousness, of his country and of humanity, and of the best in all things worthy of the name of philosopher.

HARTLEY B. ALEXANDER

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA, September, 1918

SCIENTIFIC EVENTS

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE DYESTUFFS INDUSTRY

THE success of the American chemists and chemical manufacturers in developing the dyestuffs industry, when the supplies of dyes from Germany were cut off, is shown in a report issued by the United States Tariff Commission, entitled "Census of Dyes and Coal-tar Chemicals, 1917."

At the outbreak of the European war, Germany dominated the world's trade in dyes and drugs derived from coal tar. Before the war, seven American firms manufactured dyes from imported German materials. In 1917, 190 American concerns were engaged in the manufacture of dyes, drugs and other chemicals derived from coal tar, and of this number 81 firms produced coal-tar dyes from American materials which were approximately equivalent in total weight to the annual imports before the war. The total output of the 190 firms, exclusive of those engaged in the manufacture of explosives and synthetic resins, was over 54,000,000 pounds with a value of about $69,000,000.

Large amounts of the staple dyes for which there is a great demand are now being manufactured in the United States. A few of the important dyes, such as the vat dyes derived from alizarin, anthracene and carbazol, are still not made. The needs of the wool industry are being more satisfactorily met than the needs of the cotton industry.

manufacturers of each dye or other product and the quantity and value of each product, except in cases where the number of producers is so small that the operations of individual firms would be disclosed. Seventeen hundred and thirty-three chemists or engineers were engaged in research and chemical control of this new industry, or 8.8 per cent. of the total of 19,643 employees. The report also contains an interesting account of the history and development of the industry since the outbreak of the European war.

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On August 27, Dr. H. O. Forster, a member and director of the Technical Committee of British Dyes, Limited, lectured on August 27 on The decay and renaissance of British dye making at the British Scientific Products Exhibition, King's College. He stated that in 1878 the color industry in Germany was four times as valuable as that of England. Of £3,150,000 worth of coal tar colors produced in the world Germany produced £2,000,000, four fifths of which was exported, while Switzerland produced £350,000, and England only £450,000 worth.

That was forty years ago; confronted by these figures, people would hesitate to believe those who said that in two or three years England should be able to do all that Germany could in regard to the dye industry. It would take ten or fifteen years of unremitting labor and extraordinary patience and liberal expenditure on chemistry before we could hope to achieve the position which Germany had reached before the war in this industry. He said in conclusion:

They have three times as many chemists as we have, and their population is half as large again. We shall have to make a great effort if we are going to reach them. The industry is not an El Dorado in which one has to dig once in order to make countless thousands. It can only be achieved if money is spent on experiment. That was how Germany got on, and unless we tread the thorny path the Germans have followed, there is: not the slightest hope of our catching them up in this industry. They will keep it for all time.

On the conditions of success in England Sir

The report gives in detail the names of the Henry Armstrong writes to the London Times:

The action taken by a large majority of the shareholders of British Dyes (Limited) at Huddersfield practically involves determining the existence of the government company as a separate business and placing the technical management in the hands of Dr. Levinstein.

Not a moment should be lost in the necessary reconstruction. Mr. Norton stated at the meeting that it was proposed "there should be three directors appointed by the shareholders of each company and three by the government, so that it would always be possible for the state to stop any abuse." The number is too large, and to give the government control of a scientific enterprise is simply to ask for disaster-the four years of failure of the company under such control should at least have taught us this much.

In the next place, it must be recognized that science must be of and at the works. All laboratory operations should at once be transferred to the factory. One of the main functions of the research department in German works-that to which more than to any other they owe their peculiar efficiency-has been that of a training school for the works. One of the chief reasons of the government company's lack of success has been the absence of sympathy between the works and those who were carrying on scientific inquiry for the company outside the works, as well as the failure to develop an efficient works staff. There has been much loose talk during the past four years with regard to cooperation between the university and industry; the real function of the university must be to serve as the training ground for industrial workers, and the sooner the professoriate learn to apply themselves wholly and solely to this form of industry the greater will be our progress as a country.

Thus far, in their attempt to nurse the dye-stuff industry into existence, government has made use of entirely unskilled agents-and, as was to be expected, the failure has been complete. If any further effort is to be made by the state, let it be a rational one. Unless and until the Board of Trade and the so-called Controller of Dyestuffs be aided by a scientific advisory board, injury rather than advantage must result from further state interference.

HEALTH MISSION TO ITALY UNDER RED CROSS AUSPICES

THE War Council of the American Red Cross has announced the personnel of the medical unit to conduct a health campaign in

Italy with the stamping out of tuberculosis as its particular objective. The Italian tuberculosis unit of the American Red Cross, as the organization will be known, will be under the supervision of Colonel Robert Perkins, Red Cross commissioner for Italy.

Included in the personnel of the unit, which numbers 60 persons, are many of this country's best known tubercular specialists, as well as physicians who have been successful in the lines of work which they will be called upon to perform. The director of the unit is Dr. William Charles White, of Pittsburgh. Others are: Dr. John H. Lowman, professor of clinical medicine at Western Reserve University, Cleveland, chief of the medical division; Dr. Louis I. Dublin, of New York, statistician of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., chief of the division of medical statistics; Dr. Richard A. Bolt, of Cleveland, connected with the health department of that city, chief of childwelfare division; Dr. E. A. Paterson, of Cleveland, chief of division of medical inspection of public schools; Dr. Robert G. Paterson, of Columbus, Ohio, head of the tuberculosis branch of the state health department, chief of the division of education and organization; Miss Mary S. Gardner, head of the bureau of public-health nursing of the American Red Cross, chief of division of public-health nursing. The executive manager of the organization is Lewis D. Bement, of Framingham, Mass.

Dr. White, who was director of the Red Cross tuberculosis unit in France for ten months, made the following statement concerning the situation in Italy:

It must not be thought that the United States is sending this delegation because Italy is backward in this respect. As examples of Italian work one may cite the situation in the city of Genoa, which for many years, probably over twenty, has had a museum showing the various phases of tubercular diseases, as well as modern methods of combating them. Campaign and educational literature are there for distribution among the people. Attached to the museum are a dispensary and visiting nurses' school not surpassed in any of the American cities.

In Genoa also is an attractive open-air school.

In the middle of the enormous sea wall, of primitive structure, with the surf washing against the wall below it and protected from the winds of the north by the wall itself, in constant sunshine, provision is made for 200 or 300 Genoese children of the more unfortunate classes. They arrive in the morning, get their midday meal and morning luncheon, and are sent to their homes in the evening. Play is supervised by special teachers, bathing facilities arranged for; the children take singing lessons and a healthier, happier looking lot of children one could scarcely find.

chanical draftsman, War Department; special field agent in entomology, Department of Agriculture; tabulating mechanician, Census Bureau; elevator conductor, departmental service.

List No. 2. Examinations of the nonassembled type, for which applications must be filed by the dates specified: Horticulturist, Department of Agriculture, September 17; architectural designer, architectural draftsman, Panama Canal Service, September 17; photogWhen we visited them in February they sang the rapher, War Department, September 24; meItalian national anthem and "The Star Spangled chanical draftsman, Patent Office, September Banner" with vigor and enthusiasm. There are 24; assistant in dairy cattle breeding, assistant also children's hospitals in the mountains. In in fish investigations, assistant superintendent Rome the Giornale d'Italia raised money by popuof seed warehouse, Department of Agriculture, lar subscription and built a beautiful hospital on one of the hills for children with bone tuberculosis. September 24; sugar chemist and technologist, Bureau of Standards, September 24; assistant clinical psychiatrist and psychotherapist, St. Elizabeths Hospital, September 24; chemical laboratorian, chemist's aid, various branches, September 24.

The American Red Cross had the privilege of giving $25,000 to this hospital. These are just a few conspicuous instances of what the Italians have already done for the study and cure of tuberculosis.

But Italy's great spirit for progression was arrested with the declaration of war, which compelled the mobilization of all her resources for the one big task in hand. It naturally followed that the civilian population had to wait until the military needs were cared for.

Then, as in France, this emergency was created. Conditions were growing harder to grapple with each day. When Italy saw the help we were extending to France she invited the United States to come to her shores with such assistance as we could offer.

CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS

THE United States Civil Service Commission announces open competitive examinations as follows:

List No. 1. Examinations of the nonassembled type; that is, those in which competitors are not assembled for scholastic tests, but are rated upon the subjects of education, training and experience, and corroborative evidence. Applications for these examinations are received at any time: Inspector of mechanical or electrical equipment, inspector of structural steel, supervising or traveling accountant, construction cost accounting supervisor, automotive engineer, automotive designer, automotive draftsman, automotive tracer, me

List No. 3. Examinations in which competitors will be assembled for scholastic tests: Laboratory aid in agricultural technology, Department of Agriculture, October 2; business principal, Indian Service, October 2-3; inspector of safety appliances. inspector of hours of service, Interstate Commerce Commission, October 2-3.

Full information and application blanks may be obtained by addressing the United States Civil Service commission at Washington, D. C., or the civil-service district secretary at Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Paul, St. Louis, New Orleans, Seattle, or San Francisco.

SCIENTIFIC NOTES AND NEWS MAJOR GENERAL WILLIAM C. GORGAS, Surgeon-General, U. S. A., accompanied Secretary Baker on his recent visit to France.

COLONEL JOHN M. T. FINNEY, Baltimore, who returned to this country early in August on a special mission, has again sailed for France to assume his duties as chief consultant surgeon of the American Expeditionary Forces.

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