Note 28 — Chapter IX · COMMENCEMENT AND PROGRESS OF ANNUAL REPORTS OF OBSERVATIONS OF INJURIOUS INSECTS

To such of my readers as possess some portion only of the early series, it may be of interest to point out that the observations, up to those for 1880 inclusive, were arranged, not as afterwards, as detached papers, placed alphabetically under the heading of the names of the crops to which they referred, but under the numbers given in the successive preceding guide lists issued for the use of observers—as for instance, “6, Anthomyia ceparum, Onion fly;” or “25, Abraxas grossulariata, Magpie moth” (fig. 9).

These were arranged numerically, from “1” onwards, all the observations on one kind of insect attack being arranged successively in a long unbroken paragraph under the selected number, together with the name of the pest. For want of better knowledge of the requisites for a readable as well as useful report, I condensed the information into as few words as possible, with few, if any, breaks in the long paragraphs, and so, until 1880, the results (excepting to technical readers) could not be considered “taking.” If any of my entomological readers will turn to a very useful work, the Forst Zoologie, of Dr. Bernard Altum, they will see in the second division of the “Insecten” at pp. 36, 37, and again at pp. 162, 163, the difficulties that are thrown in the way of comfortably grasping the subject, by the matter being printed continuously without breaks. This, however, as well as many other things, I had then still to learn. (E.A.O.)