The Washington herald., 1921-05-06
Buresu of stsndard. MretIne. Br
ARCHITECTS FLAMING
ANNUAL CONVENTION.

Local architects are busy prepsr-
ing to receive the delegates who
will come to Washington on Wed
nesday. Thursday and Friday OF
next week TO attend the hfty-fourth
annual convention OF the Ameri-
can Institute OF Architects.
Sessions OF the meeting will be
held in the New National Museum
and papers and committee reports
on various phases OF the architects
work both in relation to art and in
dustry will he presented.
Albert L. Harris. municipal archt-
tect. heads the exhibition commit
tee that is installing a collection OF
many drawings in the National Me-
scum. These represent the work or
architects from all parts Of the
country. other members of the eN-
hibition committee are: Edward W.
Dom. jr.. F. 3 Murphy. Frank Up
man and waddy 8. Wood
The convention committee Of To-
cal architects is composed Of L p.
Wheat, jr. chairman; John NJ Do1n.
l. NJ. Leisenring. Delos X. Smith
and Albert Speiden. Edward c.
Kemper is executive secretary OF
the Institute.
HARD TIMES LONG AGO MADE
CANNIBALS.
While most Of the chalcid-hies
are parasites on other insects and
are among the best OF mans friends.
some Of them have been found by
recent Investigations TO be plant
eaters, A b. Gahsn. OF the Bureau
OF Entomology. told the Entomology
Society last night at its meeting at
the National Museum.
Originally all these insects were
vegetarians but the struggle for eN-
istence in geologic ages long ago
caused most Of them to practice
cannibalism. he declared.
The vast majority Of the sPe-
cies live parasitically upon other
insects. their only food being the
plant t-feeding pests Of farm. forest
and garden" he said. One small
group is known to live in the seeds
! Of fcs but these are distinctly
beneficial since they are the capri
( fers OF fertilizers Of fSs without
whose help this fruit cannot he
grown to perfection. For many
wears scientists were loath to be-
Heve that any of- these tiny insects
were otherwise than beneficial
/ More recent investigators have
shown that quite a number 81 the
supposedly parasitic species are not
what they seem. approximately l@5
species are now shown to be true
plant-feeders. Some of these make
gals upon various trees, others de-
stroy the seeds Of grapes, roses
clovers and evergreen trees. while
a large number are joint-worms
living in the stems Of grains ana
grasses, often causing severe dam
age to such crops as wheat, barley
and rye.
One species has recently been
convicted of inurjinE young plants
Of bamboo on the plantations IN
Florida Another species is saia
to ruin half tho almond crop esch
year in the Mediterranean region
OF Europe"
He stated that the ancestors n
the chalcid-nies were undoubtedl,
plant feeders. that in ancient geo
logical periods the fEht for exist
ence had become SO strenuous tina
they had been forced into partial
cannibalism. and finding this
: rather easy mode Of existence hao
gradually come to depend more ano
more upon IL for a living until
eventually they had ceased 20 b'
plAnt-feeders at all and had be
come entirely parasitic.
The plant feeding habit as foun'
in the group today appears To b
comparatively recent development
and indicates that the Chalcid- flies
like mankind. are again finding tn
struggle for existence difiCult an
that they are overcoming the dim
E Guilty by returning to the simple
habits of their ancestors" Mr.. Ca
han said. That this is probshl,
true is shown by the fact that sew
etal species are known which be
. sin life as parasites upon other IN
sects. but ewing TO their rapaCiou
. appetites deVour the host befor'
they are full grown and are com
: PEELED TO finish their developmen
= by feeding upon plant tissue"