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Show U. OF V. NEWS BUREAU Professor Harold R. Hagan. of the University of Utah, is undertaking this summer the beginnings of an ecological study of the state. Ecology Ecol-ogy Is one of the subjects in zoology and botasy that is very" new, beiny only a few years old. It Is concerned with finding out the- relationship between be-tween animals, including insects, and their environment of ulant-life, water, wa-ter, soil, and climate conditions. Attention At-tention this summer is being concentrated concen-trated upon a small box canyon near Freedom, San Pete county, which has very limited vegetation and a comparatively small amount of animal ani-mal life. This season has been spent largely in collecting, to find out exactly ex-actly what plants and animals live there. The collections were made also with a view of starting a representative representa-tive collection of animals and plants of Utah for the state university. Several Sev-eral hundred specimens have been added to this collection. The factors influencing the development devel-opment and life of insects are so little lit-tle known that such studies are apt to be of great help in learning what conditions produce an abundance of insects of an injurious or 'beneficial sort. Mosquito elimination has been thoroughly discussed, yet the problem prob-lem of controlling these pests is one of changing the environment, so that the mosquitoes cannot breed and live in the place. According to Prof. Ma-gan, Ma-gan, the study of ecology is the most important phase in the elimination of harmful animals from a locality. As the farmer has learned what conditions of soil and moisture are most favorable to producing farm crops, so we must eventually learn what conditions control the distribution distribu-tion of the living things which so largely influence the welfare and comfort of the state. |