H SATURDAY. NOVEMBER 14. l90' THE DISBRST 7AKMIK i 13 H
I ENTOMOLOGY
H Edited by Prof. E. G. Titus, State
H Agricultural College.
WHAT WE LOSE.
H The losses occasioned by insects cx-
H cccd the entire expenditure of the
H National Government, and in this to-
tal is included the pension roll and the
H cost-of the army and navy. The an
B mint loss to agricultural products will
B vary from ten per cent as a minimum,
K to fifty, seventy-five, or even a grcat
B or percentage, in years of occassional
serious operation. This may not ap-
pear to us high in value until we rcal
I i'c that our farm products at the prcs-
cut time in the United States, have an
I nnnunl vnluc of about $7,000,000,000.
I Then notice what 10 per cent only
1 will mean, $700,000,000 a year caused
by such insignificant members of the
k animal kingdom; insignificant indivi
dually, but collectively, gigantic in
their ability to cause injury. The toss
.of one apple by one codling moth will
appear slight when compared with the
products of the tree on which the
1 apple grew, but the loss of fifty to
' sixty apples out of every hundred
borne by that tree, would cause con-
stcrnation to the owner. A grc
I many insects, while successful from
1 their own view point, most seriously
I interfere with the products developed
I by man.
I No small amount of the damage af-
I Dieted by insects is compensated for
I by the more valuable or beneficial in-
I sects. For instance, the honey bee
I furnishes every year many thousands
I of dollars worth of products that aid
I in off-setting the losses by depreda-
tion of other insects. On the other
I hand, the Phylloxera when introduced
in France from this country became
a source of national calamity for
nearly forty years, and nearly thrcat
H ened with complete extermination the
H great wine industry of France.
H Several years.'ago a number of ex-
rerts lookcd-into this situation quite
K thoroughly, and most of the figures
m given below arc those given by these
B men as the absolute minimum amount
H of loss caused by the various insects.
Q For instance, the grass and grain feed
H ins insects, such as the chinch bug,
B the Hessian fly, the jointworm and
M the armyworm, were estimated at that
time to cause a loss of over $200,000,
000 annually. Add to this the out
break of the so-called "green bug"
which is one of the aphids, and whose
injury in the last few years would
reach easily $100,000,000, and you have
to this one group of crops, a greater
total than the actual cost of the run
ning and other expenses for all the
schools and colleges of the United
States, and this estimate to the grass
and' grain crops docs not include the
corn crop, which alone has some fifty
seriously injurious and one hundred
and fifty minor species of insects at
tacking it. The direct loss by the
codling moth easily figures $8,000,000
a year, and this is estimating only a
loss of 5c for each bearing tree, mani
festly much to osmall. The loss to
the fruit crops by the woolly-aphis
and the green-aphis, will each year
amount to four or five, per cent of the
total for which these crops would
sell.
In the South the cotton-boll weevil
for several years was robbing the cot
ton planter of from thirty to fifty
millions a year, the boll worm in some
districts of at least twelve millions.
The cotton-worm which formerly
caused an average annual loss of
twelve to fifteen millions, has now
been so successfully handled that its
ravages are reduced to a minimum by
proper field work and spraying. The
same is beginning to be true of the
cotton-boll weevil, since in the dis
tricts most seriously ravaged in 1904
the Department of Agriculture has
been able to successfully grow al
most banner crops in the last two
years. This has been accomplished
by the Bureau of Entomology
through certain cultural methods
which they have worked out.
When it comes to forest products,
it is hard to estimate, but several
years ago the timber of the Bkck
Hills district was being injured at the
rate of $100,000,000 a year in this one
district. Since that time simple and
effective means devised by Entomolo
gists have been able to practically
control the loss.
Stored products in the United
States, milling products, and items
that would come under practically
either of these are damaged at the
rate of at least $100,000,000 a year,
and more than half of this loss could
be prevented by the direct application
of remedies now well known.
When it comes to live stock, it is
again hard to ascertain the actual
damage, but on the Chicago market
several years ago, an estimate was
made that the loss to hides alone
from the work of the ox warble,
would amount to $3,000,000 a year.
The loss to the actual growth and life
of cattle, horses and other live stock
by the irritation and other injurious
action of horse-flies, bot-flies and in
sects of this character will easily
amount to $175,000,000.
When we come to discuss the loss
caused by insects which carry dis
eases such as malaria, yellow fever,
and typhoid' fever to man, and Texas
fever to cattle, wc arc in a position
where it is absolutely impossible to
make any estimate. One has no right
to estimate the loss to a community,
of a leading citizen whose life was
taken by typhoid fever through the
failure of the city government to
properly care for the water supply.
Neither can wc estimate the actual
loss to the city of New Orleans by the
outbreak of yellow fever which oc
curred there a few years ago.
Another source of loss caused by
insects in addition to the actual loss
to the product, is that caused by the
inter-action upon labor and manufac
turing. Supposing a serious loss to
the cotton crop in that year, or prob
ably the next, the effect will be felt in
the cotton milling centers throughout
not only this country, but the whole
world, and instances are known where
the actual failure of large concerns
has occurred. This has not only
caused a financial loss to those hav
ing capital invested, but even greater
loss to those who labor for the con
cern and are thrown out of work for
long periocTs.
Dr. Forbes has said', "It is the es
pecial object of the economic Ento
mologist to investigate the conditions
under which this enormous loss to
food and labor occurs and to deter
mine; first, whether any of them are
in any degree preventable; second, if
so, how they are to be prevented with
the least possible cost of labor and
money; and third, to estimate as ex
actly as possible the expense of such
prevention or to furnish the date for
such a remedy, in order that each may
determine for himself what is for his
interest in every cac arisinc."
The life history of insects lies at the H
foundation of this whole work. By H
thoroughly knowing the history of H
the insect, wc may in some measure H
get at the exact inter-relation which H
occurs between the insect, its food H
plants, and general farming opera- H
tions involved. Each species must be H
followed accurately, not only through H
seasons when it is excessively abund-' H
ant, but through those years in which H
it is relatively scarce. No part of the H
work requires more care than this. H
The insect's own life periods, the H
climatic conditions, the insect's insect H
enemies, the diseases which may af- H
feet it, its .bird and other animal H
enemies, the soil conditions, the natur-
al food plants and their relation to M
other food plants, the relation of M
other insects feeding on the same M
food plants, arc but a few of the M
points which must be investigated. M
Some people will have to get right jH
with their neighbors before they can fl
get right with God, while there arc H
many who will have to get right with H
God before they can act right with H
their neighbors. H
Some of you good church members H
who never darken the church door H
had better be hunting some good H
place to hold your funeral The H
theatre or the dance hall, for instance, I
as you are more acquainted at those
places. H
nS J I
3HBHK39BBMICEBCraaEaHHHC' , H
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SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 1 I