Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1877-03-31
What it Costs to Feed Insects.

~ oH"ut a tuoualnu species OF
insects IN this country, says the Scie,,-
tWc Aa1erieaR, which are injurious "a
our gran, forage, aud field crops, oui
garden vegetables, fruit crops, and for
est and fruit trees. Among them few
are specially destructive. In 1875. it is
sad, as many as ten Oh )u sand settlers
were driven out of Kansas by grasshop.
pers. In Missouri, according TO State
Entomologist Riley the damage done by
these insects in 1874 exceeded s15 600
OOO, and he estimates the losses in other
parts of the West as twice rs much
more, in all, st5, O0O,O 600 for one year
support OF these pests. During the
same year, the destruction of growing
crops by the chinch bug amounted to
Sl9,O0O,OOO in Missouri alone, Just ten
wears before, in Illinois, the same insect
occasioned loss of over S73, 900, 900 in a
single season, The average annual dam
age to the cotton crop of the country by
the cotton army worm is estimated at
SoO,OOO,OOO. The devastating potato
beetle Is capable of deducting other mil
lions from the annual profits of our agri-
culture, aud the thousand other insect
plaques are easily competent to swell
the aggregate annual board bill of their
KIND to something like 5000, 900, 600, ac-
cordm9 to the estimates of Professor
Packard, whose conclusions on n subject
like tins - well worthy of respect.
II thls enormous sum, or even half of
1t, could be saved, it would soon amount
70 enough to pay the national debt.
Ih2 question whether it can he saved, or
any portion OF it, is certainly worth CON
slderlng. Professor Packard is confident
that, with care and forethought, based
ON the observation of facts by scientific
men, from fifty to hundred million
dollars Of this annual loss could easily
be preve. Ted by little cooperation be-
tween the several States and the general
governmeh He would have the former
emulate the'practical good sense of Mis-
souri, and each appoint salaried ento-
nologist Then these gentlemen, acting
in connection with United States COM
missioner of entOmologists, might issue
weekly bulletins, perhaps in combination
with the weather signal bureau, report
ing the condition. Of the insect world,
tcrewarning farmers and gardeners from
week to week of the insect enemies to
be guarded against, and suggesting the
preventive and remediable means tina
should be adopted. The cost would be
comparatively slight the possible good
immense.
Take for illustration the grasshoppers,
or, more properly, locists, of the West
They breed chiefly on the great plains
beyond the Mississippi, from Minnesota
to Texas. In summers of unusual drouth
they multiply enormously, aud the sup
ply OF food being short they are forced
to migrate.
Professor Packard tells of swarm of
locusts, first observed at Boulder city,
Colorado which travelled six hundred
miles to devastate Eastern Kansas and
Missouri. Its original home was some
where in Wyoming, perhaps two or three
hundred miles northward of Boulder city
The locusts fly with the wind and as the
general direction of the wind in those
parts during the summer season is pretty
we'll known, the movements of the locust
armies can already be predicted with
tolerable accuracy. But more knowledge
is needed, particularly with regard to til )
meteorological features of the western
country, and the relation of locust mi
grations to wind and weather. In the
pursuit of those investigations, Professor
Packard justly urges that the meteorolo-
gists and entomologists must go hand in
hand. The government has provided a
well organized corps Of weather OBJ 3erv-
ers, and the addition of few competent
entomologsts would increase the outlay
but little, while the resultant good would,
in all probability, be very great. Il
would certainly be 50 if, as seems by no
means unreasonable, the service should
be able to master the conditions OF 90
Gust years." and be able to tell with a
good degree of certainty when locust in
vasions are likely to occur, and how they
may be prevented.
In his plea for such observations in the
West, Professor Packard observes thai
''not only should the border States, es-
pecially Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, Mn
nesota, and Iowa, employ entomologists,
following the liberal policy of Missouri,
which for eight years has had State en-
tomologst, who's reports have proved
OF incatculable practical value to the PEG.
pie of that Stat; but the habits of the
locust need first O. all to be thoroughly
studied in the Ter tories, particularly in
those of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Da.
kota, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and in
the new State of Colorado. A commits.
sion of entomologists should be appoint.
ed to make q thorough study of the 10.
Gusts in the Territories mentioned. II
would seem that the recommendation
made at the recent meeting of Western
governors, at Omaha, to the effect thai
an appropriation be passed by Congress
and commission be attached to the ex
listing United States geological survey 0.
the Territories (Hayden's), is the mos
feasible and economical method of secur
ing the speediest and best results"
This is but one feature of the worl
that might be done with profit towarf
forestalling the depredations of insects
regular and periodical; a work which
must, sooner or later, be undertaken
and may ultimately prove as beneficial
to the country as the weather prediction
have been,