The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1891-10-12
EXPERIMENTS.
REASONS WHY THE, GOVERNMENT
SHOULD HELP FARMERS

Man is inclined to travel in beaten
paths, looking little to the right or left
for short cuts and easier grades. He
is prone to select at the start the most
expensive and most intricate way of ac-
complishing his object. The study of
mechanisms gives plain proof of this.
Watts original steam engine was most
complicated affair. 1t took two or three
generations to simplify and perfect it.
The same was true of the sewing ma
chine and all other complicated inven-
tions. The wagon in use in central Eu-
rope to-day is made with as much work
ON one as on six American farm wagons
and it is a most awkward affair. "A set
OF English plow harness is equal in
weight to the combined weight of our
plow and plowman. A regular one-horse
English farm cart is much heavier than
our two horse wagon. And so the world
plods along.
America should and does lead the
world but she must be constantly on the
alert or she will drop behind. The re-
1uvenated giants of Europe will some of
them handicap US. They are far ahead
OF us in that form of politics so dread
fui to some paternalism. For
years practical scientific research was
fostered by European governments and
great results had been obtained, espe-
cially in France and Prussia, before we
as government dreamed of such a
thing. Slowly we have fallen into line
but we are far behind. The United
States should have been leaders from
the start in all scientific and inventive
lines, and especially in practical applied
science. There are great openings yet to
be filled. Our forests are not conserved
Our rivers are drying up, our lakes and
harbors are filling up with detritus, once
nav1gable rivers are now a delusion and
a'snare, our swamps are unreclaimed
and remain a menace to life and health
More paternalism in certain directions
might do us good though it is better to
let the people do for themselves what
they can do best. There are many
things, however, they cannot do. Much
Is yet hidden that would be of great ben
eft if it were brought to light that pri-
Tate agencies cannot devote the time
and means to properly elucidate. Here
paternalism in the government steps in
and is useful.
The inventor and scientist is not
business man as we now use the word
Not man who can amass wealth. They
are poor, with rare exceptions. Our
lawyers, statesmen and scientists do not
as rule get rich. They will not grovel
in the dirt for gold. Yet they give great
wealth to the world.
Contagious and infectious diseases have
constantly decimated mankind and ami
mails since the beginning. One would
think that this fact would have led man
up to the use of proper weapons of de-
fense. Yet it is only within the past
few years that expert ments have been
made as to the causes of diseases. 1t is
now accepted that animal life is the
cause of nearly all OF mans ills. Pro-
fessor Forbes of Illinois was the first in
this country to give the matter scientific
attention. Naturalists had long known
that ferol life, insect as well as larger
animal, had myriads of infectious dis
eases. About 1868 chinch bugs were enor-
mously plenty throughout the prairie
states. The last week in July they were
attacked in Illinois by deadly disease
and at the-end of two weeks not living
bug could be found in the neighborhood.
And the uext season scarcely one could
be found for cabinet specimen. This
occurred throughout the prairie statee
at different dates that season OF course.
isolated individuals escaped and gradu-
ally re-seeded the country. Professor
Forbes made a careful study of this. He
learned its character and how to pre-
serve it through the winter so the bugs
might be infected the following year.
If remember rightly, however, he failed
IN this by reason of there being no chinch
bugs the following year to infect. From
want of means and time Professor Forbes
-.
this valuable weapon of defense against
the prairaie farmers great enemy was
forced to rest until three or four wears
ago when it was taken up by professor
of Il Kansas experiment station. The
latter has demonstrated that there were
two distinct diseases deadly to the chinch
bug. One was Il fungus, the other bac-
terial Bugs could be- easily infected
with either and they would be exter1ni-
mated before they could do any harm.
He met with the same results that Pro
fessor Forbes did. He killed every
chinch bug in his region and his expert
ments seemed fated to come to an end
for want of material But he advertised
for healthy chinch bugs. 1t was neces
sary to have chinch bugs to keep the in
fection.
Another case is the importation of the
Australian ladybird (bedalia cardinalis).
1t ate up all the cottony cushion scale
bugs-its only food-where introduced
and then starved to death This diff
Guilty had to be bridged over by incIos-
ing the bedalia on protected orange
trees infested with scale. Otherwise
the bug would have to be imported
again if the scale made fresh start as it
surely would do. :
The department. of agriculture has
now taken hold of this work as it should
have done years ago. The experiments