The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1904-03-29


that spraying is very profitable in average years,
whether it proves to be so this particular season
not
We are often asked where all the different kinds
of insect pests come from. That is very natu-
raj question for any observant person to ask, for
it is a fact that in past times our forefathers
were not as much troubled with insect pests
are to-day. For instance, the common white cab
bage butterfly, the Hessian fly in wheat the San
Jose SCALE the potato beetle and the terrapin bug
are none of them native to North Carolina, yet
are now to be found widely distributed in the
State How is this to be explained? We will con-
slider very briefly three of the principal sources
of new insect pests.
1. Natural Increase-In times past not much
attention was given to insect pests, and there
were not such good means for combating them
therefore they have multiplied very rapidly and
are now much more destructive than formerly.
This consideration applies to such species
have been here all the time.
3. Destruction of Wild Vegetation.-When we
destroy wild plant deprive certain insects
of their food and they compelled to find sus-
tenance elsewhere or starve, therefore if they
subsst a cultivated plant they will do so. Let
US be more explicit young farmer buys
place containing woods and fields all grown up to
native trees, weeds and grass. There will per-
haps be three hundred kinds of plants growing
in profusion. These cut down, plowed up,
burned, otherwise destroyed and in their place
the farmer plants peaches, apples and peas and
perhaps twenty different kinds of farm crops and
garden vegetables. Now, isn't it natural that
many Of the insects which formerly fed on the
plants which were destroyed, should turn their at
tacks upon the plants which put in their
place. The potato beetle is an excellent illustra-
tion. 1t formerly fed a wild plant (related to
the pOtato) in the neighborhood Of the Rocky
Mountains, but when the white went there
he destroyed this native plant and raised potatoes.
Then the beetle finding it's native plant destroyed
and finding a cultivated plant to it's lik-
ing, began to attract attention by destroying the
potatoes, and started to spread from potato
patch to potato patch across the country. 1t
apparently reached North Carolina about 1877,
and nearly | make out, must have first
appeared in CASTOR Mecklenburg Countless
and there may yet be localities in the State
which 1t has not reached.
B. Commerce.-Insect pests may be spread by
commerce. Thus one of the most frequent means
of spreading scale insects is by infested trees
being shipped from place to place. The introduce
ton of the railroad has had considerable influence
in this regard, for by it mosquitoes have been
ried bodily into high mountain regions where they
we're formerly unknown. The white cabbage but
terfy was introduced into this country from Eu-
rope also the Hessian fly now 50 destruc-
tive to wheat in the Piedmont region of North
Carolin. The cotton boil weevil, which is now
doing great damage in Texas, will probably even
tually reach this State by of railroad trans
portation though we may we'll hope that this shall
not occur
FRANKLIN SHERMAN, JR~,
Entomologist of the Department of Agriculture,