Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1905-07-14
Great Eiuhts With Insects.

With devOuring insects feeding up
on every kind of plant that man en-
deavOrs to cultivate, fierce are the
wars that he, in turn, wages against
the ravagers-wars ranging from the
efforts of the small gardener with one
cherished rose bush to the unanimous
rising OF state, even OF country,
against vast hordes of insect enemies.
Nature, it is true, provides nat
ural foe to each insect plant-destroy-
er-the trouble is to bring the two
into conflict. Where it is impossible
thus to fight with nature own weap-
ons, others must be designed-poison-
GUS washes, suffocating gasses-with
which to mete out death to the despoil-
erS.
AS is natural, it is i'll places where
the growth of plant that the natural
enemies of that plant flourish best.
Nowhere Is the control of insect
pests more thoroughly managed than
in California. Here the most deter.
mined war is waged. It's state board
Of horticulture is it's war office; it
directs the attacks, provides the sin.
ews of war. Every county in the
state has, or may have on petition
of the fruit growers, special horticul.
tural commissioners who are placed in
charge of all matters relating to in.
furious insects. Beneath the commits.
sioners is staff of local inspectors
three or four in small districts, twenty
or thirty in large. These officials or
ganize a tree-to-tree inspection of all
| fruit ranches: they are given powers
to enter all premises, and to enforce
action on the part of the owners
where danger is discovered.
The chief of all the pests are the
various scale insects. Only the
Phyloxera that attack grapes, approach
the amount of damage the scales are
capable of doing. Great sums Of
money are spent every year in fight
ing them, and so perfect is the sys
tenn OF inspection and destruction tina,
the work is now almost entirely pre-
ventive
The two great weapons employed
in fighting scales are fumigating ant
spraying. Tree after tree is visited
at night by inspectors, and each i!
either vigorously sprayed with poison
GUS washes or covered with a tent
|
deadly gas. If any ranch owne
should object, or refuse to assist
prompt measures are taken to brin,
him to his senses. One tree allowed
to harbor the insects menaces tn,
whole state.
All injurious insects can be con
trolled by the introduction of thei
natural enemies. Natures own wear
ons for destroying pest always prov
the most efficacious. The importation
of the Australian ladybird to Califol
mia resulted in the total eradication
of the white scale, and in some in
stances this ladybird has cleared dis
tricts of the black scale also. Whel
it was discovered that the white seal
was the ladybird's natural prey, Ca
ifornia at once sent an expert to Aus
tralia to gather specimens. Thous
J ands and thousands were brought O,
err, and set at liberty among the trees
They are still abundant, and are tn
best friends of the fruit grower
Extraordinary precautions are tai
en- to prevent the introduction of insec
: pests into California. A rigid syster
of quarantine has long been in force
no live fruit, plants or trees of an
kind may be brought into the stat
until they have passed through tn
hands of inspecting officers. Fruit
or plants that are found to be infes
. ed with dangerous insects are eitl
err fumigated and made wholesome
or destroyed. Fruit sent from neigl
boring states is as carefully exam
ined as fruit that has come from owe
sea. and enormous quantities are stOl
ped on the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Ma.
azine.