Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1906-06-01
Insects Eat One.Tenth OF Crops
CONTINUED from last weekly


! Marching along to the tune O
from SIS, 100000 to $20,0OO,O0(
annually, the army worm is one o.
the most dreaded enemies OF TIT
farmer. These devourers, an incl
long, multiply with astonishing ra
pidity, moye iD armies, feed hung
rily dav and night, and devour ev'
cry growing thing in the way.
! Ugly, green and busy, the cab.
bage worm bites 100000 or more
a year out Of the farmers pocket
or garden.
Then there is the potato bug,the
ban Of every country boy who is
obliged to tend the potato patch.
This bug for long time made its
home almost exclusively in Colora.
| do and New Mexico. When it be-
gun making its personlv conduct
ed tours east it was called The Colo
rado beetle. SS,000,00p yearly is
the tax estimated to he LEVIED by
this active worker.
After tobacco is started it is fire.
quently attacked by an insect
known as the cigarette beetle. This
antagonist of the smoker. with
Other insects, which make spec
iaIty of "the weed" cause an an
nual loss of considerably more than
100000.
In fact. stored products of all
kinds are liable to extensive dam
age through insect life. Experts
of the Agricultural Department es.
innate the annual loss from such
damage at $1OO,OO0,0O0 or more.
/ A vast deal Of damage is caused
by flies Of different kinds, approx
mately how much has not been es.
timated. Many species are harm
full to growing crops and liye stock
and many kinds are responsible for
the spread Of disease among men.
About 10000 species Of flies are
known.
Cattle and other live stock suffer
severely from insecte. 1t has been
stated that nearly half the cattle
received at the Chicago stockYards
between January and June Of each
year inf, s.ed with what is
known as the OK MARBLE, which not
only perforates the hides of the an.
finals, and thus makes them much
less valuable, but Injuries the quail.
ty of the beef.
In oddition to the MARBLE, there
| are numerous other bugs and ticks
which do an enormous amount of
damage.
Harmful insects have done more
towards destroying the fruit crop
of California than inclement wealth
err or any other agency. This has
caused the state officials to look in
all directions for relief. As a last
resort they have gone into the
bushes of breeding insects to prey
upon those that attack the crops.
An illustration of this work is
furnished by the states warfare on
the black scale, which has been
making exceedingly destructive
campaigns OF late years. 1t was
learned that an enemy of the black
scale was found in Cape Colony.
So, off to distant Cape Colony
was sent a request for this foe of
the black scale. In course of time
branches Of oleander were received
at San Francisco bearing some OF
the destroying insects-a black,
four winged fly.
These destroyers were carefully
attended, and in due time, a num-
ernus brood resulted. During the
season 1905 they were released in
the regions where the pest was
busiest and the most gratifying re-
suits were reported. One fruit
grower states that the foe had re-
duced the black scale in his orchard
90 per cent.
Noxious insects have been i'm.
ported into California for many
years, coming from all parts of the
world, and especially the Orient. A
rigid quarantine has now been es-
tablished, and every plant and par.
tjcle Of fruit is seized if found to be
infected. Sometimes it is destroy
ed, no matter how valuable, if the
infection will not yield to fumiga-
49,: T., manu- oacoc th OrOuOh FIN.