St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1910-09-03

II
/iSN ton. Nor Is 1t a noiseless
NM/# | underworld. Every evening
#7 after hot sunset it forms
s--l an orchestra which shrlls
a.. out its prowess and faunts
e. coming achievement. And in all the world
:. .nere is no orchestra SO well paid To be sure
= sD's llltie In the matter of attention, but in
ways more substantial h is rewarded hand
Sonisly For It Is permitted to levy toll upon
ene corn and the wheat the cabbage and the
4ppIe, as they grow. 1t is allowed to eat the
- ohes OF the miller and the grain dealer Ger
14a ineInpers OF the shrilling tribe go farther
~ ~ oemand greater concessions in their greed
NO. satisfied with money tribute. thew exact
human llves. Their gruesome tracks are made
upon the faces of little children Then from
PAGES Wnere poverty forces women and ba-
US ,nto NTH and sickness. they take wing
anu lney bear their death message into homes
ialr and clean-homes where the inmates can-
not concern themselves with life's wretched
ones. And 80 nature in her memorable circle
noM Wnlcn neither the proudest nor the DOOR
%. can escape, herself supplies the link which
prings the miserable home to the fair one,
but reducing it to a dollars and cents
oasis which all of us understand what would
you say the insects of this country cost us
each year? Millions of dollars! More in fact
than our entire system of public school edu-
cation, from the Kindergarten to the univer.
sity!
Moreover whole sections intended nv ma
lure Tor the production of particular crops
olleh are compelled to abandon them for no
otnef reason than insect infestation. This is
especially true Of horticulture. Myriad. in
deed, are the insect foes that infest vegetables
ana rruit Ii ever the life Of this underworld
rs Drought upon the stage as that OF the barn
yard has been, it may well open with this
n fhn yply
me insects are busy In clover and grass
A-hatchin out sorrer fer my garden sass
iheyre happily humrnin' this giddy re-
frain
The old mule will still be your airy-o-
plane.
NOW the farmer has found himself help
less before this foe which must be fought
with microscopes and laboratory mysteries
consequently he has appealed to the man
OF science whom everyone despises in the
day of prosperity and rushes to consult when
the world is awry.
Let me tell you Of what has been accom-
plished by one man with microscope. His
name is Stephen A. Forbes and he is state
entomologist of Illinois His chief work in
this position is to exterminate economic in
sects," as those which damage the growing
things are called. He is also head of the
state laboratory of natural history and pro-
nois. He has held these offices Is years,
which means that he has spent quarter OF
q century fighting the predaceous instincts of
economic insects, barring an occasional short
lapse to fight the economical instincts of state
legislatures. Naturally he Is on intimate
terms with vast number Of bugs.
For practical knowledge of an insect, the
ability to recognize 1t in all its phases is
mere beginning. Its dietary must be known,
,cf nr1xy hot rrafnr hrrf not
best and what it will eat to escape starvation;
how the weather affects its health it's temper
and its power Of multiplying; is 1t subject to
contagious diseases? II SO, how may It be
induced@to catch one? Also 1t Is we'll to know
how Its neighbor bugs regard 1t. Whether the
sight OF 1t arouses the instinct to protect or
the instinct to KILL For there are bugs so
kindly disposed toward other bugs that they
will carry them to their food supply, hatch
their eggs for them, and bring up their Off
spring. The sole duties they leave to those
they protect are breathing. eating and multi
plying.
First let me tell you about the fight against
the chinch bug AS everyone knows. the chinch
il devil-devastator whose evil intentions are
backed with energy and resourcefulness. When
u starts to take what it wants from the farm
there ID just one thing 1t leaves-the mort
gage. For more than generation scientists
In all parts Of the country directed their intel
,,eence against its instinct; and instinct won
tha victory It seemed that reason could not
fathom the cause Of the outbreaks nor find
wav TO prevent them. In despair the men of
science were for saying as did the old Irish
woman Of the rain that spoiled her potatoes,
arbere,g no raison in it. it's just the will OF
God!"
And right there it seemed the problem
xrould have to rest But an occasional per-
sastent brain was unable to accept this solu-
.,on observations went on not only week by
uaok Int day by day, and often even hour by
hour Even SO 1t was work that proceeded
slowly The chinch bug was hard to make
-u,as for. Indeed, it seemed more an excep-
+,,r To rule than the French language. For
,nstance gcientists fattered themselves that
ona thing was proved concerning his chinchsh1p
III the abandonment of wheat culture meant
an end to chinch bug ravages. But farmers
made the sad discovery, quite Internationally,
,,o,, NAV be sure, not at all for the sake OF
anliehtening the men of science. that the aban-
sonnent of wheat may even increase the
ob,nch devastation. For If they have become
,,,,roarons and can find no wheat, they will
.ocant oats, barley, grass or corn. The aban-
sonment OF wheat to be effective against the
sh,nch must take place at the beginning OF
an outbreak.
therefore Dr. Forbes Strengthened his NOR
..ho.rd nolshed his microscope and prepared
~ wholesale slaughter. He was going TO
~ aaan mot in gore but in bug juice. The