The farmer and mechanic., 1911-04-25

erasShOpper.' and the Saucy street
lady, who cannot tell a bug from q
beetle. does not realize his impudcnce,
for to IN the bugman is iunatlc
who has no right to waste his time
in frivolous, silly pursuit OF useless
insects. Three years ago an eminent
scientist with the State Entonologls'
was guest Of the writer, and as
we all passed up a. street of Southern
Pines, swinging our nets. the profess
sor exclaimed: Now. the natives will
say there are three crazy meH 1pstead
Of one" But such times of ignorance
are passing. A generation ago, even,
great cntOmolOgists were not prOml-
nent among scientists. Today entO-
mology is the most important branch
Of nature study. Hundreds OF zeal
Gus men are making it their Ilfo
study; hundred Of scholarly men and
women are devoting all Their leisure
and surplus means in collecting and
study; an increasing multitude OF boys
and girls in town and city pubic and
nigh schools are learning to anaiyZe
the kingdom Of material life. Every
such school should have a working
museum Of natural history, sample
cases of J. rds and insects and plants
and minerals, at least q fairly full col
lection of local ho1a and fauna. with
an elementary course which may In
cite q larger interest in the world
of growth. IN the schools Of large
cities such sample cases are furnished
by the school board and several spe-
cial dealers do q, large business IN
preparing such material
A friend Of IN ne in New England
employs several men throughout the
year catching and selling forms Of
sea life, and to him and to other deal
ers ] have sold thousands of Southern
Pines insects for dissection in school
room work.
But the largest interest in entomol-
Ogy is economic. It is applied to the
lighting of pests. Millions OF dollars
IN cotton destroyed by the boil Wceyil;
millions of dollars in corn wasted by
special and peculiar forms Of moth
and beetle; millions Of dollars in
cereal grains lost through the raw
ages Of tiny worms or huge grass
hOpperS; millions Of dollars in grapes,
in peaches, n pears, in plulns, in ap
Piles and other fruits untitled for mar
ket by aphis and scale and worm;
millions of dollars in garden truck
sQuandered to feed a hungry mass OF
grubS and bugs and crawling larvae;
millions Of feet of timber ruined by
a thousand boring species, and the
vast number of millions involved
gives value to the fight and dignity
to the conquerors.
In the narrowing of farm areas,
in the rise of land values, in the
increase of food consumption there
is call for conservation OF all re-
sources Of material for life support
and for industry. wv Goldman, spare
that tree'' Farmer, save that crop.
and when corporation greed and in
sect foe are too much and too many
for fest and farm, the cry for help
must go out to government and ma
tions, with States, must interior II with
money and men and counsel and la
Dor 10 save and increase the needed
things that grow.
u
an agricultural school to train it's
would-be farmers and a corps Of ex
perts to test and experiment and in
vent and sample and show and coun-
sci that farms may everywhere become
models and farming pay. Over all
is a paternal power The Board Of
Agriculture has several special
bureaus. IN the Bureau of Entomol-
oGy alone are sixty expert bug men.
ton, caring for the Smithsonian col
lection or compiling reports or writ
ing and mailing bulletins Others
are in some State or Territory investi-
eating the causes and remed. es Of
plant destruction. They cost thou
sands, but they save millions.
The chief Of the bureau at Wash
inston once wrote to me suggesting
that / make this a field of economic
study. but 1 am too fond of the
beautiful in nature and TOO much
absorbed in collecting the new and
rare and interesting to spend my time
IN the study OF pests. The poetry
the art, the muse Of nature appeal
to me and the interest never grows
less. Still. as I wander in field or
woods or swamp a new form OF life
in the world Of the little thrills me
with the delight of a new marvel
as a new measure of words or a
new arrangement Of outline and color
OF new tune. and this little large
world Of the out-of-doors is Home
sweet home"
In this country and in others are
thousands Of sp rits kindred with
mine. With some OF these, from
Maine to Texas and California I
am having delightful intercourse All
agree that this is an interesting sec
uon and each according to his spe-
N-L,tS, S...la 49, kl,-