The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-06-19
REASONS FOR FEAR OF OUR
FRUIT PESTS, BILLION DOLLARS
A YEAR DAMAGE FROM PARASITES

distribution. In spite of these efforts
and this enormous expenditure, these
insects are slowly spreading, and great
damage is done yearly to woodlands,
private grounds, and orchards. The
of these two pests over
the whole United States, as is ex-
tremely likely under present condi-
lions, would entail like cost through
out the country--a tremendous and I'M
charge on our fruit and for
est interests.
Very careful estimates, based on
crop reports and actual insect damage
over a series of years, show that the
loss due to insect pests of farm prod
ucts, including fruit and live stock,
now reaches the almost inconceivable
total of one billion dollars annually.
The larger percentage of this loss is
due to imported insect pests, and much
of it undoubtedly would have been
saved if this country had early enact
ed proper quarantine and inspection
laws.
Danger of Additional Pests.
Great as is the number of foreign
insect pests already imported and es-
tablished in the United States, there
remain many others with equal capac-
ity for harm, which, fortunately, have
not yet reached our shores or crossed
cur borders; or, at most, have infested
only limited part of our domain.
Our increasing business relations
with China and other Oriental coun-
tries adds enormously to the risk of
the importation Of new pests. We
know very little of the injurious in
sect pests Of those countries, and par
ticularly of China, but the importa-
ton of new stock in the last year or
two, from China especially, has de1n-
onstrated the existence there of many
pests which have not hitherto been
known. The power of harm of these
new pests is abundantly illustrated by
the San Jose scale, which is one of
the earliest of the Chinese insect pests
to reach us, and undoubtedly came TO
this country with some ornamental
nursery stock sent from north China
Among the known foreign insect
frI1it fc yryb ipI, fg Il 10
to keep out of this country are the
Morellos fruit worm, which is an i'm
portant enemy of citrus fruits in GER
tain parts of Mexico; the olive-fruit
worm, which occurs throughout the
Mediterranean countries where the
olive is grown; the mango-seed wee
vii, which has been found in imported
mango seed during the present year;
several fruit-scale pests known to oc-
cur in China, Japan, and other Orien-
tai countries, which have records for
harm quite as great as the San Jose
scale; the gypsy and brown-tail moth
to regions in this country where they
do not now occur, and many other
equally dangerous insect enemies OF
fruit trees, forest trees, and farm
crops, known to occur in foreign coun,
tries.
"In addition to the danger of i'm
porting those insect pests is the risk
of bringing in new and dangerous
plant diseases. Two illustrations OF
this danger only will be mentioned
but there are many others equally i'm
portant. First may he noted a new
disease of the potato, known as the
potato wart," which there is grave
risk of establishing in this country
This disease, once in the soil, destroys
the potato tuber and prevents the cul
ture of this staple. The disease was
CONTINUED on page ten)