Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1913-10-02
MOTH TRAIL A MYTH
Girl Sends Bureau of Entomology
Experts on Fool Chase.
Scientists OF the Government Aim TO
Stop the Destruction of Country's
Pear Trees-Pest Sought
to Eat Pest

Washington, D. CHER name IS
Mary. She wrote a nice little note
from HaVerford, Pa, to the bureau OF
entomology at the department of ag
riculture.
/ enclose three funny moths
caught the other day." wrote Mary
VIII you kindly tell me what they
are?"
Whereupon the bureau Of entomol
ogy rose from it's several chairs and
began to move in circles. Mary had
found the brown tail moth in Penn
sylyania, where the brown tail never
had been heard Of before. a brown
tail moth is as destructive to elm
trees as forest fire. NO one knows
how many millions of dollars have
been spent in fighting it.
Col" said the centurions of the
bureau. Beat it to Pennsylvania
and find out all about this dreadful
thing"
A squad of entomologists appeared
in Haverford next morning. Other
bug connOisseurs heard the news and
they went to Haverford For a week
young men stumbled through its
streets, their eyes fixed on the tops
of trees. The pockets of tho young
men bulged with butterfly nets and
poison bottles. They hunted, but
could find no moths. At last they
looked up Mary.
Quick" they gasped. Tell US
where you caught the brown tail
months
Oh" said Mary, q brought them
home with me from Maine"
The bureau of entomology is adding
to our stock of bug lore every day.
Lately it discovered that the ultravio-
let rays are powerless against the
bacteria which inhabit milk Every
one knows that X-rays have a deadly
effect upon the human body if they are
applied too often. But the cigarette
wOrm-Which lives in made up tobac-
co-not only is impregnable to the
X-rays, but it actually seems to -four
ish in proportion to the amount of
X-rays it gets.
Just to prove that the pear tree
blight is caused by an animal or
ganism. the scientists are raising this
bacteria in bottles. By and by they
will raise in the laboratory another
pest to eat this pest up.
They did that with the alfalfa
weevil. They imported some sort of
h,7cr io6 In Of iva 1ioy
ible name was called the alfalfa
weevil-Weevfl. Anyhow, it is weevil
which feeds on the weevil which feeds
on alfalfa. 1t is saving this valuable
crop in some parts of the west.
The oddly of the moment, however,
is the sick nurse Of the hairy vetch.
Vetch is a valuable forage plant, but
it isn't hustler. When it finds a soil
that is deficient in nitrogen it just
lies down and dies.
Whereupon the entomologists take a
bottle of bugs out to the vetch field
and turn them loose. These bugs
have just one idea in life, apparently
They hurry to the roots of the vetch
and begin to feed it the nitrogen it
lacks.
Conversation about frogs is not en-
couraged in the bureau of animal his
tory. Not long ago one of its bright
est young men became enthusiastic
over batarachians. He wouldn't talk
about anything else. He slipped live
ly green frogs into the hands of those
he liked and was invariably shocked
and irritated by the effect He spent
his spare hours in catching frogs or
studying frogs or talking about frogs,
So they put him under the judicial bell
glass.
This man isn't crazy" said the
Judge, after the frog connoissefr had
concluded his defense. He is a great
scientist. But I think that some of
his accusers are suffering from echoes
in the garnet"