Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1915-10-29
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ress there more than anywhere else
in the world. In one winter alone the
locust damage in South Africa was es-
timated at $5,000.00O
To cope with the insects the govern
ment has established central bureau
for watching them. Flights can be
predicted and measures taken to min
imize them.
In the latter half of 1912 locust
swarms did $4,000, 900 damage in our
own island of Visaya, in the Philip.
pines.
While the locust is prolific the cot
ton weevil beats him. Professor
Ealand estimates that one weevil lay
ing her 139 eggs by June 10 would
| probably bring half that number-say
75-to maturity by June 20. There
are at least four generations in a sea-
son, and the second generation would
number about 2,450; the third $3.50,
and the last and final generation L.
001, $50, or a total of 3,0S9,520 indi-
viduals as the progeny of single pair
Of weevils and their progeny in a sea-
son. That is to say, one weevil for
every square foot Of area in a 75-acre
field. AS over SO per cent are de-
stroyed by natural conditions, it is
doubtful if the actual increase in one
season from a single pair ever ex-
ceeds 2,00000 Alarming figures in
all conscience, exclaims the entomolo-
gist.
This is only one of vast number of
insects that man has to fight against.
Next come the disease carriers.
First in deadliness is the mosquito,
which infests man with malaria, yell
low fever and filariasis. Many parts
OF the tropics and localities otherwise
most desirable are practically unin-
habitable to civilized man, owing to
the ravages of malaria.
Malaria has been held responsible
for the wiping out of the ancient
Greeks.
Not health alone, but mans very
pockets are affected by this overmas-
tering incubus. The mosquito plague
has been responsible for arresting the
development of the whole state of
New Jersey.
Malaria is country rather than a
town disease. 1t was once supposed
to be caused by dwelling in damp
and marshy places, and even now the
belief dies hard in the minds of many
people, but it has been proved beyond
hxr hn hifn % fr,f cd
mosquitoes, and by that means alone,
can this dread disease be transmitted
from man to man.
Various estimates have been made
as to the number of bacteria that may
be carried about the body of single
healthy, active fly. One investigator,
TORY, puts the number at 100000
in it's intestine and 100000 on the
outer surface. Esten and Mason, by
careful experiment, found that the
number of external bacteria varied
from $50 to over 6500,000; other OBJ
servers have put the number as high
as 5O0,000,000 per fly. The numbers
seem incredible. That one house fly
can carry about its body as many as
100000 900 germs is almost beyond be-
lief, yet the estimated number is not
the result Of guesswork, but of care
full experiment Looking at the mat
ter from the most favorable point of
view, and supposing each fly to carry
only $50 bacteria from place to place.
the supposition. says Professor Ealand,
is not pleasant.
The dreadful infantile paralysis las
been discovered to be carried b, the
stable fly.
Then there is the sleeping sickness,
which is carried by the tsetse fly.
Whole districts of Africa are absolute