Omaha daily bee., 1917-11-30
War ON German Crops
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Washington, D. C., Nov 27.-The other day an
Ohio man suggested that American avators
should drop Colorado potato beetles on the Ger
man potato fields. Suggestions of this sort have
come from several quarters and have usually been
treated as Jokes. A canvass of high scientific
opinion shows that such program is not to be
regarded as joke, but as serious and practical
matter. 1t holds terrible possibilities. The basic
idea, of course is to increase the German food
shortage by destroying German crops through in
Producing crop diseases.
The potato beetle is only sample suggestion
and an insect which, scientists say would not
the number OF destructive pests which may be
made to fasten on crops. There are three po-
tato diseases alone; there are parasitic maladies
which attack the beet there are the wheat smuts
and rust; numerous tree blghts, to say nothing
of animal plaques which might sweep the live
stock of a country as forest hre sweeps the
woods
The means of introducing such unpleasant
agencies into the territory of the kaiser would nat
urally be the airplane. The great feet of Ameri-
can aircraft is expected to make possible very
taken for granted that our aviators will drop
bombs and democratic propaganda. Whether
these physical and spiritual explosive agencies
would not be comparatively harmless beside some
other things to drop that science might suggest
is the question at present agitating many minds.
The problem is an involved and delicate one
in many ways. Would the practice be contrary to
international law. Would it be contrary to the
unwrtten ethics of warfare? In other words, is
it all right to drop ton of dynamite on Ger.
man town. but all wrong to drop 10 pounds OF
of legality would be for the State department to
settle; the questions of strategy for the Depart
ment of War What is intended here is simply
to point out that in the opinion OF scientists an
offensive along the line indicated is quite within
the bounds OF physical possibility and might con-,
ceivably be enormously effective
Casting aside the possibility of introducing the
germs of human disease as too barbaric for con-
sideration, there remain three classes OF pests
which can be introduced to sap the food-producing
capacity of nation. They are the insect pests
which attack crops, the vegetable parasites or fun
goids which attack crops and the epidemic dis
eases which attack food animals. An example of
the first here in the United States is the pink
cotton boll.worm which has just appeared in
Texas. This enormously destructive insect is
serious menace to the whole cotton-growing south
and there is some suspicion that its introduction
from Mexico was aided by German agents.
An example of the vegetable blghts is the
chestnut blight which only appeared in the
United States few years ago, and already threat
to kill out all our chestnut trees. For an ex-
ample of pests causing heavy loss of food animals
one has only to remember the epidemic Of foot
and mouth disease of three. years ago, with its
toll of tens of thousands of cattle.
curious feature of the situation is the fact
that it will probably not be possible to discover
any native American plant or animal disease which
would work havoc in Europe. This is because
America is, so to speak, "clean continent" Most
of our plant and animal diseases are importations
from Europe and Europe has just as much of
them as we have. 1t would do no good, for ex-
ample, to introduce few germs of foot and mouth
disease into country where the disease already
exists and has existed for centuries. The pest
which works havoc over wide areas is one which
is at once active and new to the country
When this point in the problem is reached the
answer of science is always the same: THE ORR
ent." For the immemorial east, where human civil
lization and agriculture go back into the ancient
mists of time, is the home of all manner of Writ
lent crop and animal diseases. The pressure of
these pests is from Europe toward America. The
stream cannot be turned backward. But the pres
sure is also from Asia to Europe. The allies who
control the east control also the sources of all
the plant and animal plaques Our most destruc- |
tive pests in the United States-the chestnut
blight the white pine blister rust, the citrus can
ker-are importations from China and Japan
China's contribution to the alliance may be the
parasite that lays waste the Prussian fields. One
scientist, an expert in plant diseases, says that
be capable of sweeping the crops of Germany lies
in the great unknown plant regions of southeast
ern Asia.
The same rule applies to diseases of animals. |
There is no pest in America which could work
much damage if introduced in Europe. But out
of the dark places of Asia or Africa numerous
diseases might be taken with terrible results. A
single example is the "rinderpest" of the Philip
pines and South Africa. which. in the opinion of
one authority once introduced would sweep the
stock of Europe like prairie FIRE.
DR.. L. o. Howard, chief of the federal bureau
of entomology, does not believe that any consd-
cradle damage can be done by the introduction of |
insect pests He bases his judgment on knowl- |
edge of German conditions and on the relation of
insect pests in America to those in Europe. He |
points out that more than so European insect |
pests have taken foothold in America, against one
single destructive American insect which has
taken hold in Europe. All suggestions to date, |
such as the potato beetle, the eel worm, which |
destroys sugar beets, and so on, he adjudges i'm
practicable,
On the other hand specialists in vegetable par
asites regard the discovery and introduction of |
destructive pest as possible. There is. for ex-
ample, the American pear blight. which has prac-
ticalv ruined the western pear orchards and which |
is unknown in Europe. This blight. once intro
duced, would certainly work great damage. Most |
American pests are already known in Europe |
however and the logical course would be to search |
the orient for weapon in this war. The same |
is true OF animal diseases. Specialists in this line
say that their introduction is quite possible, but
that the consequences would be terrible.