The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-09-06
Frederic Haslkin's Letter


O.uSaS Ac4uile Inn
ton Of stated imports.
For instance, last year 4 -.
lation was put into effect reos,s.
that a foreign shipper must 49,,
. permit before he can SEND ~
sery stock to this country ~
stock.-whether seeds. shrub -. ~
pits. or any other kind-lnn.tt ~ y
inspected by officials in the 49,
try from which they come ~ &
port inspection officials of,ths y
partment Of agriculture over Nv
II . shipment is found tn ~ =
tested with destructive NsArt,
is either returned to the sender y
burned.
Another regulation. effective ~.
spring, prohibits importation !,
broom corn without a permit a.
inspection, and still another mal.s
It impossible to bring certain f,n*s
across the Mexican border n,sss
day, people unacquainted with X.
insect immigration rules trv -
bring alligator pears, man;n.s
guavas or plums across thu N.
der, only to have them confiseSaMi
because Of the danger Of introdrc
ing the Mexican fruit fly,
The Mexican border offsrs. enas.
the easiest ways for an insect ~
imihigrate into the United Statss |
The cotton boil weevil crossed ths
Rio Grande into Texas, presumahl,
by flying. That was in 1892. Nos
the boil weevil has spread to Ill
Atlantic coast, down into Florida |
and practically as far north as thel
cotton belt extends. The boil ves.i
vii is known to have As enemies i
but in this country natural destruc.
ton does not begin to keep pace
with the advance of the weevil
Many people confound the bolli
weevil with the pink boil worm Of
cotton, another immigrant from,
Mexico. The pink boil worm tray.
eled first from India to Egypt
From there 1t spread to Mexico in
some Egyptian cotton. and now il
is one Of the worst pests Of thu
Texas and Louisiana cotton fields,
The worm was discovered In this
country three years ago, but the
two states affected have been
quarantined only a month. The
new order rules that cotton cannot
be moved out of the states without
inspection. ~
| Interstate Barriers.
There are a number Of other
state guarantees similar to this
which are ordered with the Dur.
pose Of preventing the spread Of
J insect plaques. There is now ~
interstate quarantine in force Il
New England to keep the European
corn borer from spreading, and
particularly from reaching tn
, great corn belt of the middle west
Government entomologists are nov
. in western states to make sure tia
: the corn borer is not quietly get
ting start there.
. Massachusetts lost 10 per cent 0
her corn crop last year-a reason
, able loss where the corn borer 1
, at work. To have 10 per cent 0
, the entire nations corn crop con
sumed by an insect would be ire
mendous blow, yet that would hsy
, happened inevitably if vigorou
measures had not been taken il
the regions already affected.
Only this spring two shipment
; Of broom corn from Europe wer
found to be badly infested wit
, the corn borer. OF course the
: were not allowed to enter. but 70
, years before the war shipments
, clean and infested alike, came int
, our ports and scattered to brool
factories everywhere.
= Farmers rarely complain abor
, an insect until it begins to afet
l their pocketbooks, so that bu
5 may be at work several years b
= fore it Is brought to the attentio
5 of the authorities. AS many kind
) of pests produce over 100 eggs
: a time, and as some species mutt
/ ply at the rate of two generation
3 in a season, the increase may !
t overwhelmingly swift.
Poisons, sprays Of burning OF
destruction of the infested GRO
= and other heroic measures have
3 be taken to reach the va4nerabl
e spot of the apparently nineliye
= bugs. In some cases-the gyps
J. moth. for example-enemies Of =
insect pest have been successluil
d, introduced to exterminate it