The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1921-03-21
FEW NATIVE INSECT PESTS.
Those Brought Here Destroy $500. 900,
600 in Crops Each Year.


In discovering America Columbus
opened up a. vast new home not only
for man but for insect pests of cuIti-
waited crops and domestic animals as
Welt Fully one hundred of these for
eigners have made their way to Amer
Fies1 shores and thence to the field and
the garden They have multiplied so
that today their destruction of orchards,
garden and farm crops is estimated an
proximately at S500,000000 a year-more
than 81 100000 day. Their havoc
would be much more than this were it
not for the guarantees and control
work of the department of agriculture
through its Bureau of Entomology and
its Federal Horticultural board.
OF all the insect pests and diseases
that attack cultivated crops and cut in
10 profits of the American, farmers Sc
verelv there are relatively few of the
more important ones that are native TO
the United States. Like many other
baneful things, insect pests and diseases
have followed the course of civilization.
They are carried IN many ways from
one country to another, and it is the
United States against their entry and to
prevent their spread once they make
their appearance here.
While many of the pests have come
from European countries, Asia has con-
tributed its share. Prominent among
San Jose scale, which made its first APP
pearance in the United States about
forty-hve years ago, having come from
China II became widespread through
out the United States in the late nine
ties, and now there is practically not a
commercial decidous orchard in this
country that does not have to be
SPRAYED once year to control the pest.
Some idea of the burden which this
insect puts upon the orchardists here
can be had when it is realized that the
expenditures for apparatus and spray
ing amount to approximately Sl0000,0G0
annually. In addition are the losses
that the insect causes IN spite of this
control treatment, and they are very
large, especially in small orchards and
household paintings, where spraying Is
not commonly practiced. This insect
alone undoubtedly has cost this country
upward of SI00O00,000.
The original peach moth, which
gained entry in 1912 with imported Orr
entail cherry trees from Japan, has Just
begun its spread and depreciation. IT AT
fects pract ically all deciduous fruits and
bids fair to be as destructive as the
we'll known codling moth, the cause OF
wormy apples.
The Japanese beetle. brought in about
the same time as the peach moth, has
already gained such firm foothold that
i'm view of its habits and prolonged
Aioht il is probably incapable of eXter-
mination and NAV ultimately overspread
the United States. Another foreign
nest in comparatively recent years Is the
European corn borer. slnfestatiOns have
been discovered in several states and
local auarantines by the Federal Horti-
cultural board have been instituted to
prevent the spread TO the corn belt.
Mexico has contributed its share, OF
insect nests that are now established
in this country. Chief among these a3e
the boil weevil. the pink bollworm and
the little Mexican beetle, known as the
been discovered in Alabama, now threat t
ems to spread to other Southern states
and inAict immense damage to r the co"
pea and bean crops.-N. y. Times.