The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1922-04-04

1
/ were to pregnate themselves unchecked
for only a few years. they would md IL
possible TO dsvour every leaf upon this
planet. The minute our fora yaniShss
/ from this planet. for only two or three
years, 1t viii mean that the human
race must be exterminated. Thus, ~
the locusts were TO eat up our crops.
there would be no cereals or roots for
the human race to subsist upon. IL
other insects were to destroy eur foods
which they can do very readily, then
there would be nothing for us TO feed
upon, and the human race would die
OF starvation.
But 1t is not even necessary that
crops should be destroyed. because
some insects, If they took IL into their
heads to drive US from the earth, could
do so very easily. We only mention
the ant. The ant il distributed very
much more densely per square mile
than the human race. There 10 hardly
g. square mile upon earth on which
there cannot be found literally millions
Of ants. whereas there is no such den
sity of human beings.
Some ants are quite harmless, and
others are not. And there are certain
species which have terrific destroying
propensities, according to newspaper
dispatches from Texas we read where
a destructive body of man eating ants
were marching on the capital, accord
ing to reports from Austin. Ths Ar
gentine ANT is a pest in q class by it
self, and is not only highly destruct-
i've to all sorts of plants, as it destroys
buds, blossoms and fruit. but it Is also
OF great damage to all sorts of poultry,
as 1t kills off chickens, and is even q
menace to human life.
Thus infants have been reported
killed by multitudes of these ants.
These ants are SO persistent that they
overrun houses, go into every crsvice,
and no adequate means to combat
them has yet been found. They even
swarm into ice boxes, not at all de-
TERED by the frigidity as long as the
ants md something eatabie there. This
particular ant which Is dark brown
and small in size, is a native OF Brazil
and Argentina, and was imported into
the United States at New Orleans on
ships from South America.
Anyone who has to do with the
fighting of ants knows what a terrible
undertaking 1t is to rid house OF them
once they overrun It. Their very small
ness makes II almost impossible to
hght them without damaging the house
and its occupants. Poison gas has
been resorted to not infrequently. but
Mans Greatest. ... o..
is not a cure, because the ants come
back az soon as the gas leaves. II,
Therefore, the Argentine ant, or any
other similar ant, were to overrun the
earth in vast quantities, 1t can be
seen that IL would not take long for
them TO make life intolerable for us.
The average person does not realize
the value Of our present entomoloeists
and Of their work In general. The more
We know about insects. the better off
humanity viii be. because the day may
come when We will all have TO be Up
in arms, fighting the common enemy
that threatens todeyastate this planet.
Billions of dollars OF damage is done
annually by insects, and here indeed
10 fruitful field for inventors who
can enrich themselves by devising
WAYS and means to exfe-n,inate the
pssts.--F. Gernsback in sunshine and
Mountain.