New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1923-02-16
PLANT PESTS COST
COUNTRY BILLIONS
Cost Taxpayers More Than Snug
slers or BoOtleeseTs

Washington, Feb, ls-pope ped
dlers bootleggers ami diamond SNUG
elers have Old schemes 20 fool Uncle
SANS sharp eyed men, hnt their eNll
ways do not cost the taxpayer nearly
SO much as the plant pests that sin
into the country, The figures show
that the taxpayer is paying tribute Ia
plant pests at the rate fahout two
billion dollars a year the American
Nature association says, therefore II
will be seen Just how important the
Plant polieeman's job is
Just as the metropolitan police de-
paftment tahuate all the dope" on a
law breaker, there is a 'rogue's gal
iery" OF the plant world, inc Allan.
tic states know what ne chesins
blight and the white pine blister rust
have done, The country knows the
snuths experience with he boil wee'
VII. One OF the oriHAal enemies 20
be brought 10 this land from Europe
was the IIessian Fly which came IN
straw the soldiers used TO ned th'ir
horses Thai fly still costs the COIN
try tho prA Of the Revolutionary
war every year because Of what II
does 10 wheat.
Introduced from Mesieo, III" hoi.
weeyil has cost the cotton growers nt
tho South enough . puy off the MT
tienal debt, A ono hundred million
acre corn crop is annually exposed ie
q dozen destructive diseases. most OF
which wormed III ar way into Am
erica from foreign ilells, Tho last to
appear is the EuroruaH corn bofd ~,
thus far science has made no heol-
way In exterminatiLs t'is pest Tho
best II can do is TO sir've TO limit The
area attacked.
Gypsy Moth
The bootlegger's most approved
system OF marketing his wares cannot
possibly cover the territory" as the
gypsy moth has done. 4 professor AT
Harvard university some years ago
was experimenting with all kinds of
silk worms and cultures of gypsy
moth trying to develop a variety of
silk worms which would resist this
noxious disease. A gust of wind blew
several cultures through his labora-
tory window. Shortly thereafter. the
gypsy moth became destructive pest
in Massachusetts and now extends ITS
depredations over more than 10000
square miles of American area. The
American Nature association says this
pest accomplishes almost as much
economic damage as the annual fires
which constitute one OF the most
serious menaces with which we have
to contend.
Brown Tail Moth
The dope pedder does nothing more
clever as the brown tail moth which
came from Holland or France in ship
ments of roses. The japanese BETTE
came to our shores on imported Jap
anese Iris plants. The San Jose scale
has rendered fruit production prohibi-
tive in some parts of the United
states and costs more than 100000
008 a year.
All fruit, seed or plant products
that are found to be diseased are
either destroyed or else rendered
practically sterile by thorough fumi-
CATION. Among the Mexican border,
Uncle Sam maintains great fumiga-
IOTS large eHUuEil loi ScNNioi i''iS
cars to run inside at a time. In this
way all the cotton and cotton seed
that comes in from Mexico is rem
dered harmless SO far as the distri-
button of Objectionable cotton diseases
is concerned.
1.-THE rogue's gallery list Of pests
now includes more than 70 econoni-
cally important crop despollers The
American Nature association asserts.
They include much crop criminals as
the codling moth. asparagus beetle,
buffalo moth, hop plant louise, horn
fly common cabbage worm, sugar
canc borer, pear midge, wheat louise,
oyster shell bark louise, pea weevii.
croton bug. 90 injurious scale insects
and many others. Thirty-seven OF
these pests have been imported from
Europe. At such important parts of
entry as New York. Boston, Seattle
and San Francisco, plant pest police
mon now examine all seed and plant
material as we'll as other agricultural
products which might be infested with
foreign disease germs.