Milford chronicle., 1924-06-13

prepared by the United States Departmsp
OF Agriculture
The serious nature of the struggle
to control the numerous insect enc
mics Of our various crops, our live
stock, and ourselves is shown in the
annual report made by DR.. L. O. How
ard, chief Of the bureau of entomology
to the secretary Of agriculture. Now
and then the general public is shown
through the columns of the newspa-
pers and financial journals how great
a factor in our economic welfare is
the boil weevil, the grasshopper the
chinch bug, or the army worm, but
these are only a few of the hOrdes
which annually chew and suck away
our national wealth by the millions of
bushels and bales. Scores of these
enemies are continually being inves-
tlgated and every now and then a new
one from another country makes its
appearance, sometimes threatening an
important industry in some locality
and demanding hurried efforts on the
part of the scientists.
Great Damage by Boil Weevii.
Nationally the cotton boil weegii
stands out as the insect which has
created the greatest economic disturb
ance of recent years, and number of
pages of Doctor Towards report are
devoted to the various studies being
made of methods of controlling the
pest Tests conducted on more than
1000 farms scattered throughout the
cotton belt have shown that by proper |
busting of the fields with calcium ar
senate 96 per cent Of the farmers were
enabled to control the weevil so as to
make the crop profitable, the average
increase being 339 pounds of seed cot
ton to the acre at a cost of 81 Many
experiments were carried on in trying
out other methods and equipment. in
cluding the use of airplanes for dust
ing All but 4.01 per cent of the cot
ton crop is now produced in territory
infested with the boil weevil.
Strong efforts have been made to
gain control Of the Japanese beetle,
a new pest which has been spreading
in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The
insect is being carefully studied farm
practices are being modified to help
reduce its multiplication, and prog
ress has been made in introducing
natural parasites from the Orient.
During the year much work was done
on other deciduous fruit insects in
Guiding those of the grape, peach, ap-
pie, and of various nuts.
Campaigns have been carried on
against the gypsy and SrOwn-tail
moths. Investigators have been in
Europe and Japan studying the nat
ural agencies which assist in the con- '
troll of these insects, and several prom
ising parasites have been shipped to l
this country and are being tried out I
along with every other agency which
may be of service in fighting these {
-ree-defoliatlng pests. .
New Pests Gain Foothold.
Cereal and forage insects have been J =
given much attention in various parts u
If the country where damage is be- =
ng done or where new pests are gain a q
ng a fOOthold. The European corn - u
)Orer is one of the most important Il
# these introduced pests; another is =,
he alfalfa weevil, while grasshOppers, :.
he southern stalk bOrer, the wheat -
traw-wOrm, the corn earwOrm, and =
1ebwOrms cause serious losses. In a.
estigatiOns were carried on to devel- ~
p better control measures for insects
stored grain and grain prod {
cts dried fruits, meat and fabrics.
estS have been made of cold storage
1r the prevention Of loss by insects,
fumigatiOn, and of woods such as in
I'd cedar. 20
A number of insects attacking trOp- wi
al and subtropical fruits have be- FRI
)me troublesome and efforts are be- fr'
lg made to control them. Among alb
lese are several citrus pests includ- eg
g the camphOr scale, mango and avo- sit
ldo insects, and fruit flies in the fol
anal Zone and Hawaii. Pests Of PU
.getables and truck crops now Of vic
eat Importance are the Mexican bean Ou
etle, sweet-pOtatO weevil, pea aphis,
an fly; cabbage, cucumber, melon, Bl
rawberry, and sugar-beet insects.
The entOmOlogists of the department
20 have been concerning themselves
tn pests of animals and of man. !ni'
90 +roor+. boro hoo,, do,,iso,1 g. a. dai
'Oying OK MARBLES, and traps, poisons Vi
d repellents have been developed for ooW ,1
'ewwOrms and blowflies; studies al,
We been made of the possibilities In 0Ioi
" treatments for lice on live stock Iv eIS,
d poultry and Investigations of "a Iai'
laria mosquitoes have been cov,- -
,ted. u .
Insects Damage Forests. o,-
mother branch Of this varied wolk M.
; to do with insects damaging for a-o.
S and those that destroy lumber ond
other forest products. The larg- calf
single control project ever at be ?
lpted against tree-killing bark tion
ties is now in its second season. tba
area In southern Oregon and raIv
thern California over which this VOL,
iemic extends Is little larger than neri
state of Delaware and in the last
years in this region the western
2 beetle has killed over billion
rd feet of merchantable yellow o.
? timber, valued at over $3,6OO,OOO. pittI
Is 90 times as much as has been are
ed by fire on the same area during ever
same DeriOd IF has hean damon nv S