The L'Anse sentinel., 1924-02-01

(Prepared by the United States Department
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 bon weevil, the grasshopper, the
ehlnch 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-
tigated and every now and then 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 Weevil.
Nationally the cotton boil weevil
stands out as the insect which has
created the greatest economic disturb
ance of recent years, and number of
pages of Doctor Howard'S 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
dusting 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 3o9 pounds of seed cot
ton to the acre at cost of 81 Many
experiments were carried on in trying
out other methods and equipment, in
Guiding the use of airplanes for dust
ing. All but 401' 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
son ether decduous fruit insects in
Guiding those of the grape, peach, APP
aple, and OF various nuts.
= Campaigns have been carried on
against the gypsy and Sfown-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
Using parasites have been shipped TO
this country and are being tried out
along with every other agency which
may be Of service in fighting these
tree-defoliating pests.
New Pests Gain Foothold.
Cereal and forage insects have been
given much attention in various parts
of the country where damage Is be-
ing done or where new pests are gain
ing foothold. The European corn
borer is one of the most important
of these introduced pests another IS
tine alfalfa weevil, while grasshoppers,
the southern stalk borer, the wheat
straw-worm, the corn earworm, and
webworms cause serious losses. In
vestigations were carried on to devel-
op better control measures for insects
attacking stored grain and grain prod
.ucts, dried fruits, meat and fabrics.
Tests have been made Of cold storage
for the prevention of loss by insects,
of fumigation, and of woods such as
red cedar.
A number Of insects attacking trop-
ical and subtropical fruits have be-
come troublesome and efforts are be-
ing made to control them. Among
these are several citrus pests, includ.
Ing the camphor scale, mango and avo.
cado insects, and fruit flies In the
Canal Zone and Hawaii Pests O,
vegetables and truck crops now oi
great Importance are the Mexican bear
beetle, sweet-potato weevil, pea aphis
bean fly; cabbage. cucumber, melon
strawberry, and sugar-beet insects.
The entomologlsts Of the department
also have been concerning themselve
with pests Of animals and OF mar
Treatments have been devised for dc
stroying OK warbles, and traps, poison
and repellents have been developed 10
screwworms and blowfiies; studie
have been made Of the possibilities /
new treatments for lice on live stoc
and poultry and Investigations
malaria mosquitoes have been Coz
Quoted,
Inssots Damage Forssts
w Another branch Of this varied wo,
has 70 Do with insects damaging "a