The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1925-06-23
WHY THE INSECTS
ARE INCREASING
ADVANCING CIVILIZATION
AND PRESENT FARM SYS-
TEN ARE RESPONSIBLE.

Farmers frequently remark that on
" a few wears back, before they had
heard Of the entomologist, that they
could raise an abundance Of nice
peaches and other fruit free from the
worms and bugs. Now it is difficult
to raise anything without putting up
a fight against the insects and diseas-
es. Some go so far as to say that en-
tomologists are responsible TOR the
ever increasing number OF insects.
A study OF the situation, however,
reveals that our advancing civillza-
ton" and the present methods III our
agricultural system are exactly condu-
Give to the multiplication of the in
sects, writes S. Marcoyitch in Farm
ing Magazine. The aeroplane is adj
mitted by all to be very modern; yet
it has already been demonstrated to
be capable of spreading insects from
one county to another, Automobiles
for example are excellent carriers OF
pests in quarantine areas. Fast steam
ships made it possible for living Eu-
ropean corn borers to gain entrance
into this country with a shipment of
broom corn. More than so per cent OF
our insect foes have been imported
from abroad, e. g.-the San Jose scale,
cabbage worm, Hessian fly, Japanese
beetle. European corn borer and so
on. Civilization may be measured by
the advances and improvements made
in transportation facilities, but the
more rapid the transportation system
the more chances we create for trans
porting insects in a living condition
from one place to another. The late
world war, with our shipments of food
to France, has been responsible for
the introduction OF our native potato
beetle there Numerous other exam
pies could be given.
Not only are we to have nearly all
of the insects OF the rest OF the world
imported into this country, but each
state will eventually have all the in
sect problems of the rest OF the states.
A recent illustration is the Mexican
bean beetle This pest would have
been confined to the mountains of
Colorado and vicinity for long time
TO come had not Alabama imported
alfalfa hay in 1918 from the west This
alfalfa hay contained live specimens
of Mexican bean beetles.
Along with our rapid transportation
system has come the development of
large scale farming and the necessary
destruction of the forests. This APP
pears to be an artificial condition and
has upset the balance in nature. The
destruction Of the forests means the
loss Of the most efficient enemies OF
the insects. refer to the birds. No
forests mean no nesting places. One
has only to witness floods to learn an
other lesson of what the forests mean
to us. To be sure, in the early days
if was necessary to clear the woods IN
order to make room for corn and 9th
err staples. Now we have millions of
acres of corn, wheat and other crops
where before there were prairies or
trees. Once an insect like the Euro
pean corn borer gains entrance into
this country its chances for multiplied
ton are unlimited. The number OF in
sects that may develop under our vast
acreage conditions is almost beyond
the comprehension of the average
man. Formerly under pioneer condi-
tons the constant shifting about kept
the insects guessing as to how to keep
up, and where to make the next move.
Now our large scale farming is exactly
what the insects have wished for, and
we have satisfied their every need and
requirement
We need only look at the cotton
boil weevil for another very familiar
illustration. This insect was of slight
economic importance under the condi-