New Britain herald., 1926-06-04
ByJ J.Herbert Duckworth

h CENSUS is being taken of the abun- dance of insect pests in the United States.
 The existence, dwelling places, dis tribution and summer and winter occu- pations of hundreds of billions of flying, crawling and creeping things are being carefully reported by hundreds of "cen- sus takers throughout the country. Certain facts are recorded on punch cards, which are then automatically sorted, totaed and tabulated on a ma chine similar to that used by the Census Bureau. The survey is being made by the Bureau of Entomology of the Depart ment of Agriculture.
 This is the first time a job like this has been undertaken anywhere in the world. Primarily started for the benefit of the farmers, 1t is also of very great practical interest to all those who have gardens and who every summer are com- pelled to stand helpless and watch their roses, cabbages, pansies and peas dis appear under the mass attacks of bat talions of bugs. -@---2>
 Man imagines himself to be the dom- nant power on earth. He is nothing of the sort. The true lords of the universe are the insects. Man has attained to predominance over the most fierce and powerful mammals, but in the face of an attack of insects he and all his works are set at naught.
 The number of insect species is aston ishing, and their power of multiplica- tion amazing. The number of insect species is greater by far than that of the species of all other living creatures combined.
 THE chinch bug, a destructive Amer- A can pest, has been found in a clump of grass eight inches in diameter to the number of 10000. The progeny of this colony alone, if left alone. would soon become incomputable hordes, devastating wide areas of the earth's surface If every egg of the grasshopper were per mitted 10 hatch and come to maturity, the consequences would be too dreadful to contemplate. The possible produc- tion of offspring by one pair of cotton boil weevils has been estimated at l2,- 100. 4 British naturalist has ascer- tained mathcmatically that two vinegar maggots could multiply in one year into a mass that could cover the peninsula of India to depth of one mile.
 The voracjty of insects is almost as tb1,,. ( rion. The daily ration in leaves of caterpillar ,~ equal to twice it's own weight. 1. q horse were to feed at the same rate he would have to eat ton of hay every ;Neniy-iour hours.
 Only these who have made a detailed study of the subject can appreciate the damage insects do to agriculture in th, United States. Dr. L. 0. Howard, ento- mologist and Chief of the Bureau of Entomology. told the writer that c. L. Marlatt. former Assistant Chief, had estimated that insect pests cause a re- duction of more than 10 per cent of the crops actually harvested.
 This means that with an annual crop value, such as that of 1924 totaling for farm, fruit and garden crops nearly $13,000,0 ,000,000. the loss to these farm crops alone would represent consider ably over s1,OO0,O00,000. In addition to this there is a very large loss to livestock from such pests as biting flies, parasitic flies, ticks, mites, etc
 The following table gives the value of certain plant products for 1924 with the losses chargeable, according to MT. Mar latt, to various insect pests:
 Percentage Amount
 Product Value of Loss of Loss cereals ...i5.220,00 10 t522 00o Cotton .,.., l,f0O,o0O,00O 10 l70,0O0,0OO
 Forage ,.. 1,7oO,oOo,Ooo 10 17o,oooooo Tobacco .... 266,0oO0oO 70 25'600GVv Vegetables .. l00o,oQoV0O 2o 2OO,0OO,00o Sugar Crops. 2,000,000,00O 20 400, ,O0p
 Another point of view of insect losses can be gained by making an estimate
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