Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-06-26

Agriculture in America is like the
small boy "when a Teller needs a
friend
Not only does the United States
Senate vote down the relief measure,
but now Dr. l.. o. Howard. chief or
the Bureau of Entomology of the De-
partment of Agriculture. declares that
men are going to be wiped off the
earth by ferocious insects. If they
don't watch out"
Farmers asked Congress to help sell
the surplus crops abroad. so as 10
keep prices Of living up in America,
but the scientist intimates that there
will be no surplus crops unless Dy
eternal vigilance we keep down the
insect pests, which are even now using
the full time of a million farmers 10
feed them and are consuming Wnat
would feed several million humans
He has so stated in California
speech.
A million farmers feeding the ento-
biological dragon! That would pc
quite insufficient defense, II the IN
scots should ever declare an armlstlce
and stop fighting each other. IL Is
only because nature is carrying on
relentless war between pests ana pests
of vests that man Is enapieo 10 h'0
through the year. ~.
To Intensity his human scare ".
Howard cites the fact that lnsects
hsva IN advantage over man because
49,, have been on earth 5O,OO0,O0o
yaars while man has been here only
soo ooA wears. This excites the curious
10 AK how it happened that a1ter tne
irsects had been practlclng theil
noonopoly some 49,500.OOo years man
u,a g able to edge in and MAINTAIN nus
footing against their opposition. Also
houy comes it that the savages-ouf
American Indians, for eXample-who
rod No chronological science, survived
a humiliation which science now warns
MS is a peril imminent 10 our OWN
survival? .,x,,a accord.
ing to the specialists OF the Eh.oiii ~,
ogv Bureau. Before America was Eis'
ilized. the native insects hao 10 skiI,
mish among wild vegetation loi 80
food. The Indians were nv sss 20
,.;ons hut lived upon the game OF
h"ntine and agriculture was negil'
chile Today our broad acres supply
frea food ready for billions OF insects
Tn addition to that, there are many
r,nds Of insects which have been I'M
norted from their natural napltats:
where existed their own parasites anu
rivals which preyed upon them' just
as Jungle beasts prey upon each oti.eI.
These imported insects are mere lIee
FROM their natural enemies, so tnat
not onlv have they increased supphes
of foods. but greater safety. Renee
they propagate with marvellous speeu'
It has long been the fashion among
the ignorant to belittle the Importance
of insects, because the individual specl-
mems were so insignificant. Wnat a
monster would appear If the indlVld'
uals could be combined into one huge
aninal-or one beast of each variety
which required only the same 1000
that the multitudinous bugs con-
sumo! It takes the equivalent OF the
entire wheat crop Of the famous spring
wheat region-Minnesota, the TWO "a
kotas and Montana-just 10 1eeu the
wheat-eating insects OF the Onteo
States, while men may eat what "neat
Is raised in other States.
It takes one barrel of apples ana an
other fruit, out Of every hve parreIs'
for the bugs" See the cattle upon
thousand hills! One out of every
10 AIS the stomachs of insect pests.
What effect would it have upon our
farm problems If all pesttferous lnsects
were annihilated? The surplus tnen
produced would amount to two billion
dollars more than today's average sur
plus-and be worth nothing at all. be-
cause it would be such an enormous
oversupply that it would ruin the
farmers in one season. In that sense
perhaps our pests are our salvation
Of prosperity, since the recent debate
in Congress indicated that the great
problem is our farm surplus.
The pests. which had been strug.
Cling along before Columbus discov..
cred America, by consuming wild
cherries of the forests, have become
50 civilized that they now prefer
peaches, and are known as the peach
borers. Hundreds Of other varieties