IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I Li |2£ US ■^ m 13. 1^ lit 14.0 •il ■h L25 iu 1^ ■ 22 ■ 2.0 1.6 P^ 150mm /APPLIED J IIVMGE . Inc .^5 1653 East Main Street ^^li Rochester, NY 14609 USA .J^r -jE Phone: 716/462-0300 .^^I:^ Fax: 716/288-5989 e 1993. AppfMd imaga. Inc.. All Rights Rasarved d :\ i\^ ^ §L V '^ «^T. <«V^. ^"^ .y u favoumi few, or that stionii' a« a study inuKt not Ik- |M)|niluii/,,..| for four of (lej^rading it, atv now only held l.y the iirnorant or liiom' who aiv unwilling to learn. SeieiueiH. meivly, luriirate knowledgi- in all InanrheHof stuily, and the iioinilai'izina: of heienee means only the reiideiiiiir of sueh knowlwlge so minple oi- aeeesuihle as to Im" availalde to all who wish to learn. Stn'nuous ettbrls aiv now iK'ing made l>y the K-ading thinkei-s in all lines of study, to give their investigations a |»raeti«nl applieation to the every-day atfaii-s of life. In no diivetion have- ti'»'«e ettorts Ufii attended with so niueh sueeess as in what aix' ealU'd the natural seienees. Heeent developments in the applieation of ele«triei(y may well U" said to have ivvolutioniaHl the whole systems of transportation and e<»miiiunieation. as well as the lighting of eities and individual huildings, and otier a most attractive Held for diseussion Ity any seientitic iioily. Perhaps I iiiH-d not crave your indulgence for y the investigations of scientific workei-s. The chemist is now thoroughly iveognized Ity the agricultural classes as the magician who can unlock to them hidden seci-ets as to the true value of various crops ; can tell them which ai-e the best to grow for stock, to provide food, or as feitilizi'is of the soil ; can tell them, after analysis, what constituents of a soil ait- lacking, and advise them as to the most wonomical way of ivplacing the ivciuiitsd elements. The skill of the practical botanist is now U'ing chiefly diix-ctefl to the examination of parasitic fungi, with the ohject of devising suitable ivmedies for those spt^cies which attack cultivati^l vegetation, or of pro- pagating the parasitic forms which destroy insect life. In the closely allied branches of horticultuiv and agricultuiv. numld'rless exix'rimonts ait) lieing carried on daily with the object of discovering and originating by selection and hybridization new varieties of flowei-s, fruits, tfrains and. vegetables ; the best methods of propagation and cultivation, tlie best treatment of tbe soil and the most effectual and economical fertilizei-s. Hero also, in passing, ivferonce may be made to the cai-e, improvement ♦ H( )Y A L 60C1 ETY OF (A N A 1*A anil tivittincnt in honltli aiitl (linoawj oriill farm H(ock. AH i»f the above work tonu'8 under th« lieati of Htii'Utiric HKncultuiv — piinitliMl tliat it is clono HcoumU'ly — nnd Ih of incalcalahjc value to tlio oountiy at Iai'K«. In no lininch of nutunil wrifnct', how«'ver, I U'llfvo, have hqcIi important n'»uit8 kvn obtainnl, wlit-n /yCHngt**! by tlu'ir effirt upon tlit' ivvenue of thf country, ms in that branch of zoology whicli tivats of inwHrts and th«'ir dcpnubitions on the crops of tlio onhaitl, the garden, and the farm. II18TOR10AI.. I'ractiial or economic entomology may still lie ilescinlte*! as a new study, and in no part of the world can it l»e 8ai|M»rt her clinriulfr. Tlu' latter wvnt lo KxctiT and at tin* ti-iiil Hatit^Hoil tlu- Ju«l«f and jury (.f thf lady h laiidaliltt iiKiuiiy into the wonderful wni-k« oftn-ation, and ostaMiMlicd Hit will. " III thf ISlii ci-ntury tlie «ivat LinnuiiN, 17»7-177H, shines out as a hrij(ht luminary and may l»o drawn attfution to ht-re as tho tii-st et'onomio entomolojjist, t«)r his advancement and opportunities t«» do hin mugniflcent /.(lolo^ical and hotaniial work wti-e. it is saiil, lar;;flydue to hiH wisdom in riH-oramendimr that tin- spars to l»e umd as masts for the navy, which were lyinij in the royal dockyard at Stockh«dm. siiouhl k' sunk in water to protect them from wowl-horinitr insects. iWaumur, born in France in HJ83, the inventor of the thermometer which l»eai-s his name, jtubjished U'twecn 1734 and 1742 his ii-markaMe work " Mtfmoii-cs pour Bcrvir 4 I'liistoiiv natuivlle dcH insectcs,' in which aiv detailed many oHijinal and accurate observations. JI»> died in 1757. Fabricius, 1745-1808,in Denmark, an.l Latreill. . 17621833, in France, alModid monumental work. In Kn^'land, ( 'urtis, the author of "Farm Inm'cts," and Prof. Wcstwood, a most learned and voluminous writer, but best kn(»wn by his •• MiMlern ("lassitication id' Insects," wx'w upholdinj^' the honour of their count ry. In the article above ivfern-d to, Mr. < 'apper says : " In the bei^inniriji,' of the li»th century. Curtis's lranslati«Hi of • Fundanienta Kntomoloj,'ia' ' published in 1772, Yeates's ' Institutions of Kntomolof,'y,' which appeaivd the year after, and Barbut's MJenera Insi'ctorum,' 1781, wen* the only elementary woiks on entomolo^ry." Convinced that this fact was the chief obstacle to the spn-ail ofentoiw,» igy in Britain, Mossi-s. Kirby and Spence ivsolved to do what they could to iimedy the deticiency, and the publication in 1815 of the Introduction to the Stmly of Kntomolo^'y di. !1!r Kn^^linh cntomolo^iHtH, and han made accoKhihlo to the agricultural fiass th«' work of John CurtiM and l'r«)f We»tw«»od, and has adopte estimated at the present time, hot she will deserve, at the hands of posterity, canonization as the patron saint of economic entomology in England." In atldition to Miss Ormeroai'ed from the pen of Mr. ('. Whitehead, a practical farmer who also holdK the ]>osition of technical advi^4M■ to the Board of Agnculture. As stated alxtve, great advance has heen made on this continent, which is certainly due to the practical tendency of the majority of the pi'ople of North Ameiica to im-ognise what is useful when laid plainly i»efon' them ; hut also to the excellent natuiv of the work which has been done. It would be entirely out of the question to mention even the names of the many eminent economic entomologists of the United States, and only such will lie cited now as are neccssaiy in speaking of the few instances which I propose to lay Itefore you. to illustrate a few of the heads of subjects embraeement of economic entomology has l)een most intimately connectwl with that of the Ento- mological Soi'iety ol Ontario, which issued its first n'jwrt on injurious infH^ctB in 1870. Since that year these valuable ri'jwrts have apix'aretl regularly, and have supplii>x(i«lKint work, liut it wuh clticfly oi' u HcifiitiHt' niid dowriptivo nntun^ In th«' curriculum of tlic OntHrio A^riculturiil College at li. practical entomology in iuclupartment of Af^rieulturi' of British Columliia. In 18!U an InsjK'ctorof Kruit-|H>stH was appointea*ly been studied out cari'fully in the Ihiittnl States Is'ton- they n-ach our boriU;i:>, and we have the lieneHt of all the exiK'rieiice of our neii;hl)ours to ^uide and help us in counteracting their attacks. In the ca«> of some insi^cts practical and effective rt'meilies have Urn discoveretl liefore the insects invaded our bonlers. Notable instances of such inwcts an' found In the Cattle Horn-fly, the Pear-ler.f Blister-mite, and the Pear-tree Psylla. (rENKKAI, PRINCIPLES. It does not i-equire much observation to see that the annual losses due to insects are very ^reat, and nogooti object wouhl l»e Si'rvinl by attempting here to give in figun^s the estimate U* cuiilfolltMl. IniMTtK (•till Im- ilividcHi into,two Jarf^o <-Iiihih*h by tli«< nutuii' of tlu'ii' mouth purlH : (I) MuixlilMiltitH, or Biting inMM'tH, and (2) tfauMtfllata, or Sucking iiirwu-tH- Till* tli'Ht of thi>m^ PUD Ik) (le8tm"«jd by pluoiiiK active poiHoiiH on their too«l-|ilaiitK, HO ili!iil«>eti(-ideH which kill l>y mere lontaet with their iHHiit'H. an* neeesHary. We have n(»w standard aetivo r< ineiliuM wliieh anHWer for ImUIi of these ilafWf*. and, in addition, many preventive meaHuroH may he taken by M'hich injury is wanled oH" All thene n>ethotls, together with the neees- sary apparatus, have lH>eM treated of with eonsidorable detail in Mulletin 11 of the Central Kx|MTimental Farm series, copitw of which are still available for all who apply for them ; and I now propom-, under a few heads, to speak as brietl}' as possible of some instances of good entomo- logical work which demttnstrate the practical value t>f a knowledge of economic entomology. CONTKOLLINU BY Rr.UEIMKS. lieverting now to the two classes of injurious insects — Biting insects and Sucking insects, — I will draw your attention to the value of the two standaiil i-emedics for these classes : 1. I'aris green, which is an ai*senitc of copiK-r containing altout sixty per cent of arsenic, is almost an ideal material for tlic purposes to which it is applied by entomologists. Its characti'Hstic green colour advertiaea its poisonous nature, and prevents many accitlents which might arise from caivlessness ; its insolubility in water and under most conditions to which it is likely to Ix' exposcil iK'fore it is appliwi, renders its use very simple, its tine state of division makes its dilution, either with liquids or dry powders, very convenient. Moivover, its exti-eme virulence as a poison makes it possible to dilute it very much indeetl without destroying its efficacy as an insecticide. The recent discovery that the admixture of an equal weight of fresh lime with the arsenite neutraliaes its caustic effect upon vegetation, has n-moved the last drawback to the use of this material. This has also simplitied immensely the question of the most suitable remedy for Mandi- bulate insects. Now. a standard strength of one pouml of Paris green, oue pound of quick-lime and two hundi'etl gallons of water, may lie recommendeil for use on all kinds of vegetation. Three yeai-s ago 1 had the honour of laying befoi-e this eection some of the remarkably satis- factory results which hatl been obtained by spraying fruit-trees with Paris given to protect them against insec-t injury. Since that time 1 have lost no opportunity to bring this matter officially before the farmers of Canada, and to-day there is more spniying Ijeing done throughout the itddrosfitf- lti35 11 [rurrci.nt] PRh>IDENTIAI, ADDRF»8 eounlry tliiui luw tsvor Ihhmj i»ivviou»ly tlm ruMC nvor an I'qiiul «ivu of it»r- ritory, hiuI nihinatioii of fun^iciileH and inHeetieides, tir^«t proininuntly brought forwanl l>y J'rof. ('larenco M. Weed of New llantpshiiv, in now '^own to Ikj an important one, and on most foliaj^e with im- punity, if mixed with nine times its volume of water. Moivov»'r, it is a most effective destntyer of all in^-cts upon which it may l«' sprayed. It is particularly elt'ective a^'do^t scale insects, u class of insects which ai-e very ditfiuult to treat. In tiie effort to eradicate the i»ernicious San Jos4 scale, recently detected in the eastern States, this was found to Ije u use- ful remeily. The occuri'ence of that .scale cast of California, and the vigorous, prompt measuivs adopted by the Unileil States Kntomolo^ist, have obtaineil for that otHcer givat credit among the truit-growei*9 of America, Another of -Mr. Howai-ds triumphs was the working out of the full lifo-history of the Cattle Horn-fly, a jK'st of horned stock, which of recent years has lieen the cause of much K)88 to dairymen. 1 happenal to be in Washington at the time its fii-st occurrence was announced in Virginia, and had the opportunity of going with Mr. Ilowanl to the infested district, whei-e he ct)llected the first eggs of the fly, from which he successfully worked out the complete life-history, and pmvetl that the maggots bixnl entirely and only in fresh cattle droppings. This indicate the people aid in time of di^ti-ess, and the distiVHw was very i;ii'at iiidtvd." Mr. William F. (^haiiniii^. of I'assadena. wrote, two yeaiis later: -We owe to the Agrieultural IX'partntent tlie ivneue of our oraii^'e eultuiv hy the introduetion of the Australian Lady-hinl, Vedalia cardinalis. Tiie White Scales wen' inerustinj; our oraiifje-tives with a hideous lepiosy. They spivad with wonderful rapidity, and would have made citrus jyrowth on the whole North American continent impossijde within a few yeai-s. It took the Vedalia, when introduced, only a few weeks al»s<»lutely to clean out the White Scale. The deliverance was nioiv like a miracle than anything I have ever seen. In the spring of 188!> I had ahandoned my y(»ung Washington Navel orange-tiws as invcoverahle. Those same titvs hoiv froi wo to thitHj Itoxes of onmges ai>iece at the end of the siason (or winter and spring of 1890). The conwquence of the deliv»'ranie is that nmnj' hundivds of thousands of orange-ti-ees of the Hmst varieties have htHin nvl out in southern California this last spring." In other wonis, the victory over the scale was complete and will l>ractically ivmain so. The history of the introduction of this |K*st. its spread for upwawls of twenty yeai-s and the discouragement which ivsulted, the numerous exiKMnments which weiv made to oveivome the insect and its tinal induction to unimportant numliei-s hy means of an aj)parently insignificant little lieetle imported for the i>urpose from Australia, will always remain one of the most inteivsting stones in the i-ecoi-ds of ])ractical entomology." The ivsults of all this may Ik- sum- mari/A'd as follows : — An exjx'riment. the cost of which was limited to $2,000. has rendered the cultivation of oranges, lemons, limes and other citrus fruits possihie in California, wheivas but for this expei-iment the whole of that important and lucrative industiy would incvitahly have lieen entiivly wiixnl out, thus involving the loss of hundmls of thousamis of dollai-s. The .same satisfactory ivsults have also followed the inti-o- duction of the Vedalia into Cajn? Colony and Kgypt. OONTBOLLINO BY VEGETABLE PaRAS1T«8. C'losely allien annually defoliatwl in the spring by myriads of caterpillai-s of a moth known as Ellopia somniaria. In 1891 many diseased caterpillai-s were st^nt to me by Mr. W. H. Danby, of Victona, and were found on examination to be infested with this fungus. The following year and up to the present time, tlie caterpillars have been so scarce that a single sjx^cimen can only be found with difficulty. It is true there were parasi- tic insects also at work,; but I consider that the chief cause of diminution of the caterpillars was due to this disease. Other fungi of interest which frequently do good work ai'e the pecu- liar parasite of the White grub (fiordyceps melotont/ue) and an Empusa (E. aphidis), frequently abundant and destructive not only to myriads of the injurious plant-lie^, but also to numerous other insects. Addresses 1895 ii [ri.ETCHHK] PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS AOKfCULTURAL TkbaTMENT. A most nt'ct's.sary jiart (>tja;o«Ml aijiiciillun- wliicli atti-cts ('iit(niio|..inlantswith Paris green. Lately Prof. Howard K. Weed has practist'd this hait-trap method with mustanl in oi-der to collect the exceedingly injurious Harlequin plant- bug, which destroys cabbages in Mi-ssissippi and other southern States. When the strip of mustanl has attracted the bugs, it is sprayed heavily with a strong kerosene emulsion. As an instance of kwn perception and usi'ful gnisp of a subject in this line. 1 will draw your attention to the n-med}- tirst suggested bj- Mr. L. O. HowanI for the Clover-seed Midge, which every year so materially lessens the output of an important crop in ( 'anada. In my report for 1885 to the Honouralde Minister of Agriculture, I stated as follows : "Ontario in 1881 produced a crop of clover-seetl worth $648,600. Since that time the Clover-seed Midge has made its appearance, and its injuries have been so considerable that, instead of Canada exporting large quan- tities of this valuable see desti-oyed hy the cattle eating them, or they dry up witli tlie elover hay which has been cut l)efore they wei-e mature enough to leave the heads of clover and go into the ground to complete their stages. By leaving the clover standing in the fields till the end of June u sufficient time elapses for this latter process to take place, and the perfect flies emerge again just in time to lay their eggs in the opening flowei-s of the second crop. In this way, the seed of the second crop is destroyed as well as the first. The discovery of this prac- tical remedy 1 formerly attributed to a ('anadian farmer ; but I find it, together with many other suggestions of great value in economic ento- mology, was undoubtedly first suggested by Mr. Howard. Systematic Co-opbration. Finally, let mo bring before your notice one instance exemplifying how combined systematic effort may work^ wonders even in an apparently hopeless case. 01 the many injurious insects introduced at vaiious times from the old world, not one has, in as short a time, attracted so much attention, been so great a cause of anxiety, or has l^en so systematically fought as the Gypsy Moth, since it appeared in vast numbers in the state of Massa- chusetts in 1889. As a practical object lesson of the value of scientifically diivcted efibrt to overcome an insect enemy which had been alloweti to increase unnoticed until it had assumed almost overwhelming proportions, the campaign which has been so successfully carried on for the last four years by the Gypsy Moth Department of the State Board of Agriculture of Massachusetts, is of very great interest to all economic entomologists. Mr. li. O. Howard, the United States Entomologist, one of the best qualified to expivss an opinion, says, in his recent address as president of the Association of Economic Entomologists, as follows : " The work upon the Gypsy Moth which has been done by the State of Massachusetts since 1889, is one of the most remarkable pieces of work, judging by results, which has yet been done in economic entomology. The opera- tions have been carried on by a committee of the State Board of Agricul- ture, and the means have been furnished by large appropriations by the State Legislature. Three hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars have already been apprnriated. A territory comprising something over 100 square miles was infested by the insects, which occurred in such extra- ordinary nuraber-s as to destroy many trees, and almost to threaten the ultimate extinction of living vegetation, not only within the infested territory, but in all localities to which it might spread. The infested territory has been reduced by one-half, and within the districts in which the Gypsy moth at present exists, it is, practically speaking, a compara- tively rare species. The future of the insect is, however, problematical. Ldd^osstL 1895 t [flbtchbr] PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS 18 The contimmncu of Huffleiently larju'e appropriations fi-om the Stute Log- ishvtuii) to enable the work to lie earned on, on its present scale, is douht- f'ul. and yet those in charge believe that still larger appropi-iations are necessary to bring about extermination. They are confident, however, that with sultioient means, the insect can Ije absolutely exterminated fi-om the State of ^Massachusetts.' The few instances which I have given, will, I believe, show the great economic value of the study of entomology, and, as I have already taken up as much of your valuable time as is permissible on this occasion, I will not cite any more of the numlxu'less cases which might be brought for- ward ; but. in conclusion, let me state that, notwithstanding the enormous numbei-sof insects in the world, those particular kinds which generally every year attack farm crops, ai-e comparatively few in numl)er— not more than one hundi-ed species. The life-histories of most of these have been so well worked out that I think it is not too much to claim that, upon application to a competent entomologist, information is now available with regard to most of them, which will enable those inquiring for it, to lesson, mitigate or avert altogether the injurj- from injurious insects.