632 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEl'AUTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Jiving tissue and the ultimate destructiveness of the disease is largely 

 dejiondent u])on primary injuries by insects. Damage to telephone 

 and telegraph ])()les, mine i)rops, posts, and railroad timbers is be- 

 coming more noticeable and is causing greater loss on account of the 

 increasing values. 



An interesting form of insect damage to forest interests is coming 

 to (he front in the way of damage by insects to the cones and seeds 

 of pine, Douglas fir, and balsam fir*. Investigations in California 

 have shown that this damage amounted to from 25 to 90 per cent of 

 the available supply. In one locality the forest officials planned to 

 collect 1,000 pounds of yellow-pine seed, but it was found that 90 per 

 cent of the cones were infested by a seed-destroying caterpillar, and 

 the work was abandoned. It was also found that the sugar-pine 

 cones in two National Forests were damaged by a scolytid beetle, and 

 it was estimated that from 25 to 35 per cent of the cones were 

 destroyed. 



FIELD DEMONSTRATIONS IN PREVENTION AND CONTROL. 



"With the increased appropriations made for this section of the work 

 of the bureau for the fiscal year 1911-12, it was possible for the first 

 time to thoroughly systematize the work of field demonstrations and 

 to carry them on with a greater measure of success. The main 

 feature of the field work during the year has been to carry on field 

 demonstrations in the practical application of the recommended 

 methods of preventing or controlling damage by Dendroctonus 

 beetles on living pine, spruce, Douglas fir, and larch. Nine forest 

 insect field stations have been established and at each of these stations 

 w^ork has been conducted under the direct supervision of an entomo- 

 logical assistant who is helped by especially trained agents. Briefly 

 summarized, these stations have begun their work in the following 

 way: 



Station No. 1 is located at Columbia Falls, Mont., and covers an 

 area including the States of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, 

 Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado, and paiis of Wyoming, Idaho, and 

 Washington. The work at this station during the year included 

 investigations, instructions, and demonstrations on private. State, 

 and Federal lands, involving more than 60,000 infested trees. The 

 principal demonstration project was located in the Tongue River In- 

 dian Reservation. In the spring of 1911 it was shown that there 

 was an extensive outbreak of the Black Hills beetle, the timber 

 killed being estimated at about 3,000,000 board feet. Cooperative 

 work was carried on with the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the De- 

 partment of the Interior, that office having allotted $11,000 for this 

 purpose. About 6,000 trees have been cut and barked and much 

 of the infested timber is being converted into lumber which yields 

 a clear stumpage value of $6, which will go far toward covering the 

 cost of the operations. The work will probably be brought to a suc- 

 cessful termination by the end of July, 1912, and the threatened 

 destruction of a vast amount of timber will have been stopped. 



Another project under this station is at Swan Lake, Mont., and 

 includes private. State, and National forest timber. About 45,000 

 trees had died or were infested by the mountain pine beetle. A 

 special arrangement was made between the Forest Service, the State 



