130 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



corn and wheat crops, — the small chinch-bng being the devastator, — at $73,- 

 000,000, which Prof. Riley, the able State Entomologist of Missouri, says is 

 very moderate. 



The cabbage butterfly, which is rapidly approaching our own State, annually 

 destroys, according to Canadian estimates, around the single city of Quebec, 

 $240,000 worth of cabbages. 



Had the statistics been gathered, equally startling accounts would be given 

 of ravages in our own State, where millions of dollars' worth of wheat have 

 been sacrificed to the midge and Hessian fly; thousands of dollars' worth of 

 corn, vegetables, and fruit trees to the ruthless cut-worms ; whole orchards of 

 peach and apple trees to the various borers; while the codling moth, curculio, 

 and the insatiate potato beetle, with scores of colleagues, are fast working to 

 blight our hopes, and retard, if not undermine, the prosperity of our State. 

 B. Hathaway, of Cass county, in a recent address, stated as his opinion that, 

 in many regions, if not generally, the loss during the past year by the codling 

 moth alone would be sufficient to pay all the town, county, and State taxes. 

 His loss during the previous year was more than two hundred dollars. A. J. 

 Cook, Professor of Entomology at our Agricultural College, and Entomologist 

 of the orchard committee of the State Pomological Society, for the past year, 

 reports that the committee visited apple orchards where one-third of the trees 

 were utterly ruined by the borers, peach orchards wholly ruined by the peach- 

 tree borer, while on the light soils along our western lake shore, and inland, 

 50 per cent of the trees of many young orchards were killed by the cut- worms. 



Permit us now to call your attention to the benefits which are sure to result 

 from a wise appointment, and full maintenance of a State Entomologist. 



Dr. Packard asserts that by proper exertion, ten per cent of the $500,000,000 

 already referred to might be saved, nor do we believe he over-estimates ; yet it 

 is no easy matter to incite the community to the necessary exertion which is 

 to save to our nation this $50,000,000. We believe the mosc eflficient means 

 to this end would be gained in the services of a capable Entomologist. 



Scientific and practical entomologists have already invented remedies for 

 many of the ills which the vegetable kingdom is heir to ; but as yet the culti- 

 vators, — the practical men, — are generally in total ignorance of them. A 

 State Entomologist, meeting with our clubs and associations, by private lec- 

 tures, and through the press, could s]oread this information, and thus save to 

 our State immense suras; the more so as very practicable and efficient reme- 

 dies are already discovered for most of the insect pests of Michigan, yet some 

 of our most destructive insect enemies are still beyond our reach. But to 

 copy from President Wilders address before the National Pomological Society 

 in 1871: "Is there an insect enemy that may not be overcome? Is there a 

 disease for which nature does not offer a remedy? Yet we must be wise to 

 take it. There are more than one-half million of species of insects more 

 than of all other animals, with plants thrown in. How to discover means 

 whereby we may successfully balfle the attempts of the noxious, not only 

 requires a high order of talent and well trained observation, but long, hard 

 study as well; for a general knowledge of all insects is requisite, embracing 

 structure, habits, development, etc. Thus we may hope that a live Entomol- 

 ogist, thoroughly cultured in his science, will as he continually observes and 

 studies these smallest, yet mightiest of our foes, discover the remedies now 

 unknown, as well as improve those already discovered." 



Again, quoting from Dr. Packard: "I could enumerate upwards of fifty 



