BIRDS 



eat three times its own weight of vegetation every day. 

 This, on first thoughts, does not seem so very astonish- 

 ing, but if applied, for instance, to a horse, it would 

 mean the animal would require at least a ton of food 

 every twenty-four hours to satisfy its hunger and 

 provide for its growth. A man weighing 150 lbs., 

 eating only twice his own weight of food, would need 

 a daily ration of 300 lbs. 



The appetite of the vegetation-eating caterpillar is, 

 however, dwarfed into com- 

 parative nothingness by the 

 colossal eating powers of 

 some of the carnivorous 

 larvae. One of them, for 

 instance, will devour 200 

 times its original weight in 

 twenty-four hours. 



If a large caterpillar eats 

 an ounce of vegetation a day, 



it can well be imagined the number of tons, of 

 produce the offspring of a few moths or butterflies 

 would devour in a season if every egg was allowed to 

 hatch and the caterpillar permitted to live its allotted 

 span of life. The actual bulk of vegetation devoured 

 is not the only mischief wrought by insects. Hosts 

 of species of insects pass the first or larval stage of their 

 lives underground, and feed on roots, and consequently 

 destroy the life of the young plant. 



Man with all his weapons of defence could not 

 withstand the onslaught of the insect hosts a single 

 year without the aid of the allies which he ignorantly 



7 



The Caterpillar takes a heavy 

 toll of the farmers' crops. 



