February, '09 J JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 51 



time, and the lack of snifieient authority and funds hiter, it was al- 

 loM^ed to extend beyond practical control and in conseciuence a large 

 part of the timber of the entire National Forest has been killed. There 

 were then no forcible examples of the practical value of such recom- 

 mendations based on scientifie research and no other argument was 

 effective in arousing public interest in the threatening character of 

 the outbreak or confidence in scientific advice or methods or control. 

 Now we have several examples demonstrating the practicability of 

 forest insect control in America which should lead to confidence in the 

 results of research as a basis for success in practical application. 



President Forbes : Remarks on this paper are now in order. 



Mr. Washburn: What is the annual loss from /). ponderoscef 



Mr. Hopkins: About a billion feet has been killed in the Black 

 Hills National Forest and at least 10% of the matured timber in the 

 southern half of the Rocky ^fountain region within recent j^ears. 



President Forbes : The Association may perhaps be interested 

 to know the results of some forestry insect work that we have done 

 this last season in Illinois. Our situation is a little peculiar there 

 in that respect. Although state entomologist, I am also charged 

 by the state law with the natural history survey of the state, which 

 is directed primarily to economic and educational ends, and among 

 the enterprises which we^ have lately taken up under the impulse of 

 this conservation movement, which has led to consultations of gover- 

 nors, experiment station workers and others, has been a forestry 

 survey of the "Prairie State." We are not supposed to have any 

 forests in Illinois, but. nevertheless, we have enough there to make it 

 worth while to take care of them and to increase the supply of local 

 timber. 



Arrangements were made for one of the United States forest rang- 

 ers to go into one of our tracts, and he made a careful expert exam- 

 ination of them, at an expense which was shared by the natural history 

 survey of the state and the forest service. One of our own force, 

 who had special training in this line, went with this ranger. When 

 the reports came in, it was found that the insect problem was really 

 the most serious of the whole situation, and that as many as ninety 

 per cent, in some cases, of the forest trees standing on these se- 

 lected areas were infested hy borers to such an extent as to make 

 them practically worthless, because following the insect infestation, 

 came invasions by fungi and internal tree rots and the like, which 

 rendered the timber very short lived. I think that any of us who 



