38 Journal of the Mitchell Society [December 



What of the labor of preparing the soil? What of the fertilizer 

 used? What of the extra yards of tobacco cloth that he was required 

 to purchase? What of the fact that he was raising here a hoard of flea 

 beetles that would follow the plants when they were transplanted to 

 the fields and seriously check their growth when they could least af- 

 ford to have their growth checked? What of the fact that these in- 

 sects continued to eat holes in the leaves throughout the growing sea- 

 son so that when the crop was placed on the market he was forced to 

 sell at a lower price than he would otherwise have had to sell? What 

 of the fact that careful experiments show that a flea beetle will eat 

 more than fifty times its own weight in green tobacco every twenty 

 four hours? Translate that into hay for an average cow or horse and 

 think w^hat it would mean if you had to feed them from two to three 

 tons every day. I happen to be interested in a group of insects called 

 leaf hoppers and in their efforts on pasture lands. Does it mean any- 

 thing that we find as high as one hundred of these tiny insects per 

 square foot? Our mountain farmer might answer no because the 

 chances are that he has never seen a leaf hopper but is this the correct 

 answer? Careful experiments show that these insects actually get 

 more from our pastures than the animals that are being pastured on 

 them. 



AVith such enormous losses due to insects it might seem that en- 

 tomologists were not keeping pace with the insects but I do not believe 

 that this is true. A brief summary of some of the more important re- 

 sults of economic entomology might not be amiss. When we stop to 

 consider the tons of arsenical poisons used in this country and reflect 

 that this whole industry was initiated by the work of entomologists we 

 get a glimpse of the importance of this phase of entomology. 



In 1888 the fluted scale, w^hich had been introduced into Califoinia 

 from Australia, had practically ruined the citrus industry. However, 

 the Department of Agriculture sent a representative to Australia 

 where he found that the fluted scale was kept in check by a lady beetle. 

 This lady beetle was introduced into California and in nine months 

 time it had so checked the ravages of the fluted scale that the scale 

 ceased to be a menace and the citrus industry of California was saved. 



As you open your packages of predigested breakfast food, I wonder 

 how many of you have noticed that they are carefully wrapped in oiled 

 paper and I wonder how many people have tried to find the real reason 

 for this. It is all done to control the grain weevils and was worked 

 out by an entomologist who has by this simple means saved a great 

 and growing industry. 



