PREVENTION BY FARMING METHODS 23 



noticed until damage is beyond repair, and this might be averted 

 if the grower would only employ some simple farm practice like 

 fall plowing. 



Promptness cannot be too strongly urged, for the application 

 of remedies if too long deferred may be useless. As soon as a 

 crop is planted it should be inspected every few days for signs 

 of injury. If plants growing under the same conditions make 

 unequal growth, over a considerable area, the backward plants 

 should be examined for evidence of insect work. Insect injury 

 is manifested in different ways, as has already been described 

 in the Introductory Chapter (page x). 



After crops have made some growth, a weekly inspection will 

 in ordinary cases suffice until the danger point has passed; and 

 as attack usually begins on the borders of a field, by walking 

 around it most forms of insect injury may be detected. Pre- 

 ventive work, such as clean culture, rotation and fall plowing, 

 should be instituted as a part of the routine of farming; and if 

 systematically pursued losses through insect ravages will be 

 reduced to a minimum; while prompt action at the very outset 

 of attack, in the application of insecticides or mechanical 

 methods will, in exceptional cases, save the crop. 



COOPERATION IN THE CONTROL OF INSECTS 



The grower who institutes practical methods for the control 

 of insects which menace his crops has a distinct advantage over 

 one who does not. The enterprising farmer is enabled to ob- 

 tain a good yield while the careless grower stands a chance of 

 a money loss on his crop. It has long been recognized that 

 insects of many forms are a direct benefit to the progressive 

 man, who farms on scientific principles, enabling him to pre- 

 serve his crops while the damage that may be done to his more 

 careless neighbors enhances the market value of what the 

 scientific farmer raises. This is a decidedly narrow-minded and 

 selfish way of looking at the subject. 



