18 



great Jiretis iiniv ho utilized to the especial advantage of the a<j;ricul- 

 turist, and contri])ute to the prosperity of the conimiinity of settlers. 

 The dead trees, with the fallen tops, furnish the most favorable con- 

 ditions for the process of clearing- by fire. It saves the expense of 

 girdling. Often the flint and tinder or the torch was all that was 

 necessary to start a conflagration which effectually cleared the land of 

 dead and felled timber, and killed the remaining living trees and 3^oung 

 growth. 



The relation of insect eiteraies to the forest of (( settled country. — The 

 great destruction and waste of the best of the forest resources neces- 

 sar}' to the progress of civilization finally reaches a stage at which the 

 forest is more valuable for its conunercial products of timber, its pro- 

 tection of springs and head-water streams, than is the land for agricul- 

 tural products. Thus as time progresses the insects become more and 

 more injurious in their relation to the public interests. The destruc- 

 tion of matured timber b}^ insects comes to be recognized as a serious 

 loss. Their burrows in the wood of living and dead standing timber 

 and that felled for saw logs and other purposes are recognized as serious 

 defects which reduce the profits of the manufacturer and increase the 

 prices of the clear product to the consumer. The iniuries to the young 

 growth which result in the development of a deformed, worthless 

 tree become an element of future financial loss. The areas of dead 

 timber killed by insects become a menace to the forest, furnishing as 

 they do favorable conditions for the out])reak of destructive forest 

 fires and the development and spread of wood-boring insects. 



While the more destructive kinds of bark-boring insects may aid in 

 the death of girdled trees, such trees at the same time furnish favor- 

 able conditions for the rapid nuiltiplication of the insects and thus 

 contribute to destructive depredations on the valuable living timber in 

 the adjacent forests. 



As the merchantable timber and the manufactures of wood l)ecome 

 scarcer and the price to the consumer increases, the depredations which 

 a few years before would have remained unnoticed attract more and 

 more attention, and the need of methods of preventing losses from 

 this source is fully realized. Then requests are made for information 

 relating to the kinds of insects that cause the troubles and the details 

 in their habits which is necessary in order to successfully combat them. 



Their rehttioii to th<' jxihlie find jprivate forests and fi7'mers' irood 

 lots. — The relation of injurious insects to forests which are under 

 systeiuatic management present quite a different problem from those 

 relating to more primitive conditions. In dealing with the latter there 

 is little opportunity for the practical application of a knowledge of 

 forest entomology, but the former present economic prolffems worthy 

 of special study and investigation. All of the injurious species may 

 be considered in this relation as enemies, not only to the forests but 



