﻿10 
  PROCEEDINGS 
  OF 
  THE 
  FOURTH 
  ENTOMOLOGICAL 
  MEETING 
  

  

  but 
  probably 
  few 
  even 
  of 
  us 
  have 
  tried 
  to 
  realize 
  what 
  is 
  the 
  real 
  import- 
  

   ance 
  of 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  Entomology 
  in 
  a 
  country 
  such 
  as 
  India, 
  where 
  seven- 
  

   tenths 
  of 
  the 
  people 
  depend 
  directly 
  for 
  their 
  livelihood 
  on 
  the 
  produce 
  

   of 
  their 
  fields, 
  which 
  produce 
  is 
  ravaged 
  by 
  insect 
  pests 
  both 
  before 
  and 
  

   after 
  harvest 
  and 
  where 
  such 
  a 
  vast 
  aggregate 
  toll 
  is 
  taken 
  by 
  insect- 
  

   borne 
  diseases 
  both 
  amongst 
  man 
  and 
  his 
  domestic 
  animals. 
  It 
  is 
  usually 
  

   computed, 
  by 
  those 
  who 
  are 
  in 
  the 
  best 
  position 
  to 
  judge, 
  that 
  the 
  annual 
  

   damage 
  to 
  agricultural 
  crops 
  by 
  insect 
  pests 
  is 
  about 
  ten 
  per 
  cent.; 
  that 
  

   is 
  to 
  say, 
  the 
  farmer 
  who 
  reaps 
  what 
  he 
  considers 
  to 
  be 
  a 
  normal 
  full 
  crop 
  

   actually 
  gets 
  only 
  nine-tenths 
  of 
  what 
  he 
  would 
  have 
  got 
  had 
  there 
  been 
  

   no 
  damage 
  by 
  insect 
  pests. 
  We 
  have 
  few 
  exact 
  records 
  of 
  damage, 
  but 
  

   in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  main 
  crops 
  such 
  as 
  rice 
  it 
  is 
  probable 
  that 
  an 
  estimate 
  of 
  

   ten 
  per 
  cent, 
  damage 
  is 
  a 
  fair 
  one. 
  Wheat 
  is 
  rather 
  an 
  exception, 
  although 
  

   it 
  is 
  seriously 
  damaged 
  by 
  termites 
  in 
  some 
  districts, 
  but 
  as 
  against 
  

   this 
  it 
  is 
  badly 
  damaged 
  in 
  store 
  after 
  harvest. 
  I 
  have 
  been 
  at 
  some 
  

   trouble 
  to 
  collect 
  figures 
  of 
  the 
  annual 
  average 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  outturn 
  

   of 
  agricultural 
  crops 
  in 
  India 
  and 
  this 
  comes 
  to 
  the 
  total 
  value 
  of 
  

   Rs. 
  1,682,42,73,000. 
  Applying 
  the 
  ten 
  per 
  cent, 
  rule 
  to 
  this 
  we 
  get 
  an 
  

   annual 
  loss 
  due 
  to 
  crop-pests 
  of 
  Rs. 
  18,693,63,666, 
  or 
  say 
  Rs. 
  18,000,00,000 
  

   in 
  round 
  figures. 
  I 
  have 
  taken 
  no 
  account 
  of 
  losses 
  to 
  stored 
  grains, 
  

   holding 
  these 
  as 
  covered 
  by 
  the 
  ten 
  per 
  cent. 
  rule. 
  Large 
  as 
  this 
  loss 
  

   is, 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  damage 
  wrought 
  by 
  insect 
  pests. 
  We 
  have 
  

   roughly 
  a 
  quarter 
  of 
  a 
  million 
  square 
  miles 
  of 
  forest 
  in 
  India, 
  of 
  which 
  

   roughly 
  a 
  half 
  is 
  workable 
  ; 
  I 
  cannot 
  give 
  even 
  a 
  rough 
  guess 
  at 
  the 
  

   average 
  amount 
  of 
  damage 
  done 
  annually 
  by 
  insect 
  pests 
  in 
  Indian 
  forests 
  

   but 
  we 
  shall 
  be 
  well 
  within 
  the 
  mark, 
  I 
  think, 
  in 
  placing 
  it 
  at 
  an 
  average 
  

   of 
  Rs. 
  100 
  per 
  annum 
  per 
  square 
  mile 
  over 
  the 
  workable 
  area, 
  neglecting 
  

   the 
  unworkable 
  areas 
  altogether, 
  and 
  this 
  figure 
  gives 
  us 
  another 
  

   Rs. 
  125,00,000 
  to 
  add 
  to 
  our 
  bill 
  against 
  the 
  insect 
  world. 
  Then 
  we 
  have 
  

   the 
  various 
  insects 
  which 
  carry 
  disease 
  to 
  man 
  and 
  animals. 
  I 
  believe 
  

   that 
  somewhere 
  about 
  a 
  million 
  deaths 
  per 
  annum 
  are 
  estimated 
  as 
  due 
  

   to 
  malaria, 
  without 
  taking 
  into 
  account 
  the 
  incalculable 
  loss 
  to 
  the 
  wage- 
  

   earning 
  capacity 
  of 
  the 
  people 
  due 
  to 
  this 
  disease. 
  In 
  the 
  twenty 
  years 
  

   1898-1918 
  a 
  total 
  of 
  10,254,221 
  people 
  are 
  returned 
  as 
  having 
  died 
  of 
  

   plague, 
  or 
  an 
  annual 
  average 
  of 
  512,711. 
  Then 
  we 
  have 
  other 
  diseases 
  

   such 
  as 
  Kala-azar 
  and 
  elephantiasis 
  and 
  a 
  proportion 
  of 
  such 
  diseases 
  

   as 
  cholera, 
  so 
  that 
  we 
  shall 
  probably 
  not 
  be 
  far 
  wrong 
  in 
  estimating 
  the 
  

   annual 
  death-roll 
  from 
  insect-borne 
  diseases 
  as 
  approximately 
  1,600,000. 
  

   It 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  put 
  a 
  money-value 
  on 
  this 
  loss, 
  but 
  it 
  must 
  be 
  remem- 
  

   bered 
  that 
  the 
  figures 
  given 
  are 
  totals 
  of 
  all 
  degrees 
  in 
  the 
  population 
  

   and 
  that 
  not 
  all 
  are 
  wage-earners, 
  so 
  that 
  we 
  may 
  estimate 
  a 
  modest 
  

   value 
  of 
  Rs. 
  100 
  per 
  life, 
  which 
  gives 
  us 
  a 
  figure 
  of 
  Rs. 
  1,600,00,000. 
  

  

  