6 INSECT PESTS OF FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD 



in this warfare for the preservation of their shade and forest 

 trees. 



Live Stock. Insect pests, including the ticks and mites, arc 

 almost as important as enemies of live stock as of crops. The 

 principal drawback to cattle raising in the South is the Texas 

 fever, transmitted by the cattle tick, which has been charged by 

 the officials of the Bureau of Animal Industry with a loss of $100,- 

 000,000 annually. The ox-warble, which causes the " grubby " 

 hides of cattle, causes a loss estimated at from $10,000,000 to 

 $35,000,000 per year due to the depreciated value of the hides and 

 the lessened quantity and poorer quality of the beef of affected 

 animals. The screw-worm fly is a constant annoyance to cattle and 

 source of loss on the range, and numerous biting and parasitic flies 

 cause a considerable loss to the grower of live stock, both through 

 actual damage and through the annoyance preventing growth and 

 production. The sheep scab, sheep tick, the sheep bot causing 

 "staggers" or "grub-in-the-head" horn-fly, buffalo-fly, black-fly, 

 and numerous species of lice which affect all of the domestic ani- 

 mals, are among the pests which must be combated by the stock- 

 man. In 1909 the live stock products were worth $3,000,000,000, 

 and it is estimated that fully 10 per cent of this amount was lost 

 through injury from insects. 



Stored Products. Even after the crops have been gathered 

 and garnered, and indeed after they and animal products have 

 been manufactured, they are constantly subject to the attacks of 

 numerous "weevils," "moths," and other insect pests of stored 

 products. Every housewife and every merchant knows that only 

 through constant surveillance can they prevent these ravages. 

 Mills, tobacco warehouses, storage houses, and vessels, must be 

 frequently cleaned and often must be fumigated to prevent the 

 increase of insect pests peculiar to them. It is estimated that at 

 least 5 per cent of the cereal crops are destroyed by insects while 

 in storage, which would mean a loss of $150,000,000, and in many 

 cases the loss to corn, particularly in the South, is much greater. 

 The total loss due to insects in stored goods of all kinds is impos- 

 sible to estimate, but would fall not far short of $200,000,000. 



