DOMINION EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 51 



are frequently a menace to the orchards of neighbouring settlers 

 by reason of their uncared-for condition and the consequent 

 abundance of pests. 



One of the chief functions of the Division is the advising 

 of farmers, fruit-growers and others as to the best methods 

 of preventing, controlling or eradicating insect pests. Hun- 

 dreds of enquiries and specimens are received annually. A 

 cutworm may be committing serious havoc to wheat in Sas- 

 katchewan; a miller's flour, or a housewife's carpets may be 

 infested with an injurious insect; a caterpillar may be 

 defoHating ornamental or forest trees; mosquitoes may be 

 making life unbearable in a summer resort on the St. Lawrence, 

 or ticks may be found on horses in Alberta; the apiary of a 

 beekeeper in Quebec may be attacked by disease or bulbs may 

 be destroyed in a florist's garden; such examples will indicate 

 the variety of subjects with which the Division has to deal. 

 In some cases advice can be given immediately; in others, 

 further investigation is necessary. 



The co-operation of other Branches of the Department of 

 Agriculture has been secured, in order to render the work useful 

 to as large a number as possible. 



An important branch of the Division's work is the study of 

 insects injurious to forest trees; this feature is growing in import- 

 ance with the increasing necessity of conserving the forests. 

 An officer has recently been appointed to the Division to devote 

 his whole attention to the study of forest insects. In this work, 

 the co-operation of the Forestry Branch of the Department of 

 the Interior has been secured. The enormous extent of the 

 forests of Canada renders the investigation of forest insects a 

 subject of great consequence. 



By the provision of experimental insectaries and the estab- 

 lishment of field laboratories in various parts of the country, 

 in which a start has been made, the Division is carrying on 

 investigations in the life history and means of control of insect 

 pests in the regions in which they occur. Much careful study 

 is devoted to the natural means of control of insect pests. Of 

 these means, the chief is the introduction of parasitic insects. 

 Efforts are made to introduce useful parasites as a means of 

 controlling pests otherwise uncontrollable. Statistical studies 

 of parasites in conjunction with field operations, frequently 

 render it possible to forecast the results of the outbreak of an 

 injurious insect. 



An Apiary is maintained in connection with the Division 

 for experimental purposes and large numbers of enquiries are 

 received relating to bee-keeping and especially to the treatment 

 and prevention of bee diseases which are spreading to a serious 

 extent in Eastern Canada. 

 21294—41 



