NATURAL METHODS OF CONTROL 9 



Cleaning up rubbish and weeds — for cabbage in- 

 sects, cotton-boll weevil, plum curculio, et al. 



Burning straw, leaves, and grass — for Hessian 

 fly and chinch bugs. 



Planting early — for cotton-boll weevil. 



Planting late — for corn root-worm and Hessian 

 fly and pea weevil. 



Plowing in fall — for wire worms and for white 

 grubs. 



Rotating crops — for white grubs, for corn bill- 

 bugs, and for many pests. 



Resistant varieties of plants — Kieffer pear, 

 American grape stocks. Northern Spy root-stocks. 



Use of commercial fertilizers — very little if of 

 any use directly. Of use in accelerating growth to 

 hasten maturity and to make strong resistant plants. 

 Phosphoric acid and cotton. 



Refraining from planting badly infested crops 

 for two or three years — chinch bugs and wheat, 

 boll-weevil and cotton. 



Isolating fields — For cotton-boll weevil, et al. 



Mowing crops early — clover seed insects. 



Protecting birds — Birds should be protected 

 and encouraged to make their homes on the farm 

 and about the orchards. They help to hold the 

 balance of nature and certainly aid greatly in hold- 

 ing insects in check. 



One hawk after a chicken condemns the whole 

 bird tribe ; the great horned owl is a friend of man 

 wherever mice and rabbits abound, but where these 

 are scarce, as in thickly populated districts the owl 

 is driven to other food; the sharp-shinned and 

 cooper's hawk are enemies to wild birds and chick- 

 ens and should be killed; other hawks and owls 

 feed mostly on mice and insects; many species of 

 birds are known to live almost wholly upon insects. 



Insects constitute 65 % of the annual food supply 



