Canadian Forcslrij Journal, Jiili/, 1H17 



1195 



reduced more Lhaii fifty per rent by 

 the aid of crows, and as these i*rui)s 

 arc almost impossible to ck'stroy in 

 other ways, the value of crows in Ihis 

 respect is of considerable imi)ortance. 

 Cutworms are also located among 

 the growing crops and eaten in large 

 numbers. Indeed to observe a Hock 

 of crows "constantly returning to the 

 same area in a held is strong evidence 

 that there are cutworms or some 

 other noxious insect present. A 

 remarkable example of how crows 

 sometimes aid farmers was wit- 

 nessed near Treesbank, Manitoba, 

 in September, 1915. There was a 

 destructive outbreak of army-worms 

 at this time, which having eaten all 

 the available vegetation in the close 

 vicinity were marching over a road- 

 way in enormous numbers to attack 

 a field of oats. Here it was that the 

 crows found them and soon caused a 



very appreciable reduction in their 

 numbers. ' This (lock of crows which 

 was estimated at 'MK)i), had previous- 

 ly been fre(iuenting a locust-infested 

 area which they speedily forsook for 

 the more/ palatable army-worms, 

 with which they remained until these 

 larvae pupated and even then many 

 pupae were located beneath clods of 

 earth and devoured. It is interest- 

 ing to know that in this instance the 

 crows were at first actually suspected 

 of some mischief by the farmer 

 chiefly concerned, though later when 

 their real object was pointed out 

 this farmer could not say too much 

 in favor of the crows. Apart from 

 their value as destroyers of noxious 

 insects, crows also kill mice and 

 young rabbits. Add to these their 

 habit of devouring offensive carrion 

 and we have reviewed the chief 

 points of the birds' usefulness. 



Mankind's Debt to Entomologp 



Extract from a Paper Presented at the Reading 

 Meeting of the Pennsylvania Forestry Association 



Entomology has ahvays been a 

 stepchild in the economy of our civili- 

 zation. Its true values have not 

 been recognized for ages, and even 

 to-day it receives but scant apprecia- 

 tion from the public and the authori- 

 ties, while her sister sciences are 

 nursed and pampered with jealous 

 care. But Entomology has wedged 

 its way from obscurity to prominence, 

 and plays to-day an important part 

 in shaping directly or indirectly all 

 phases of our economic life, whether 

 generally conceded or not. 



Let us go back to remote ages and 

 review briefly the history of this in- 

 teresting study. At a time when the 

 human hand and mind were not em- 

 ployed in searching for a system to 

 establish the relation between natural 

 objects, we can only expect discon- 

 nected utterings either in writing or 

 by picture. Thus we find in tne early 

 Chinese and Japanese history men- 

 tion made of insects which benefitted 



them — such as the silk moth and 

 honey bee. Butterfiies often appear- 

 ed in early Chinese ceramic art. The 

 early Egyptians (about 1500 B.C. 

 and centuries before) went so far as 

 to hold a beetle in religious venera- 

 tion. 



The ravages of the Black Death 

 or Plague in the Middle Ages, now 

 known as being caused by bacilli 

 transmitted by fleas, which in turn 

 are carried by rats, have claimed vic- 

 tims by the milhons. In the year 

 542 A.D. an outbreak occurred in 

 Egypt, which spread all along the 

 Mediterranean to Europe and Asia. 

 It lasted 60 years and caused the 

 death of many millions of people. In 

 thr year 1364, another outbreak of 

 Plague spread over the whole then 

 known world, and the mortality is 

 estimated at about 25 million people. 



There are many instances in which 

 the all pervading ignorance on ento- 

 mological matters in these days is 



