28 STATE POMOLOQICAL SOCIETY. 



pied a restricted region on the eastern slope of the Rockj'^ Moun- 

 tains, fed upon the Solanum roslralum, an indigenous plant closely 

 related to our common potato, and probably would always have 

 remained in that region, had not man extended the culture of the 

 potato over the entire country, even up to the region of the insect 

 in question. The result is what was long ago predicted by the 

 Western entomologists, and it is to-day not only a question of in- 

 dividual interest, but one of State and national importance. There 

 can be no doubt that if the national government had at first spent, 

 in a proper manner, a very small percentage of the money that has 

 been lost b}'' the devastations of the Colorado potato beetle, we 

 should not now, and perhaps never should be looking with dismay 

 at the rapid approach of this wretched insect. 



But there are thousands of insects preying upon the various 

 crops that our farmers raise, which are not seen, and we may 

 never suspect that the injury is caused by insects at all. The 

 plants may not be wholly destroyed, only weakened so that we 

 get but a percentage of the crop we should obtain. Some in- 

 sidious little insects may be swarming by millions over the plants 

 in question, sucking the very life sap from them, and leaving for us 

 onl^' puny, sickly plants, where we should have strong, vigorous, 

 healthy ones. All this may be done by insects so small as not to 

 attract our attention, or it may be done by some insects which 

 work only by night, as the cut-worms, of which there are a great 

 many species preying upon as many different species of plants. 



It has been estimated that there are upon this globe from 200,- 

 000 to 500,000 different species of insects, and an almost innumer- 

 able number of individuals of many of these species ; that a larg3 

 percentage of these are vegetat)le feeders, preying upon our crops, 

 our fruits, and our trees ; that these insects in some years multiply 

 to an alarming extent, destroying all before them. 



Mr. B. D. Walsh, more than ten years ago, from the best pos- 

 sible data accessible, estimated that the annual amount of damage 

 done by insects in the United States, could not be less than $300,- 

 000,000. He also estimated that when the Colorado potato beetle 

 had reached the Atlantic it would then cause a loss on potatoes 

 alone to the amount of from $25,000,000 to $30,000,000. 



The grasshoppers in the West have recently, as stated by Dr. 

 LeConte, caused a destruction of food to the amount of from 40 

 to $50,000,000. These estimates will give us approximately some 

 $315,000,000 for the annual damage done by insects in the United 



