222 



SCIENTIFIC AGRICULTURE 



May, 1921. 



ture when his advice has been sought. Several of the 

 eastern provinces now possess a provincial entomolo- 

 gist of their own, but up to the present none of the 

 western provinces has made a special entomological 

 appointment except that an entomologist may be at- 

 tached to the staffs of the provincial universities and 

 colleges. So far as I am aware there is no provincial 

 entomologist either in the departments of agriculture 

 or in the universities or colleges of Manitoba, Alberta, 

 Saskatchewan and British Columbia, an<l the greater 

 part of the Entomological work that has been accom- 

 plished in the western provinces has been mainly car- 

 ried on by the federal entomologists who are design- 

 ated "Entomologists in Charge." In the west, with 

 the exception of British Columbia, no working ar- 

 rangement exists between the federal and provincial 

 forces in the field of entomology. In this latter pro- 

 vince the federal entomologist has practically been 

 given full charge of all entomological work and he has 

 the supervision of the activities of a staff of assistants 

 from the provincial departments of agriculture. In this 

 particular case events have shown that the arrange- 

 ment has worked admirably, and eutomologically 

 speaking, British Columbia is at present much stronger 

 than any of the other western provinces. 



Such an arrangement will, of course, always depend 

 for its success on the personality of the chief parties 

 concerned, and where everything else is equal, I can 

 see no reason why the two departments may not co- 

 operate in other provinces with an equal measure of 

 success, and with equally happy results. Under s\ich 

 an arrangement the Federal Government supplies the 

 trained entomologist who is capable of advising and 

 directing entomological work in the province, whilst 

 the provincial department supplies the sinews whereby 

 that work may be carried out in the field. In virtue 

 of the fact that the provincial department by means 

 of its representatives is more directly in touch with the 

 agricultural developments of" the province, the federal 

 representative has a ready means of learning the'im- 

 mediate happenings of insect outbreaks in different 

 parts of his territory and is also able to bring the ne- 

 cessary remedies to bear in order to cope with a par- 

 ticular situation. At the same time, — and I do not pre- 

 sent this as an argument in favor of this kind of co- 

 operation, — the provincial department is denied the 

 opportunity of maintaining a trained entomologist. 



Necessity for Fostering Entomological Work. 



The problems of insect control are intimately related 

 to agriculture, horticulture (including fruit-growing), 

 forestry, public health and other human activities; in 

 proportion as these activities extend the bounds of 

 their importance, the knowledge of the means of insect 

 control also increases. It is no exaggeration to say 

 that the province is being annually mulcted several 

 hundreds of thousands of dollars by reason of the de- 

 predations of insect pests. We have authoritative 

 statements that indicate an annual loss of ten to 

 tw-enty-five per cent of the value of our farm crops 

 due to the activities of harmful insects. Further, it is 

 safe to say that even with our present knowledge of 

 the methods of insect control, a saving of at least 

 thirty per cent could be effected, and with increased 

 knowledge this percentage will undoubtedly increase. 

 All should realise tliat it is a poor policy that advocates 

 an increase in the productivity of the soil, if at the 

 same time, attention is not paid to the means whereby 



these factors that are responsible for the reduction in 

 crop-yields may be eliminated or rendered negligible. 



The great extent of the province of Sa.skatchewan, 

 iucluding as it does widely different climatic con- 

 ditions, implies a very considerable variety of insect 

 life. In addition to variety, it involves no little dif- 

 ference and possibility of difference in the behavior 

 of the same species of insect in different pai'ts of the 

 province. One of the facts which to my mind is the 

 most interesting in relation to insect-life is the gradual 

 disturbance of the natural conditions due to the bring- 

 ing under cultivation each year of thousands of acres 

 of hitherto virgin land. Insects have been ever respon- 

 sible to any disturbances of nature's balance, and the 

 provision of large areas of cultivated crops often causes 

 them to abandon their native food-plants for the more 

 abundant new source of food supply, with consequent 

 detrimental results to agricultural interests. An abun- 

 dance of luscious food, other factors being equal, al- 

 ways means a prolificnes.'? in the reproduction of insect 

 I)ests, and a consideration of these questions lias a 

 strict bearing on the periodic outbreak of grasshop- 

 pers, cutworms, wheat-stem sawflies and innumerable 

 other insects. 



The question of control does not alwaj's resolve itself 

 into one of careful watch of our native insects, but 

 some of the worst pe.sts within our territory jiave been 

 imported at one time or another from alien countries 

 and they vie with our native species in an enviable 

 record of destruetiveness. In this respect we have but 

 to mention the Hessian Fly, the Wheat Midge and the 

 Colorado Potato Beetle. 



PROVINCIAL HORTICULTURIST APPOINTED 

 IN B.C. 



We learn with pleasure and interest, of the appoint- 

 ment of W. H. Robert.son (O.A.C., 1911) to the position 

 of Provincial Horticulturist for British Columbia. Mr. 

 Robertson has been in the employ of the Department of 

 Agriculture at Victoria since 1912, except for a period 

 of three years (1916-1919) during which he was over- 

 seas. 



Since the resignation of Mr. M. S. Middleton as Prov- 

 incial Horticulturist, some three years ago, there has 

 been no successor appointed until now. The result has 

 been a noticeable need for the proper direction of hort- 

 icultural work in the various districts into wliich the 

 Pacific province is geographically divided. There have 

 been district horticulturists on Vancouver Island, the 

 lower Mainland and in the Okanogan Valle}^ but there 

 has been no official bureau for the proper direction of 

 the work in these districts, and it has consequentlj' been 

 conducted in a more or less haphazard way. The need 

 for the appointment of a provincial horticulturist, for 

 these as well as for other reasons, has been strongly felt. 



We feel that the appointment of Mr. Robertson to this 

 position will be popularly received, and that, under his 

 direction, rapid progress will be made towards the im- 

 provement of horticultural conditions and the solution 

 of horticultural problems. The fruit and vegetable in- 

 dustries of British Columbia are of national importance, 

 aiul their value is Lncreasing rapidly year by year. 

 The appointment of a provincial horticulturist will 

 materially aid in caring for these branches of the agri- 

 cultural industry, and in encouraging the use of 

 modern methods of producing and marketing. 



