71 



farmer within this area, both in Canada and the United State-, have 

 to desist from sowing peas entirely, but also every private individual 

 who wishes to grow a few green peas for the table. If laws were 

 enacted looking- to this end it would be quite impossible to enforce 

 them. Among gardeners and the general public there i-. I opine, 

 neither information nor unselfishness enough to induce them to deny 

 themselves to such an extent as to give up this favorite vegetable for 

 the benefit of other people or of any branch of trade. Even among 

 those who grow and handle peas in large quantities for the market 

 there is a great lack of knowledge with regard to the pea weevil and 

 its habits. Some do not know for certain which of the several ene- 

 mies that attack the pea actually i- the pea weevil. Owing to the pre- 

 valent inaccuracy with which popular names are applied to insects, 

 nearly everything in the shape of an insect which attack- crop- con- 

 spicuously is for the time being styled "the bug." The pea weevil is 

 known generally as "the pea bug." but nevertheless is often con- 

 founded with such different insects as the pea moth and the destructive 

 pea aphis. 



It therefore appears that what is now most fitting and necessary, 

 as looking to ultimate victory against this enemy, is a vigorous cam- 

 paign of education through the ready means at our disposal, viz, 

 official reports and bulletins and the agricultural press. All uncer- 

 tainty should first be done away with and accurate definite knowledge 

 distributed as to the habits of the insect, the best remedies to apply, 

 and when and how to apply them. There are effective sure remedies 

 for the pea weevil: and growers must be made to understand this, 

 and to >ee that by adopting them, even at some small trouble, they 

 will greatly benefit themselves, while by neglecting them they will 

 injure themselves, their neighbors, and the whole country. I have 

 confidence enough in the common sense of Canadian and American 

 farmers to believe that they will adopt them. 



In conjunction with Professor Lochhead. the Ontario provincial 

 entomologist, and Professor Zavitz. the experimentalist of the Ontario 

 agricultural college, at Guelph, this campaign has already been begun 

 by us in Canada. Important meetings of farmers have been addressed, 

 including an assembly of all the farmer-" institute worker- oi the 

 Province of Ontario. During the coming winter the subject will be 

 brought prominently before every farmer-' institute meeting held in 

 the Province. Timely article- will be issued advising pea grower- not 

 to -ow a -ingle grain which has not been first treated, nor to allow -eed 

 merchants to sell them pea- which have not been fumigated or other- 

 wise treated to destroy the weevil. These measures, however, will 

 only reach a -mall number of those who are concerned, so no oppor- 

 tunity will be lost of bringing the importance i^i this subject before 

 the country. The public pre-- in Canada ha- already done much an I 



