February, ’18] 
FOOD PRODUCTION DISCUSSION 
107 
2. Apply the methods of control that are effective and practical to 
the farmer. This can be done by carrying on a publicity campaign 
against the insects through farm papers, newspapers, farmers’ insti¬ 
tutes, granges, farmers’ unions, county agents, etc. 
3. Send out field men from time to time to keep in touch with any 
threatening outbreaks and thus be prepared to put methods of control 
into operation at the most important time. 
4. In case of threatening outbreaks, organize the counties for con¬ 
certed action. These counties can be organized by townships, as 
thirteen counties were in 1913 for the control of grasshoppers, or by 
school districts, as more than twenty counties were in 1912 and 1913 
for the control of chinch bugs. The counties may be organized through 
the county farm agents, as several have been for the control of Hessian 
fly- 
5. Have the entomologists in the field to actually direct the field 
work, because many farmers will not apply the methods which they 
merely read, or, if they do, will often omit some important step in the 
work which is vital to its success. 
6. Have the county committees furnish to the Committee on Insects 
the names and addresses of all township superintendents in order that, 
in case of any insect outbreak, they can assist in the organization of the 
community and permit us to render help with the least possible delay. 
7. Prepare short, concise articles (little more than outline) on the 
life-history, habit§ axffid conrol measures for the more important 
injurious ins< 3C ts. Copies hereof should be furnished to members of 
the committee ana'to peiso. s employed by it or cooperating with it. 
The articles can be assembled in bulletin form or left separate, as seems 
most desirable. 
8. So unify and organize all the work over the state that the greatest 
amount of good can be accomplished with the least expenditure of 
labor and money. 
Mr. M. H. Swenk: The problem, as it is stated here, “How Can 
the Entomologist Assist in Increasing Food Production? ” seems to have 
two parts. One is, what has the entomologist to do; the other, how 
can he best do it? 
Our President in his address stated that for the country as a whole 
we have an annual loss of 10 per cent of our crops. I believe this 
statement was first made by Mr. Marlatt in 1904, and other entomolo¬ 
gists have repeated it. I had some doubts about the exactness of this 
percentage and took pains to verify it in this way: We have one file of 
economic letters for the past thirty years or more, and it is safe to 
assume, eliminating variations which may be due to publication of 
bulletins, that those letters would be a fair index as to insect injury. 
