Evening Star Newspaper, August 3, 1930, Page 82

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, AUGUST 3, 1930. eader in Fifty Yearss War on Bugs Showering a cloud of poison gas on a cotton field. The war with the boll weevil is a war to the death. Specially con- ; structed planes cover infected fields with a fog of annihilation. Devoting His Life to Battling Man’s Worst Enemies, Dr. Leland ’ 0. Howard at Seventy-Two Is Still Crusading Against the Insect Pests That Annually Inflict Two Billion Dollars’ Losses on Farms. BY ALMA CHESNUT. MAGINE a race that knows neither in- fancy nor ol¢ age, whose warriors go forth to battle protected by a natural armor; & race that numbers among its weapons deadly disease germs, but is i~ self adaptable to almost any circumstances, and you have a glimpse of the insect army that is exacting from the United States a toll of about It was just about half a century ago that the American Government, recognizing the ever- increasing menace of the insect foe, followed the example set by three States and employed an entomologist to outline a defensive cam- paign. Dr. C. V. Riley of Missouri laid the corner stone of the Bureau of Entomology in 1877, and, during its first year, employed as his assostant a young Cornell student, Leland ©O. Howard, who had been interested in insects all his life. Dr. Howard was destined soon to becomc internationally famous as probably the greatest generalissimo which the 50 years’ war on harm- ful insects has developed. He served as assistant entomologist from 1878 to 1894, and as chief from 1894 until his retirement from that office id 1927. He now remains at the bureau as principal entomologist. He has charge of the “exchange of useful insects,” of which more later, and is intensely interested in medical entomology, a field of research he has done much to develop, but which, he claims, is still virtually unexplored. . *He is not an alarmist; neither does he make the mistake of underestimating his foe. When he issues a warning regarding a new pest, that warning is based upot: the experience of more than 50 years of painstaking study, during which he has measured the strength of the enemy from a thousand points of reconnais- sance. NSEQUENCES are still apparent of ignor- ing one such warning, to the tune of losses aggregating from $250,000,000 to $300,000,000 a year. In 1892 a small, apparently insignificant insect crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico, and, scenting distant fields of cotton, proceeded to make himself at home in Brownsville, Tex. That insect was the cotton boll weevil, the pest that has crippled the greatest industry of the South, whose name has become a by-word throughout the Nation. Dr. Howard was onec of the few persons who recognized the menace of this insect 35 years ago. He issued a sharp warning and proposed a line of defense. That line of defense was as simple as it would in all probability have been effective. He asked the Texas Legislature to pass a bill requiring farmers in the small in- fested area to discontinue planting for a year or two in order to cut off the food supply and starve out the weevil The bill had the sup- port of the governor, but failed passage. “Insects are man’s most important rivals ir #he biological struggle for supremacy, and in many ways are far better equipped for survival than the human species,” says Dr. Howard. “But I do not believe that they will ever gain the supremacy. Still, we must face the fact that while man dominates only by virtue of hus inteRigence, the insects stand at the top of a race far more ancien* and endowed with the highest degree of what we call instinct. “We have here at the Bureau of Entomology books and -catalogues describing between six and seven hundred thousand different species, and I judge that from three to six million eddi- #onal species exist. ‘Man is estimated to have been on the planet between 300,000 and 500,000 years. We have excellent, evidence to show that the insects were well established 50,000,000 years ago. Thelr fossils nave been founc in rock of the Tertiary Period, and some of these bear a close resem- blance to the insects of today. “This ancient race then, has had millions of years in which to evolve highly-developed forms, equipped to ccmbat even the most ad- verse circumstances, able to feed upon practi- cally every known substance. memmmuommmm protected them against external injury, developing an internal skeleton instead. The insect kept his armer; he wears his skeleton on the outside, and this hard casing protects his muscles from injury. It also gives the insect a strength of limb three times greater, propor- tionally, than man’s. “An insect's blood penetrates its whole bouty, as in man, but, unlike man, the purifying air also is diffused throughout its body, instead of being confined to a restricted area, the lungs. Insects are born equipped for life, able to take care of themselves from the time they hatch, and they die at their peak of efficiency without knowing the infirmity of old age. They have no problems of dietetics; they can eat about anything. Some feed on living plants; some attack animals; some are cannibalistic, preying upon themselves and other insects. They attack and devour furniture, clothes, growing timber, carpets and books.” Dr. Howard has seen the war on insect pests develop from mere guerilla fighting into a highly organized, scientific conflict, calling into play powerful weapons, led by a corps of well trained officers commanding a veritable army of men. Along a thcusand fronts he has watched the battle rage, an unending battle that costs millions of dollars each year and knows no armistice. Behind the lines, intricate problems of control are heing studied in laboratories. New legislation, both State and Federal, is demanded continually as situations shift and change along the front. Monlsdoomb.tvuvleeordm‘wthe foe, and the entomologists have adapted to their uses many of the weapons developed during the World War. Airplanes are used for reconnoitering purposes, particularly in the for- est, where pilots can locate by the browned and dying crowns of trees areas where the pine bark beetles are at work, insects that destroyed in the heavily infested Modoc National Forest of California 184,000,000 board feet of timber during 1927 alone and which are estimated to cause damage aggregating $20,000,000 a year. Chemical warfare methods have been devel- oped to a high degree during Dr. Howard’s career. High-powered sprays throw poison into the tree tops, slaying the enemy by billions. Airplanes, especially constructed so as to oper- ate at a low altitude and slow rate of speed, have been used to dust poisons such as calcium arsenate upon cotton fields and arsenate of lead upon forests. Swampy lakes in Louisiana, in- fested with larvae of malaria mosquitoes, have been dusted with paris green. The insect’s sense of smell, many times more acute than man’s, has been played upon with poisoned baits, cleverly mixed to imitate a favorite food. Strict quarantines have been laid upon plants and fruits from other lands and every port of entry is guarded by inspectors who examine Fighting the Mediterranean fruit fly. Untold damage had alrcady been done in Florida before quarantines could be established. Dr. Leland O. Howard. seed and .seedlings and every consignment of food and grain from other lands. Certain plants suspected of harboring a foreign foe are taboo, and others are kept in “prison hospitals” wuntil they are proved free of pests. Along the Rio Grande an entomological patrol has so far proved effective in keeping out the Mexican fruit fly, a tough customer capable of working havoc should it escape the patrol and reach the prosperous orchards of Calie fornia. Just now the attention of entomologists s focused upon a ‘“new” pest, recently discovered in Florida. In spite of the eternal vigilance of Federal and State inspectors, the Mediterranean fruit fly, held at bay for many years because of its bad reputation in other countries, has made its presence known in five different coune ties. A strict quarantine was clamped down within a week of its discovery and special appropriations are being made by the State and Federal governments to effect its complete erad- ication. An expenditure of millions of dollars will be necessary before control is established, experts say. HY the insect army, intact for 50,000,000 years, should suddenly be recognized a8 a menace serous enough to influence inters national trade and cause governments to stop and take notice, is a question that puzzles ordinary people, but the answer is clear enough to Dr. Howard. “Wheh man began to cultivate crops on & - large scale, he created conditions favorable to the enormous multiplication of certain insects by putting at their disposal an unlimited supply of food. In feeding his own increasing millions he has fed increasing billions of insects. ** QO they have multiplied as they never would have under old conditions, “Then, too, man upset that delicate balance which Nature established on the different conti= nents through centuries of endeavor. In the North America of the Indians that balance was maintained. Native species were preyed upon by their special parasites and by birds and these kept them from increasing too rapidly. Ever since Columbus discovered America the trouble has been increasing, as transportation increased the ease of communication between various countries. . “New trees and new plants were brought te America by the colonists, and today refrigera~ tion makes it possible to transport even perishe fruits and vegetables. With these importas tior'§ ‘rom the Old World arrived Old World pests @ 'd these, finding their ancient enemies lacking \ increased enormously. Foreign pests that have invaded the United States are among the most dangerous of insect enemies. Species such as the Japanese beetle, which do little damage at home, run riot in America, causing millions of dollars’ worth of damage.” ‘The recognized principle of parasite controi has led to extensive research by Uncle Sam's entomologifal army, and an attempt has been made to restore the balance of Nature by bringing some of these beneficial insects inte the United States. Dr. Howard has been pare ticularly interested in this work, carried om by & corps of scientists who are continually scouring other lands for parasites that prey upon different pests. (Copyright, 1930.)