INSECT DEPREDATIONS. The Annual Loss Occasioned by Destructive Insects in the United States. GUY ELLIOTT Farmers of the United States in ad - ditlon to county, State and national taxes, probably pay a much heavier toll than they do to all three of the above. The tax collector in this latter case is one which is merciless and overbearing, paying no attention -what ever to the necessities or obligations of the agriculturist each year, calling for his dues unremittingly, and gloating over the misfortunes of his tenant. The tax collector In this case, however, is the Insect. The losses resulting from the depredations of insects on all plant products of the soil, both in their growing and in their stored state, together with those on livestock, ex eed the entire expenditures of the Na tional Government, including the pen sion roll, and the maintenance of the army and the navy. Enormous as is the total value of all farm products of this country it often would be much greater were it not for the injurious work of insects. According to figures eompiled by the Department of Agri onlture the estimate is made that the total value of farm products during the last year amounted to $5,000,000,000. The Bureau of Entomology, of the Department of Agriculture, being fa miliar with the work of the important insect pests, estimates the probable shortage due to insect damage at a minimum of 10 per cent., while in j n j PREPARING TO FUMIGATE AN ORANGE TREE. years of excessive insect damage the Bhortage may amount to 50 per cent. The annual shortage of 10 per cent, is a low estimate, which is more often exceeded than fallen below, and indi cates at current farm prices a money loss of $500,000,000 the minimum yearly tax which Insects lay on the products of the farm. This estimate, however, does not include the damage caused to farm products in storage, such as cereals and forage crops and to natural forests and forest products, assigning at least $100,000,000 to each of theBe two items. The total annual tax then chargeable to insects is $700,000,000 annually. The Item of loss from insect damage not only Includes the actual destruc tion or injury to crops, but the esti mate must also include a very import ant item the amount of money de voted to insect control. This amounts to a very considerable percentage of the value of the crop in the case of orchard fruits, truck crops and such Held crops as cotton and tobacco. For instance in estimating the losses due to the codling moth it has boon shown by figures of the Department of Agricul ture that over $8,000,000 a year Is ex ponded In spraying apple trees, allow ing a cost of only 5 cents per tree. The cost of gassing and spraying citrus fruit trees ranges from 5 cents to $1.50 per tree. Another source of loss is that occasioned by a diminution ot cer tain crops such as wheat or cotton. TUK HKSsrAN FLY. (MaKiiMud) Shortage may so increase values as to cousion the shutting down of mills. A shortage of a finished product such as Hour, cotton or fabrics, may mean a corresponding loss to transportation ompanles and to shippers. In other words shortage in an important pro duct starts a train of losses to the eud of the chapter, tho total amount of which is quite beyond calculation, or estimate. Cereals Damaged Most. Tho cereals suffer most from Insect Jamnire. the yearly amount of loss ng- creRating $200,000,000. The leading ppvpiil oron of the United States, of course, is king corn, with a value last year of $1,210,000,000. While corn is less subject to insect damage and wheat next, the most Important cereal, which is tho corn product, would bo V'onskleinlily greater were- it not for important insect pests. The corn root worm causes an annual average loss of at least 2 per cent, of tho crop or some $20,000,000. The next most Im portant insect pest, of this cereal is the bollworm or earworm. This in sect according to the Bureau of Knto aiologv, probably attacks from 90 to 100 per cent, of the ears of sweet corn throughout tho country and the dara ee wised bv this pest is probably early as great as that canse by the MITCHELL. , corn rootworm, The chinch worm causes rteDredations nearly as severe as the above mentioned insects, making another ioss of $20,000,000 annually. livery year the Department receives reports from different sections of the country describing injury to corn by such insects as billbugs, the various wireworms, cutworms, army worms, 1 THE CODLING MOTH. (Magnified) . stalk-borers, various species of locusts or grasshoppers, corn plant lice and other insects. This undoubtedly causes a less of an additional 20,000,000, or with a total annual loss to the corn crop of $80,000,000. Of a large number of Insects wnicn depredate wheat crops, the three im portant species are the Hessian fly, the chinch bug and the grain plant louse. tVhile the chinch buzlsnotablya wheat nest, its damage to other cereals and varied crops 1b very considerable. The losses from depredations of this Insect on wheat in single States have ranged between $10,000,000 and $20,000,000 in one year. A very reasonable average annual estimate of loss, taking the country as a whole, would indicate about $20,000,000 a year chargeable to this insect. While in some years tne damage caused by Hessian, fly la enor mous, taiiing tne average or ten years, the loss to the wheat crop caused by this bug has a value of $40,000,000, and so on, numerous other insects and pests lay toll on the wheat crop of the farmer. Were it not for their destruc tive work the wheat crop of the coun try this year would be 20 per cent, greater. Insect Damage to Hay. Hay and forage crops are damaged by numerous Insects to an extent of about 10 per cent. The cotton crop is reduced through the agency of the cotton boll-weevil, the bollworm and CORN IMPAIRED BY GRAIN MOTH, the leafworm, while many other in socts inflict minor damage. Without counting the losses due to the latter class of depredators we have a total loss of more than $40,000,000 charge able to the three important insect pests of cotton. Vegetable and other truck crops are especially subject to insect injury, and furthermore in the case of these crops there is always a large expenditure for the control of Insects. The orchard and smaller fruits suffer heavier loss from insect pests, both directly and be cause of the expensive methods of treatment necessary to prevent still greater losses. There are several hun dred insects which depredate on the roots, trunk, foliage and fruit of the apple. The Important pests are the woolly aphis, Injuring the roots; the trunk and limb borers, the leafworms, canker-worms and tent caterpillars, and the various scale insect pests, in cluding the San Jose scale. Injuring the fruit are the codling moth, the cuculio. and the apple maggot. The insect losses to other deciduous fruits are ouito as heavy as in the case of the apple and especially when tho treatments for the San Jose scale and other scale pests are considered; and in the ease of citrus fruits the cost of treatment is much greater and the actual losses again heavier. Forests especially planted forests of artificially wooded areas on farms pay toll to uumerom borers, which COTTON lil'U ATTU'KKI) BY HOLL WOUM. often almost utterly destroy the trees, :s in the cast' of the black locust, to leaf defoliators and many other varie ties of depredating insects. Cattle the Prey of Insects. The losses due to biting and para sitic insects ? cattle are considerable. ' V ' 1 - !: Ny 1- i ' It, v " The principal culprits are the ox-war-ble, and various biting flies and ticks. Horses, sheep and other farm animals are subject to attacks of similar para sites and other insect enemies. If all these be considered including, for ex ample, the buffalo gnats, often very destructive in the South, the many gadflies, botflies, the screw-worm fly, and such parasites as the ticks and lice, a heavy percentage of loss must be reckoned. A conservative estimate of the Department of Agriculture of these losses is $175,000,000 a year. Stored Products Preyed Upon. While mention has been made of the lamage done to vegetable products dur ing the growing and maturing season, these crops after they have run the gauntlet of insect enemies during their entire period of growth, are still sub ject to the Inroads of insect depreda tors while in storage on the farm, in elevators and mills, or again while in transit especially in the case of long shipments by sea. Food products in the kitchen and house-storeroom suf fer from insect damage. Animal pro' ducts are attacked by larder beetles, etc., fruits by various fruit and vine gar flies and the woolens and house hold furnishings by beetles, moths silver fish, etc. Cured tobacco is es pecially subject to Insect attacks and damage, the most important source of Injury being a minute insect known as the cigarette beetle which not only eats into cigarettes but all other forms of cured tobacco. While aa estimate of $100,000,000 a year is placed upon the damage done to the store products, iris aoes not inciuae tne oestruction to products in the household or to tobacco. A very considerable item which might be chargeable to insects and yet wnicn cannot be estimated is that of preventing insect damage. No one can estimate how much Is expended on wire screens for the household to pre vent the ingress of flies, mosquitoes and moths, nor can an estimate be placed upon the amount of money ex pended to eradicate mosquitoes, but it is believed that the estimate of $700, 000,000 "made by the officials of the Department of Agriculture is far below the actual annual loss. The problem the economic entomologist of the fu ture must solve is the lessening or pre vention of this loss. A Seedless Persimmon. The lalest sensation in the seedless fruit line reported at Washington is a seedless persimmon. The officials of tho Department of Agriculture the other day received a visit from Mr. John H. Drury, who brought with him a specimen of seedless native persim mons from his place near the national capital. The general impression Is that the seedless persimmon is either non-existent or nearly so In this country. A seedless variety of this fall luxury is not, however, a new thing, but, on the other hand, a number of trees are scat tered throughout the South bearing seedless persimmons. Seedless speci mens are occasionally found in the big Japanese variety and they are rather rare and the flavor Is nothing to be compared to the native sort. A number of instances are known by the officials of the Bureau of Plant In dustry of solitary persimmon trees bearing seedless fruit, but when pollen from other persimmon trees in the neighborhood is brought in contact with the flowers of the seedless sort the resultant fruit will be full of seed. The fruit brought to the Department of Agriculture by Mr. Drury proves to be a little smaller than the average native persimmon. The specimens when cut across were absolutely seed less and while the fruit was compara tively small it had really more meat tiS Awl GASOLINE SPRAYING OUTFIT. In it than the bigger seed-bearing va rieties. It is understood that the Depart ment of Agriculture will keep watch on the Drury persimmon tree and at the right season endeavor to make some grafts of tho seedless buds upon other stock and try to breed a race of seedless persimmons. THE ARTIFICIAL LIFE. Consists in Part In Eating Adulter ated and Injurious roods. The State Board of Health of Massa chusetts has had chemical analyses made of prepared foods and the report of the Board shows what we really eat In the course of everyday life. When we use pepper, we also get ground nutshell and fruit stones with a little pepper mixed in. Mustard consists chiefly of wheat flour and turmeric, this latter is an East Indian saffron colored root with on acrid and pungent taste. When we use lime juice we get a little of the juice with 40 to (13 per cent, water, the whole preserved with sulphurous, salicylic or benzoic acid. Ale is preserved with salicylic acid, nlso porter and likewise beer; "pure Vermont" maple syrup is nothing more than cane syrup. Canned clams are preserved with boric acid. While this revelation of the Massa chusetts authorities is something aw- tul to contemplate, yet we are stag gered by a further report of the Board which sinus that, an enterprising chemist has discovered that the odor of spoiled e,ss can be neutralized through the addition of formaldehyde. binee this discovery a number of es tablishments have entered into the business ot collecting bad eggs, treat mg them with lorinaldehydo and sell ing the mixture to bakers, who use it in cake and other toods sol 1 to the public. hue the addition of formal dehyde utterly destroys any bad odor, the process renders the cgsis extremely hurtful to the human system. Form erly the mixture of bad eggs was sold to leather manufacturers, but since this later discovery the price of mixed eggs has riseu from 19 cents per ase to mor than a dollar. ECONOMY IN BUYING MEATS. Cheaper Cuts. Well Cooked, Equal to Most Expensive in flavor and Nutritive Quality. By Ida Finney. "Roasts are bought, good ones, and after one meal the bone and the rest of the meat is thrown away. I don t know whether women are too lazy, or whether they actually don't know how to make the soups which they could make out of bo little. See the Ger man women. They can make you a meal that is good out of a scrap of meat, and two or three cents' worth of vegetables. But American women, the most of them, don't know how, and they dontf seem to learn. For in stance, take a chuck piece of beef or a cut of the lower round, and if a young housekeeper only thought so she could make some good dishes out of it that her husband would enjoy eating, and praise, too. A good stev cooked slowly in the oven; a pot roast; beef a la mode, or a meat pie; and especial ly good, nourishing soups. But they think they must have steaks and roasts the best cuts and if not those they pesort to canned meats. We're here to sell meat, only I do hate to see people throwing their money away." The butcher was a thrifty German; and knew what economy meant. The truth of his statement is proven every day in the big markets. Steaks and roasts, roasts and steaks these are the standbys. And if, by chance, the cheaper cuts of meat are suggested. oftentimes the reply will me: "Oh, but my family likes only the best cuts." ' I always reel sorry lor tne nouse- keeper who speaks thus, feeling sure she Is ignorant of the nutritive value and delicate flavor of the "cheap cuts" when properly cooked. And the un fortunate fact is that many house keepers leave this Important matter to the ignorant and unskillful servant. Happening Into the kitchen of a friend at four o'clock one afternoon I saw the negro cook drop a piece of meat, evidently intended for a stew, into a kettle of cold water and light the gas under it. "Pearl, what are you doing," I asked. "Putting de meat on fo dinner. It s a little late, but 111 boil it hard and maybe it'll git done by six o'clock. Howsomever, dey s got to eat it, for we ain't got nothin' else." Here was a good piece of beef, a rather expensive cut, too, utterly ruined by the cooking. The cold water drew out the juices and the rapid boil ing hardened the fibers, with the result that the finished product was not fit to put in any human stomach. And it should have been such an appetizing and thoroughly satisfying dinner. Both the mistress and the maid were ignor ant and indifferent concerning the question of the daily food for the fam ily. Didn't Know a 'Pot Roast" To a neighbor complaining of the size of the meat bills was suggested the plan of buying cheaper cuts. A "pot roast" was suggested as a substi tute for the expensive "prime ribs." "Why, what is a pot roast?" she asked. And that little woman, with a husband on a moderate salary, was trying to run the house. She was about as well fitted for the work, as far as knowledge and skill were concerned, as a child ten years old. And the pity of it was that the husband was straining every nerve and working overtime to make the money to keep things going, A little knowledge; a little skill Will save the stomach and fill the till. If the courses In cookery in the pub lic schools of to-day succeed in teach ing the girls that much needed lesson of economy in buying and proper prep- aration of plain foods with which we are so abundantly supplied, and can be extended to reach every school in the land, they will serve a great purpose, and the benefit to the coming genera tion will be Incalculable. A Woman's Beautiful Memorial. A beautiful memorial to a noble wo man will be maintained henceforth in the little city of Pasadena, Cal., the home of the late Helen Peabody, founder of the Western College for Women at Oxford, Ohio. Miss Pea body, who died recently, provided in her will that her Pasadena residence, one of the loveliest in that lovely town, TREE PROrKRLY HANDED TO I!ESIST CODLINO MOTH. should he used henceforth as a "rest ing place for weary Christians, either from the home or foreign field, and Is to be called the House of Rest." Kor Its maintenance about $S,OOo has been set aside. Miss Peabody willed all her other property for the advancement of missions under the Presbyterian I Church. 50 BULBS 25 Cents. Will erow in the house or out of doors. Hyacinths, TullDS. Ciituliolii. Crocus. Fuchsias. Oralis, TulwroDea, ItcKonin, Jonquils. Patrodilt, ChiiH'w lily, Dewey Lily. Gloxinia. Lilies at the Valley all postpaid, 25e. in stamp! Asa premium wiui cuese jtuibs we will send bl collection of llower seeds over 200 kinds. DE NURSERY, SOMERVILLE, MASS. THE FIRE ENGINE DRIVER. There May be Better Drivers on Earth, but if There Are, where Are They? Is there a better driver in the world than the man who drives the fire en' gine? If there is, he is yet to be dis covered. Here was an engine coming along a cross street, to turn up an inter secting avenue. Under the edge of the rounded-off corner where the machine was to turn there was a sewer opening, with the street pavement sloping down smoothly toward it all around from the higher general level of the street. If the driver, coming as he was at a dead gallop, should make a broad turn around this corner, out where the street was Jevel, the engine would swing more or less, thus checking the horses' speed, and there would be a second or two lost before they could get the load straightened and get under full headway with it once more, up the avenue. But if the driver could make that corner with the two wheels on the inner side of the curve down in that sloping depression leading to the sewer opening close by the curb, and the two outside wheels on the higher level nearer the middle of the street, tho higher level here would be for the engine what the banked up outer rail is for the locomotive round ing a curve, making it so he wouldn't lose an inch. And that's the way he did make it. Before he knew it a man who had been standing at tho edge of this cor ner, waiting to see the engine go by, saw it so near to him and pushing in so close to him that he could have touched it. The driver, aloft in his high seat leaning inwards as he was, too, actually hanging over him as the engine passed, with whistle screaming and steam hissing, and that driver, as he flung 'em In this fashion 'round this curve, was talking low to his horses and calling on 'em each by name a man absorbed If there ever was one. Substitute for a Duel. A new humor has been added to the French duel. A. M. de Groze had an engagement with swords with a M. Carillot. At the last moment he sent word that he would not fight, but was sending his second in his stead. Hap pily the second acquitted himself so brilliantly that the principal's absence was not felt, for he actually shed some of his adversary's gore. It was a de lightful touch, the courtesy of not dis appointing a waiting antagonist, but sending instead a nice, obliging friend to pink him. Roosevelt Translates Gaelic President Roosevelt in the near fu ture may publish for private circula tion a book of Irish poems which he translated from the Gaelic. The Presi dent was taught Gaelic by James Jef frey Roche. An O'er True Tale. "Does anyone know how to make a Maltese cross?" asked the instructor In architecture. "Yes," answered the son of the Chief of the Naval Board, "Step on her tail." or coin. FRBR 11 HILLS HOW TO MAKE SCHOOL GARDENS. By H. D. Hemenway. 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