1 EDWARD VII., A. 1901

the case, by notifying me promptly on the first appearance of any enemies of crops. It is manifestly advantageous that members should know what work is being done in the various Government departments, and what use they can make of them. At any rate I am anxious that the work of my division should be known and made use of as widly as possible. I therefore make a plain statement that I wish the members of this Committee to know that at the Central Experimental farm there is a division which takes up the study of insects and plants, and the desire of the officers is to be of as much use as possible to the farmers and others in Canada. The work of the Entomologist and Botanist of the Experimental Farms embraces among other things the following line of work :

:

POINTS OF DIVISION IN THE STUDY OF INSECT LIFE.

1. Studying the life histories of such insects as by their attacks are a source of loss or annoyance to the farmers, fruit growers, or citizens of Canada, with the object of finding methods by which their losses may be reduced or prevented altogether. A knowledge of the life history of an insect is of the highest importance, because upon this must be founded all effort towards the discovery of a practical remedy. In illustration of this I have brought with me a case of insects showing some of those which have caused considerable loss in Canada, during the past season, and showing them at the four different stages of their existence-the egg, which is laid by the adult female, from which comes the larvæ form; then this changes to the chrysalis or pupal form and from that comes the perfect insect. It may be said as a general statement that all insects pass through these four stages. We find that we are not able to fight insects practically in all of their different stages, but by knowing the life histories of the insects we discover their vulnerable points, or the seasons when they are most at our mercy. This knowledge is most necessary so that we may cope successfully with these various pests, or reduce their ravages. The caterpillar which did so much harm in British Columbia last year may be cited as an instance, --the perfect insect, the parent of the cutworms, which everyone observed was a brown moth expanding nearly two inches. Very few people saw these, or recognized them as in any way related to the caterpillars which appeared in July and August in such incredible numbers, and wiped out probably one half of the crop of the province. Towards the end of July it became manifest that not only was the province of British Columbia infested to a serious degree, but that the insect extended as a serious pest right down through the States of Washington and Oregon. This pest has not occurred previously in British Columbia in anything like the same numbers; farmers were not acquainted with its appearance and did not know how to meet its attacks. With insects of this class there is only one stage in which we can prevent their ravages. If the perfect moths could be collected and destroyed, we could in that way prevent a large number of eggs from being laid, but this is seldom practicable; again if the eggs could be found and destroyed that would also be an efficient remedy, but these are very small objects and are hard to find, therefore the above are not practical remedies. However by knowing the habits of the caterpillar we were able to apply remedies by which considerable loss was prevented, and in future farmers being now prepared with a knowledge of the habits of this insect and of its characteristics will be enabled to meet any future attack and prevent much loss. Tent Caterpillar which were so destructive to the maple trees and orchards in the province of Quebec for about three years previous to last year, and also injured forest. trees and orchards in the province of Ontario were much less abundant last season. This was not entirely or perhaps chiefly due to, but was largely helped by, fruit growers learning what were the best remedies and applying them at the right time. The injury was much less serious where the trees had been sprayed with poisonous mixtures and other preventive measures were taken on the first appearance of the caterpillars. We have in Canada probably one hundred different kinds of common insect pests, that is,

The

APPENDIX No. 1

insects which are likely to appear in injurious numbers in some place every year. Of these one hundred no less than ninety-five per cent have been studied sufficiently to enable us to at once recommend something which can be done by the ordinary farmer or fruit grower to prevent or much reduce loss, if he will apply the remedy advised quickly. The chief thing is to get this knowledge well spread over the country so that farmers and others may recognize a common insect enemy when it occurs in large numbers, know what remedy to apply, and the right way to apply it under the conditions existing in their case. If they apply the right remedy and in the right way, they will secure good results, but unfortunately we know of endless instances where the wrong remedy has been applied. Paris green is so effective as a remedy against some pests that many people think that it is a remedy suitable for all insects, on all crops and at all times. This is not the case for we have found that there are many insects for which a certain remedy may be useful while many other remedies would be quite useless against it.

2. Another line of work carried on in the division of entomology is the examination and testing of all methods, materials or machines which are recommended for applying poisonous mixtures with the object of controlling crop pests.

3. Another branch of the work is the dissemination of information which it is thought may be of service to practical or technical investigators of insect and plant life. Besides this we are making a representative collection of the injurious and beneficial insects of Canada, which is very necessary for our work in the department, so that visitors to the Central Farin may be able, by looking through the cases, to identify any pests which may have troubled them, and may there obtain all information they desire about them. This collection has been got into better order and has been very much enlarged during the last year by my assistant, Mr. Gibson, who I have arranged should pay special attention to the collections. He is an enthusiastic collector and an expert at mounting and preparing specimens. The case which I have here to-day is some of his work. We are gradually building up what is already a very beautiful collection, showing many insects in all their various stages of development. I have brought with me to-day one case to show how we prepare the larvae, or caterpillars, of moths and butterflies for exhibition. These shown here are the larvæ of a number of our most injurious insects. It will be seen that they appear here in their natural forms and colours. These specimens are simply the skins of the caterpillars which have been skilfully emptied of their contents and then inflated in a heated miniature oven. This method of preserving these soft bodied caterpillars has great advantages over the ordinary method of preserving them in alcohol or other liquids. They may be preserved for examination just as they appear here for many years, and are far more useful in a museum than specimens in alcohol, which are difficult to examine. In making this collection it is hoped to show not only the insect in all the different stages, but also all the different beneficial parasites which prey upon and diminish their numbers. The drawer shown herewith is a sample of the plan we have adopted in arranging this exhibit of injurious in-ects, and will, I believe, be an attractive feature of our office at the Central Experimental Farm. In the first division you will see that the insect is shown in all of its various stages. We have a cluster of eggs upon a twig, the caterpillar after the four different moults it undergoes before it reaches full growth, the earthen cocoon and the chrysalis contained therein and lastly the mature insect showing both sexes. The flies shown at the bottom of the division are parasites, the larva of which feed inside the living caterpillars and only emerge to change to their final stages when full grown. I may remark in passing that the study of beneficial insects is just as important as that of injurious kinds; in fact it is an intregal part of that study. If we do not know our friends of the insect world many of these will frequently be destroyed through ignorance, for the erroneous opinion that all insects are enemies is far too widespread.

It is hoped, sir, in this way that in a short time we shall have a representative and complete collection by which any farmer who finds an insect attacking his crop can, by examining the collection, recognize his enemy and then be at once informed which remedy has been found by experiments to be the most useful. All these injurious insects are being carefully studied so that definite instructions may be given to farmers how to deal with each.

1-D

By Mr. Sproule :

1 EDWARD VII., A. 1901

Q. Would not this case be more intelligible if the common English name of each insect was given as well as the other?

A. Undoubtedly, and we do so in the cases which we have for the information of the public. That case before you is not for the ordinary person; it was made up specially to show to this committee this morning. You will see in examining our collections, that one of the features of our work has been to try to make it as intelligible as possible to those for whom it is being done, for I recognize fully that you can easily frighten any one away if you give him a long technical name instead of one which he can easily understand. I do not think, Dr. Sproule, that the accusation has ever been brought against me of using a long technical name when I could use a simple English one, at any rate I have always made an effort not to do so, which has been frequently noticed favourably.

The dissemination of information which it is thought may be of service to practical or technical investigators of insect and plant life is, as I have said, an important branch of our work, and one which brings us constantly in communication with original investigators in students and school teachers in all parts of Canada. A great many collections of insects and plants are sent in for identification, which I am very glad to name for the senders and from which we derive many additions to our own collections

NATIVE AND IMPORTED FODDER GRASSES.

Another branch of our work of a rather different nature is the cultivation and study of native and imported fodder grasses and other fodder plants, and a great deal of work has been done in the gathering together from other countries of all valuable species suitable to Canada and the cultivation of our native grasses. In this way the greatest triumph which should be claimed as distinctively Canadian and as the outcome of the work of the experimental farms, has been the introduction of Awnless or smooth Brome grass into the North-west and Manitoba. This was a grass imported among other seeds from Dr. Regel of St. Petersburg, in 1886, the first year that the farm here was started. Its cultivation has been pushed in every way possible through Manitoba, against opposition it is true, because useful things are nearly always opposed by some one on the chance that they may not be useful. It was said by some farmers even in that country of progressive people that it was going to be a pest, because it had long roots reaching out on all sides like quack grass. We thought, however, that if we could double the quantity of fodder at the command of the farmers by introducing this grass, we were doing them a service, by providing a large supply of succulent, good, feed where there was such a demand for it. The Awnless Brome grass has far exceeded all expectations, and is to-day one of the best grasses in Manitoba and the North-west Territories, especially in the semi-arid districts where it was impossible to grow pasture and hay grasses in large quantities.

By Mr. Wright:

Q. Is that grown in Ontario to any extent?

A. Not to any large extent, because it is not so necessary in this part of the country. It has been found to be a grass that is particularly able to sustain lengthened periods of drought in parts of the country where the rainfall is small.

By Mr. Robinson (West Elgin):

Q. Is that the quack grass you speak of?

A. No; it is the Brome grass in the North-west I am speaking of. Quack grass. does only too well in this part of the country.

APPENDIX No. 1

By Mr. Meigs:

Q. How will it do in a lake district?

A. Brome grass will grow on heavy or light, moist or dry land, and the same grass which in the west has given such good results when sown in dry districts, has been grown in New Brunswick and Northern Ontario as a grass for swamps and sloughs, where others will not succeed so well, and it has done admirably. It gives a rich and abundant growth, and for the North-west is probably the best paying grass ever introduced there. The only other grass that can be mentioned as comparable with it in value is the Western rye grass. This is a native grass and was first cultivated at Virden, Man., by Mr. K. McIvor, who many years ago wrote to me about it, and I was much pleased to be able to bring it before the notice of western farmers. It was seen at once that this was a valuable grass, and every effort was made to push it and get it recognized by the farmers of the West as worthy of cultivation by then. for fodder purposes. To-day through the whole West the Awnless Brome grass and the Western Rye grass are the two most valuable for cultivation; one is a native, the other has been introduced into this country, and everything possible has been done by my division to bring them before farmers. Western Rye grass is the same grass as is known as 'Bunch' grass on our western cattle ranges, and where tried it has also given excellent results in the Western States.

INJURIOUS INSECTS AND FUNGOUS DISEASES.

In furtherance of this scheme of work which I have outlined to the Committee every opportunity has been seized of gathering together year by year, from reliable correspondents and eye-witnesses, the fullest possible information concerning all serious outbreaks of injurious insect enemies and fungous diseases. These have been worked up, compared with the latest authorities and published, with such notes and recommendations as it was thought would be serviceable for present or future use, in the report of the Entomological and Botanical division, which forms one of the most important sections of the annual report on experimental farms. Thus a vast amount of valuable and definite information of inestimable value to the farmers of Canada has been gradually accumulated and permanently recorded—and I lay great stress on the definite nature of the advice given, for if a man wants to know a remedy for some pest he wants to know which is the best one and not to be given half a dozen remedies to choose from. We have tried to make our instructions as definite as possible. In this way we are now in a position to give reliable information concerning most of the serious enemies which are likely to occur in a farmer's crops, together with advice as to the best steps for him to take on the first appearance of the enemy, so as to minimize loss. A change was made some years ago in the arrangement of the work of my division, by which much of the practical work connected with the treatment of fungous diseases was transferred from the entomologist's to the horticulturist's division. This was largely due to the fact that the horticulturist bas men and horses at his disposal, so that spraying and other operations of that kind could be carried on without making any increase to the staff.

Through the publications of the division of entomology, and particularly through the reports of this Committee, a constant effort has been made to keep the farmers of Canada advised as to the latest developments in the study of practical entomology by workers in all parts of the world, at least in such matters as could be applied to Canadian conditions. In this way we were prepared beforehand to meet some of the worst outbreaks of injurious insects which have occurred during recent years, such as the cattle horn fly, the San José scale, the Apple maggot, locusts in the west, cut-worms of various kinds, the Pea aphis, the Clover Seed midge, &c., &c. In many cases the farmers were advised beforehand that they might suffer from these pests, they were told the best remedies to apply for each particular one, and recommended to use these on the first appearance of the pests.

1 EDWARD VII., A. 1901

CHARACTERISTICS OF INSECT TRIBES, REMEDIES TO EXTIRPATE.

Many injurious insects are periodical in their occurrence, not appearing year after year in the same numbers, but occurring injuriously for a few years and then suddenly disappearing again. Some of the worst pests of the farmer are species which have been accidentally imported from other countries. When the life history of a specie is known as well as the remedies which have been found useful in other countries, this knowledge is of great value in meeting the attack when it comes. Some insects, on the other hand, like the San José scale, when once introduced are a constant source of loss, and it becomes the duty of the official entomologist to use every effort to persuade those concerned to recognize the true state of affairs, and this is not always just as successful as we could wish. One year before the San José scale was found in Canada fruit growers were warned to expect it, and the best then known remedies were published. From the beginning, owing chiefly, of course, to the trouble and expense involved, it has been difficult to persuade fruit growers how serious a matter the introduction of the San José scale into Canada has been, is now, and is going to be in the future. It is a cause of sincere congratulation to us, however, that the spread of this insect has been limited largely by climatic conditions to a comparatively small area in Ontario and it should be distinctly stated that the only part of Canada infested with this terrible scourge is that part of the province of Ontario, extending from Niagara as a centre, around the western end of Lake Ontario as far as Burlington, and westward along the counties bordering on Lake Erie to the other end of the lake. The scourge is not widespread, and it is found only in a comparatively small part of the one province of Ontario, all statements to the contrary notwithstanding. Most certainly it is not widespread through the province, and it does not occur in any other province of the Dominion. Even in this infested area it is not in every orchard that the scale has gained a footing; the area liable to injury may be described as that part of Ontario where the peach can be grown commercially. Reports that the San José scale occurs widely throughout Ontario, or or in any other province of Canada are quite inaccurate. Ever since the advent of this insect into Canada everything which could be done to protect fruit-growers has been promptly attended to by the Honourable Minister of Agriculture, who fortunately being himself a progressive fruit-grower was able to appreciate the gravity of the case. The San José Scale Act, and the subsequent amendments, are evidences of this interest in the matter by the Minister. The Honourable Mr. Fisher was one of the first fruitgrowers in Canada to spray his orchard regularly to prevent injury by insects. This work he began at my request as early as 1884.

SCIENTIFIC AID FROM GOVERNMENT.

In addition to the work of the Federal Government, the Ontario Government has made a splendid effort to protect the fruit growers of the province against the unfortunate want of knowledge on the part of some of themselves who were deeply concerned, but did not understand how serious a matter the introduction of the San José scale was. The orchards of the province have been inspected, the scale located, and much useful work has been done in destroying orchards which were too badly infested for the trees to recover. Experiments have also been made with various materials to see if a satisfactory remedy could be found by which infested trees might be treated instead of rooting them out and burning them. Most useful work which will never be appreciated at its full value has been done in this direction by Mr. Geo. E. Fisher, the chief provincial inspector for San José scale. Among the various materials which have been tried, crude petroleum and whale oil soap seem at the present time to give the most promising results.