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Show WEEVIL BEETLE IS Jill 'Tf there Is any species of bettle specially spe-cially created to destroy the alfalfa weevil I have not succeed in listing it among teh enemies of this pest," said T. D, Urbahns, in cnarge of the United States bureau of entomology and special agent of the government in conducting the campaign against the weevil, after being told of a beetle bee-tle that is reported to have appeared near Lehi. "Of course, there are many kinds of beetles that live on insects," continued Mr. Urbahnb, "but so far we haven't found one that will be of signal service in the fight against the alfalfa weovll. " Whoever found the beetle at work eating weevils at Lehi could find the same thing true of the ordinary toad by a little Investigation Investi-gation And yet we cannot use the toad to any great extent Tn this work. I will not 'say the story from Lehi Is not true, but I have no knowledge of the specie, and, of course, am unprepared un-prepared to say to what extent its work may benefit us in the work of exterminating the weevil. "There is no now development in tho experiments we are conducting, although al-though everyting Is working finely. We are doing everything possible to propagate tho parasites which wo hope will rid alfalfa fields of the post' Speaking pf the quarantine against Utah alfalfa, -which is supposed to be in effect In southern California, Mr. ' Urbahns said": "As a matter ,of fact, sJfaJIo Jjeed put up for shipment In ' ' Utah is free from weevil for the simple sim-ple reason that the weevil cannot pass through tho screens used to qualify the seed for shipment, Of course tho bags in which seed Is shipped could be a hiding place for the weevil. For that matter anything shipped out of the state could carry them. "That section of the state in which the seed producing alfalfa Is raised Is entirely free from the weevil, though even If it were Infested the seed would not be contaminated- just because the plont mfght he. UThen ,agaln anyone at all familiar with the life history, the size and the habits of the alfalfa weevil, Its eggs and larr vae, must surely realize "how? Impossible Impos-sible it would be for the weevil to be, spread through the alfalfa seed Such a thing Is preposterous. "The danger of the spread of the weevil Is not through the seed, but especially by means of railroad trains. Our investigations have demonstrated that in almost every Instance the spread of the Insect has been along the railroad tracks, and that the Insect In-sect has been carried from one section sec-tion to another on railroad trains. Cattle trains are especially likely -to transport the weevil. Alfalfa Is often of-ten used as bedding for the animals in the cars and so when the cars are loaded In an Infected region the weevils wee-vils get out when the car Is unloaded, and if there happen to be alfalfa fields nearby the insects naturally find them out. "We have found the wjeevils in large numbers also on the sides and top and underneath passenger coaches, coach-es, so that if California is afraid the weevil is going down there from Utah o- other infected sections a general railroad blockade had better be declared." de-clared." oo |