BOOK REVIEW

SILENT SPRING. Rachel Carson. la ndmarks in science. Her background 297 + 67 pages, Houghton Mifflin Co., in research hardly qualifies h er to Boston, 1962. $5.95 . Reviewed by J. la unch a sweeping indictment of a Marshall, Canada Agriculture, Re­ bra nch of science that is patently search Station, Summerland, B.C. foreign to h er . I n Silent Spring Miss Carson fl ays Bu t the end may justify the the misuse of pesticides; and in so means. Certainly, if Silent Spring doing she says much that badly needs fails to arouse the public, and bring saying. It is a grisly book; and like its about a change of emphasis in pest more cheerful predecessor , The Sea con trol proced ures, it will be no fa ul t Around Us, it is exceedingly well done. of Rachel Carson. If the book P~lt S an To h ave dealt in a strictly factual end to massive , ill- conceived cam­ way with pesticides, with equal prom­ paigns to wipe out insects over wide inence to their good features as well areas by the wholesale application of as their bad, would have given us a chemicals, or if it discourages the book for scientists. But a book for blind reliance on chemical control sci en tists was not what Miss Carson that is only too obvious in some parts or her publishers h ad in mind. Silent of North America, it will ser ve well Spring is aimed at the general public, indeed. so it emphasizes only one aspect of Back of the current pesticide scare pest control, that is, the possibility of there are faddists. On the one hand the wholesale pOisoning of man, and are the food faddists who harbour the other animals, through the though t­ neurotic suspicion of insidious poison­ less a nd indiscriminate use of physio­ ing from almost any food that is not logically potent pesticidal chemicals. " naturally" grown. On the other h and Miss Ca rson gives the public a very are the eradication faddists who have dim view of the applied entomologist. an urge to rid the world, or bits of it, "The concepts and practices of ap­ of any organism that might be plied entomology," sh e says, "for the labelled "pest." Despite public shock most part date from the stone age of following the tragedy of thalidomide, science. It is an ala rming misfortune if we had no faddists doubtless we that so primitive a science h as armed would have no pesticide scare. itself with the most modern and ter­ Silent Spring deplores the wide­ rible weapons, and that in turning spread and, in a sense, indiscriminate them against the insects it has also operations of the professional eradi­ turned them against the earth ." That cator, as well it might. But it does is her parting blast. not differentiate sufficien tly between Despite all the work that h as gone campaigns aimed at the eradication into this book the author cannot h ave of an insect over a wide area, and the learned a great deal about a pplied operations of a farmer or fruit grower entomology. Presumably she has not aimed at the control of a n insect on understood that applied entomology his own property. To eradicate an includes the a pplication of the prin­ insect with pesticides is an exceed­ ciples of biological control, a proced­ ingly difficult, in fact almost impos­ ure to which she gives highest praise. sible, job. But merely to control an '1'0 refer to applied entomology as a insect over a modest area is usually stone age science might presuppose a routine operation. In the first case an immensely erudite critic. Admit­ the use of pesticides generally is ting her undoubted skill as a writer, prodigal, and failure is soon forgot­ Miss Carson has erected no nota ble ten; those responsible are financially unaffected. In the second case the particularly stealthy and baleful individual has to pay for the pesti­ a bout ch emicals that a re synthesized cides, and failure can mean serious around carbon. She notes that in fina ncial loss. Nova Scotia, where pest control she Although Miss Carson is not op­ believes, is on a highly enlightened posed to the use of pesticides-"It is plane, syn the tic insecticides a re not my contention that chemical avoided. The recommended ones are insecticides must never be used. I do Ryania, nicotine sulphate and lead contend that we h ave put poisonous arsenate. On several occasions she and biologically potent chemicals refers a pprovingly to Ryania. Her into the h ands of persons largely or assumption appears to be that be­ wholly ignorant of t heir potential fo r cause Ryania is derived from a pla nt harm"- she does not tell us how to it has special virtues as a pesticide, reconcil e the two statements. It is Le., toxic to pests yet innocuous to difficult to imagine how more than a plan ts, or to the higher a nimals. But h andful of people could qualify as experiments conducted in British pesticide a pplicators if qualification Columbia apple orchards have shown m eant adequate schooling in the Ryania to be highly phytotoxic. And intricacies of toxicology and biologi­ if it had been given a fraction of the cal con trol. As long as pesticides are toxicological study that h as been used they will, in all likelihood, be accorded DDT who knows what other used by people who know little or doubtful qualities might have come nothing of their side effe cts. The to light. problem is to develop pesticides so As for nicotine sulphate, the fact specific that harmful effects will not overshadow beneficial effects. Sub­ that it too is derived from a plant stan tial progress has already been ma kes it no less toxic to mammals. made in that direction. Tha t is con­ Of 61 currently listed insecticides trary to Miss Carson's opinion tha t all nicotine sulphate is the seventh most pesticides should be called biocides. leth al to humans, and its residue per­ An obvious reply to Silent Spring sists longer than is generally believed. is that serious curtailment of pesti­ In one chapter of Silent Spring cide usage would mean more human mention is made of the high mam­ hunger. The author has foreseen the criticism. She ma inta ins that the real malian toxicity of the arsenicals. But food problem nowadays is, in fact the third insecticide that a pparently over-production. It is costing the meets with the a uthor's a pproval United States about one billion dol­ (perhaps because it does not have a lars a year to carry surplus food bad record against birds) is the worst supplies. She does not mention that of the arsenicals. Lead arsenate in over two-thirds of the world's popu­ fact, is perhaps the most s ini ~ ter pesticide that has ever been in com­ latio n is undernourished. Nor does she mention that the surplus would mon use. During the 17 years since vanish overnight if pests and diseases lead arsenate was banish ed from were uncontrolled. Nor does she men­ British Columbia orchards, spray tion that the stock piled foods do not poisoning of orch ard workers has by any means cover the United States dropped from a commonplace to a rarity. And the wholesale poisoning dietary. of orchard soils has been h alted. Yet Here is a n example of a curious th e substitutes are synth etic organic blind spot in Miss Carson's a pproach ; compounds h eld in special horror by th e belief that there is something Silent Spring. Since agriculture is strange terri­ ian toxicity. An example is Sevin, a tory for Miss Carson it is to be n ew compound used to combat cer­ expected tha t sh e will lose h er way ta in insects tha t h ave become resist­ from time to time in tha t most com­ a n t to DDT. Sevin is even less toxic plex of sciences. Here is an example to the high er animals than DDT. of a seemingly minor la pse tha t leads Another example is the a caricide to a notabl e misconception. In East­ ;'edion, of which 2 pounds is the ern a pple growing districts where estima ted lethal dose fo r a n adult forested a reas often adjoin orch ards h uman. Pity the adult h uman who, th e codling moth may be greatly a t on e sitting, downs even one pound reduced during the winter by wood­ of ordinary table saltl peckers. Since in those a reas the I n h er preoccupation with biologi­ insect h as l..nrt' one generation a year, cal con trol Miss Carson overlooks the birds may thus playa measura bl e or fact th at the great majority of even a decisive role in controlling it. applied entomologists a re far from Silent Spring implies th at wood­ wedded to the use of pesticides. (Ad­ peckers are effective agen ts of codlin g mittedly there a re exceptions. ) moth control everywhere. That may Indeed, few a pplied entomologists not be so. I n the drier areas of West­ would not ch eerfully bury all pesti­ ern North America the apple orchards cidal chemicals if th at were feasibl e. a re genera ll y well removed from Silent Spring conveys a different fo rested areas, and the codling moth though t . Referring to biological con­ may have three ge nerations a year . trol there is this : " It h ad its period 0 f Even in neglected orchards, n ear drought, when workers in applied woodlands in which woodpeckers a re entomology, dazzled by the spectacu­ active during the winter, there are lar new insecticides, of th e 1940's. always codling moth survivors. In turned th eir backs on all biologica l two or three generations, over the methods and set foot on the treadmill course of four or fiv e months, the of ch emical control." Tut tut, Miss progeny of those sur vivors increase Ca rson ! to such numbers tha t the fruit is Few entomologists would disagree invariably a total loss. with Silen t Spring's approving quote Silen t Spring has partic ularly bi t­ from the Director of the Plant Pro­ tel' words for th e chlorina ted h ydro­ tection Service of Holland. "Practical carbons. In one chapter Miss Carson advice sh ould be: 'Spray as little as has th em leaching out the soil and yo u possibly ca n '." Although there contaminating underground water, h a ve been some lapses, cer tainly th at with incalculable potential for h a rm. broadly summarizes Canadian policy. In another ch a pter sh e emphasiz es It is a far cr y from the picture tha t th eir prolonged persistence in pa inted by Miss Ca rson. the soil is a h azard to the complex If Silent Spring s ucceeds in bring­ web of life th at ma intains soil fer­ ing a bout a more rationa l use of tility. These are versatile compounds pesticides it will do what it sets out to indeed. do, and will be for the general good. Silen t Spring contends that new The danger is that it may do more chemicals in trod uced to combat the than it sets out to do. If the book developmen t of pesticide resistance le::tds to unreasoning fear, a nd hence will necessarily be more and more to unnecessarily restrictive pesticide poisonous to high er anima ls. The legislation, the cost of food produc­ reaso ning is unclear . As time passes tion will assuredly rise. Then the more a nd more of th e new pesticides consumer will suffer ; and the poorer h ave lo w rather than high mammal- the consumer the more th e su ff ering. 56 PIW' . r'; .'( To .' :()I .. So ... 13 1l1"l". ('O IX .IIIII.I. VOl.. 5 ~) (1 96::!l. 0 1': ". 1, 1962

Phaeoura mexicanaria (Grote) in British Columbia (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) .T . G Il .I .\; 'I" Rindge (1961) gives the range of the geo­ brown granules; conspicuous tu bercles bear­ metrid moth, Phaeoura mexicanaria (Grote), ing setae D-2 on abdominal segments 1. to as the western United States. Although 5 and setae D·1 on segment 8. Tubercles there are no published r ecords for this spe­ l a r g e s ~ on A2 , gradually diminishing in size ci es in British Columbia, larvae have been to A5; those on A8 about equal in size to taken in Forest Insect Survey collections on those on A3. An adult rear ed from this a few occasions in the southern Interior: larva was identifi ed by Dr. E. Munroe of the Kettle Valley, 28 August, 1953; Salmon AIm, Entomology Research Institute, Ottawa, as 17 .Ju ly, 1958; Grand Forks, 12 August, 1959; P. magnificans Dyar; since r educed in and Oliver, 24 August, 1961. Larvae wer e Rindge's r evision to synonymy with mexi­ obtained by beating the branches of pon­ canaria. derosa pine trees over a sheet laid on the An adult male, also identified by Dr. Mun­ ground, a nd were fed ponderosa pine foliage roe, was collected at Rock Creek on 10 July, in the insectary for periods up to 26 days 1958. It was fl ying in a lighted garage a bout before they pupated. The only members of 10 p.m. the genus for which the food plants were Acknowledgment previously known were two deciduous feed­ The writer is indebted to Dr. W. C. Mc­ ers: P. quernaria (J . E . Smith) on oak and Guffin , Forest Entumology and Pathology cherry, and P. cristifera Hulst on \l'illow. Laboratory, Ca nada Department of For estry, The larva of P. mexicanaria resembles a Calgary, Alta., for the description of the rough twig of the host tree. A description larva. of an ultimatE'-Jn star larva from Grand F orks References follo\l's: head 4.56 mm. wide, pale brown, notched, with brown patches suggesting a Hindgc, F. H. 1961. A Revision of the Naco­ herring-bone pattern: body 44 mm. long, phorini (Lepidoptera. Geometridae). Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 123: 91- 6.4 mm. wide, pale brown, cover ed with fi ne 153.

I For est Ent o m o logy Laboratory, Ve rno n, B.C.

EDITOR'S NOTE

It may surprise contributors a nd New York, N.Y. Sacramento, Calif. r eaders to learn how widely the Pro­ Philadelphia, Pa. San Francisco. Calif. Portland, Oreg. Sea ttle, Wash. ceedings a re distributed. Her e is a list Prosser, Wash. st. Paul, Minn. of places outside British Columbia to Provo, Utah. Tucson. Ariz. which one or more copies are sent, Pullman, Wash. Union Gap, Wash. Raleigh, N. C. Urbana, Mich. either in exchange for publications or Reading, Pa. Washington, D. C. by subscription. Elsewhere: In Cana da: Ad elaide, Australia Pretoria. Belleville, Ont. Montreal, Que. Amsterdam. Holland South Africa Calgary, Alta. Ottawa, Onto Berlin, Germany Rio de J ani ero. Edmonton, Alta. Quebec, Que. Bologna, Italy Brazil Fredericton, N.B. Saskatoon, Sask. Brisbane, Australia Rotorua, Gu elph, Ont. Sault Ste. Mari e, Canberra, A. C.T. New Zealand Ha lifax, N.S. Ont. Coimbra, Portugal Sapporo, Japan Hamilton, Ont. Toronto, Ont. Dunedin, Stockholm, Sweden Leth bridge, Alta. W innipeg, Man. New Zealand Taipei, Formosa Frunze, U.S.S.H. Teheran, Iran In the U.S. : F ukuoka, Japan Tikkurila, Finland Ames, Ia. Fayetteville, Ark. Leningrad. U. S.S.H. Tokyo, Japan Anchorage, Alaska Honolulu, Hawaii. Li sbon, Portuga l Uppsala, Sweden Ann Arbor, Mich. Indianapolis, Ind. London, England Venice, Italy Atlanta, Ga. Ithaca, N.Y. Lund, Sweden Versailles, France Berkeley, Calif. Lincoln, Neb. Manila, Philippines Warsaw, Poland Bozeman, Mont. Los Angeles. Calif. Mexico City, Mexico Wellington, Ca mbridge, Mass. Madison, Wis. Mo sco w, U.S.S.H. New Zealand Chicago, IlL Manhattan, Kan. Nelson, Weybridge, England Cincinnati, O. Mount Vernon, New Zealand York, England Corvallis, Oreg. Wash. Paris, France Zurich, Davi s, Calif. New Haven, Co nn. POl·ti ci , Ita ly Switzerland P lw('. ES I'O .I IOI.. :';()l' . 81< 1T. COI.LIII:I.I. "01..69 ( 1%2 ) .01-:( '.1.1%2 57

BOOK REVIEW A Handbook oj Biological Illustra­ and Handling Illustrations. Th e tion, by F . W. Zweifel. University of chapters on drawing and graphs take Chicago Press, 1961. Pp. 131. $1.95. up more than half of the book. This paper-back fills a need Here One illustration is worth special in simple terms are clear instr~ction~ mention. In describing the use of and up-to-date information " for the scratchboard (cardboard surfaced biologist who is not an artist and the with chalk) the author shows 3 stages artist who is not a biologist." The in drawing the ventral view of a author is both. She holds a B.A. in bandicoot's skull. The finished pro­ zoology, and from the University of duct (p. 60) is a classic, having an Arizona an M.A. in art. The book is a lmost three-dimensional quality. an expansion of her thesis. Although not exhaustive the cov­ The printing, paper, and of course erage appears to be adequate, and the the illustrations are of high quality, rather brief treatment is well plan­ which may account for the rather ned, as the chapter headings show: high price. Fifteen different refer­ Printing Processes, Size and Reduc­ ences are given at the ends of the tion of Illustrations for Publication, chapters, but are not cited in the Materials, Drawing, Preparation of text. There are sub-headings within Graphs and Maps, Lettering, Illustra­ the chapters, and an index. tions from Photographs, Mounting ~ I:I. 1: . Mud'ur!7/y. PI('''. le ""·"·,I()I. S,,, FIHIT. ("" .1".\11:1\. Y

BOOK REVIEW Observations and Experiments in ca terpillars, pollination by various Natural History, by Alan Dale. New bees, olfaction in ants, and so on. The York. Doubleday - American Museum subj ects are common, e.g.: beetles of Natural History, 1962. Pp. x and (water, click, burying, ground, and 148. $.95. Geotrupes); water striders and water For anyone concerned with in­ boa tmen ; lacewings, grasshoppers, structing young people in biology or gall makers, cabbage butterflies and research this attractive little book aphids. could be a good starting point. Its But there is more than just experi­ English author, who died in 1960 at ments and observations. On every 44 , was a teacher who must have had page the author poses questions and a ftair for generating curiosity and leaves problems dangling, perhaps excitement. He was inftuential in with a hint as to how answers might revlsmg the curriculum in High be found. He sees groups of 5 or 6 School biology in the U.K., and was water striders in mid-winter. Are the author of 3 textbooks and 'Pat­ they feeding? On what? How long terns of Life' and 'Introduction to can they go without food? If males Social Biology.' The current edition play no part in rearing la rvae a re of this book has been adapted for over-wintering adults always female? North American use from the 1960 Try 'Nith bumblebees, mosquitoes and original. earwigs. How fast do aphids repro­ First of the 6 chapters is an intro­ duce? Which end of an aphid is born duction in which Dale illustrates first? Do blowflies arrive at rotting research methods and pitfalls. Then meat in succession or at random? follow observations and experiments Dale thinks Calliphora come first and on invertebrates, insects (45 pages), Lucilia a day or so later. The same vertebrates, lower plants, and higher fertility of ideas runs through the plan ts. There are simple experimen ts chapters on vertebrates and plants. on snails (homing, use of oxygen) , flu k e s, crustaceans, earthworms The style is easy and appropriate (light reactions, regeneration, bur­ with no undue use of the first person. rows) , spiders, hydra, centipedes, and There are 28 sketches in the text and millipedes. 8 original halftone plates illustrating In the insects there are experiments 13 or 14 of the phenomena dealt with. on pupation and hibernation, photo­ In short, here is a book to stimulate taxis and feeding, light-compass the latent biologist in most young reactions, color and sex recognition people. by Lepidoptera, selection of food by - fl. I,' . .11(/"('(/1'111.'/. PrlOL' . E.\'rO :llOI. SO(". B IU T . C O I.I ·.llln .\ , VIl L. fill ( ] 962) , 1)1-:( '. 1. ] %2 ii!l

BOOK REVIEW Insects, a GUide to Familiar Amer­ con trol; family tree; structure; when ican Insects. H. S. Zim and C. Cottam. a nd where to look; and how to set New York, Simon & Schuster, 1956. a bout collecting and studying. Later Pp. 160. $1.00. 2 pages of text describe and distin­ One of the a vowed aims of our guish between butterflies and moths. society is to encourage amateur These pages are enlivened by mar­ entomology. Members who are a sked ginal a nd text pictures. Most of the to suggest a book for beginners need 225 species on 135 pages have their look no further than this really ran ges shown on small maps, cover­ pocket-sized Golden Nature Guide. ing North America from just south of The authors are the ubiquitous Dr. the Mexican border to about 200 miles H. S. Zim, Professor of Education a t into Canada . Naturally, the species the University of Illinois, and Dr. include some not found in Canada, Clarence Cottam, Director of the nevertheless all the insects are com­ Welder Wildlife Foundation, Former ­ mon but showy or striking in some ly Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish wa y. SCientific names of all the and Wildlife Service. The all-import­ species illustra ted, are given in a sec­ ant illustrations are by James Gordon ond index by page numbers. There is Irving. These are all in color, mostly also an annota ted list of 6 books to showing food plants or other back­ cover the next stage of study or ground. It is surprising that the book inquiry. These are: Comstock, J. H., is not better known for this is the An Intmduction t o Entomology; revised second edition ; the first edi­ Jaques , H . E ., How t o know the In­ tion appeared in 1951. sects; Klots, A. B ., A Field Guide to To save space there is no ta ble of the Butter/lies; Lutz, F. E ., Field Book contents, but there is an index. The 0/ Insect s; Sw ai n , R., The Insect book opens with directions and a Guide; and Urquhart, F . A ., Introduc­ short descriptive key to 15 orders with ing the Insect . typical specimens illustra ted . Then In sum, this little book is a miracle comes a 10-page outline, giving one of compression. For price, coverage, or 2 paragraphs each on : what insects and sh eer a ttractiveness it has no are; insect relatives; numbers; in­ peer . sects and man ; insects in their place; - /-I . H . M«I'('(/rll'J/.

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