Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

ounces per 100 gallons in contras t to the us ual 1 or 2 pounds per 100 gallons ). Although thes e
two are the least toxic of the modern insecticides, Dr. Pickett hopes by further research to
replace them with safer and more selective materials.
How well has this program worked? Nova Scotia orchardists who are following Dr. Pickett’s
modified s pray program are producing as high a proporti on of firs t-grade fruit as are thos e who
are using intensive chemical applications. They are als o getting as good production. They are
getting these results, moreover, at a substantially lower cost. The outlay for insecticides in Nova
Scotia apple orchards is only from 10 to 20 per cent of the amount s pent in mos t othe r apple-
growing areas. More i mportant tha n even thes e excellent res ults is the fact that the modified
prog ram worked out by thes e Nova Scotian entomol ogis ts is not doing violence to nature’s
balance. It is well on the way to realizing the philosophy stated by the Canadian entomologist
G. C. Ullyett a decade ago: ‘We mus t change our philos ophy, abandon our attitude of human
superiority and admit that in many cases in natural environments we find ways and means of
limiting populations of organisms in a more economical way than we can do it ours elves .’