The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1865-06-12

but in The larva or immasufs state IL ID q
soft, elongate, six legged grub. colored good
deal like the perfect insect but without any
wings of course. Ii is in this state that it
does the principal part of the damage, feeding
voraciously on the leaves, and. when these
are gone, even on the stems of the Potato
The eggs are Of bright orange color and are
laidin clusters of 20 or 80 on the under side
of the leaf From these eggs are now pro-
ceedlng, or shortly about to proceed, the sec
ond brood of the insect, which in ell proba.
bility will be two or three hundred times as
numerous as the first brood, and, unless some
thing is done to check them, take the entire
crop of Potatoes in this region of country.
-Four years ago / had specimens of this In
sect sent me from Kansas, with a statement
that it was running the Potatoes, Tomatoes,
Egg plants, &e., there. Two years ago had
specimens sent me from Iowa, where it was
running. the same destructive course. Last
year Prof. Worthen, the State Geologist, sent
me specimens from Hancock County in this
State, and wrote me word that it had ruined
their entire fields of potatoes. | myself cap
turod two solitary specimens in the City of
Rock Island in 1864 though / had never pre-
viously met with 1t in this region, and am
confident it did not formerly exist here. Un-
like most noxious Insects therefore, instead
of migrating from East to West, it appears to
have migrated from West to East; and
shall not be surprised if in the course of 20
or 80 years it gradually extends its ravages
to the Atlantic seaboard, where it is at pres
emit quite unknown. Two years ago warn
ed the good people of Rock Island Co., that
the Locust-borer was gradually working its
way to this point from the East, and would
probably soon take Locust trees. The
present condition of those trees proves that
was not false prophet, in that instance at all
events.
The insects commonly called potato
bugs" have hitherto infested the Potato
here, are also beetles like the "Ten-str1ped
spearman," but otherwise are in no wise re.
lated to it, being true blistering- beetles, be-
longing to the same genus as the common
Spanish fly" of the shops, and raising, just
as good blister as that does. OF these last
there are three distinct species which have
been known to attack the Potato, one of a jet
black colorl Lytta atrata one of gray color.
which for what reason / know not is called
by some the "Abolitionist Bug" Lytta Gin
erea, and one of yellow color with either
four or six stripes placed lengthways ON its
back LyttG ciaat). Careless observers might
confound this last with e"Ten-stripedSp Spear.
man :" but the latter always has ten black
stripes on its back, neither more nor less,
and the former has never more than sir.-
Besides, the whole shape and structure of
the two insects are as different as that of
horse Is from that of hog. There is this es.
sential difference, too, between the habits of
the two, that the blistering beetles only feed
on the potato In the perfect or winged state,
whereas both the larva and the perfect beetle
of the "Tea-striped Spearman" feeds thereon
Now, every farmer knows that it will take
hundrad fImns as uanRh fodder to rails oalF
until it gets to be an OK, as it would require
to feed the OK for a month or SO after it is
raised to maturity. Consequently the Tea
striped Spearmen' must be about hundred
times as destructive to the Potato as the Bills.
tering beetle. | do not know how extensive
ly this insect Is operating this year in Hi
nois, but the probability is that somewhere
about the western half of the state is attic.
ted by it more or less, and that throughout
that region potatoes will be very scarce and
dear in the fall. Consequently, if this be cor
rect, it will pay q farmer to lay out extra ex-
pense on his potato crop, to save it from these
unwelcome visitants. But how is he to go to
work to do SOL That is a question which it
is difficult to answer, because ID is nobody's
especial business to investigate the various
methods of counterworking the hundreds of
Noxious Insects which, like this are peculiar
to the Valley of the Mississippi and do not
occur in the Eastern States Carefully cum
Quoted experiments would no doubt, bring to
light wholesale methods OF destruction. |
am confident. however, that neither lime nor
ashes nor any such substance busted over the
potato leaves will be of the least avail In
the meantime there is a method, not in reafi-
ty very costly, yet which farmers have an in
vincible repugnance TO, because, as they say, |
it such small business'-the method of |
hand picking. Let every man judge for
himself Let him form an estimate OF what |
q good crop of potatoes will be worth in the |
fall, and of what it will cost to hand pick |
them now efeetually, and take his measures
In any case let him carry the |
thing through effectuaIly, if he once begins it,
know by experience in such cases, that it |
will be slow work going through a potato.
patch the first time, but each successive time
will Tighten the labor, and patience and per-
severance will finally overmaster the enemy.
BENZ. ID. WALSH.
Rock ISLAND, June 8, 1865.