Carson daily appeal. [volume] (Carson City, Nev.) 1873-1877, 1875-04-06
OF THE POTATO.
HiG.
,T's2'';S-

The Sacramento E@eori Of april Boon
ta,rs 4 very interesting communication
OF the sr.Ejec. OF the Colorado potato
bug. The saz is from tie pen OF 1Ir.
Henry Barnur,. Tie description 1T tbs
little pest IS the sam. with which chr
readers are already well acquainted. and
is followed Icy III. statement Of lis his
tory. habit. and misratious:
A. Ia their habits. perhaps, lille need
lie said. A. is wei! known they feed
upon the leaves Of the potato and allied
plants They Will. when haze; pressed
fer food. eat the potato tubeEs which
may hspTsn to lie in their way; bat the
storie. told about :heir narrowing into
tn. earti. 20 get at tie tuhegs are not TO
,e believed. From series OF expert
merts conducted at the Iowa College Of
Agriculture III :he Years 1870 and 1873,
inclusive, i was found that the in.-c:
has its preferences IS 70 The varieties it
feeds upon. While il vii sGt any varie-
tv rather than 20 hungry. when given
It's choice It vii select those lich have
the weakest growth. Thus the British
Queen and the Queen Of the Earlies.
both weak growers, wsrs badly eaten;
while the Early Rec. Chile and several
varieties 81 Peach Blows were but little
injured. Il must. however. be borne in
mind that If only the las; NAKED vaIie-
ties ara planted the insect 6!li Feed Upon
,Ed possibly destroy them rather than
fsst They prefer some, bnt they reject
none.
In order 20 speculate ufoG their in
tura history. it Is necessary that We
know something If their past career.
They wsre long ago discovered by euto-
,ncicci,is in Colorado and the adjacent
Rocky Mountain regions. where they fed
upon Wild relative e tie Tototo.
When e:uigrants brought the III proved
potato to these regions they left the
wild plan; ana to K to eating the more
pala:ahie anu n"ITisliuI importation.
Having now better tood they increased
with wonderful Iapijity. oveIgGn theIr
native country and began fixing east
ward. the direction. ne doubt, being
controlled by the prevailing winds.
They advanced from seventy 10 one
hundred miles each year and thus
/
Missouri river: ard three or four wears
later passed the Mississippi. Since then
they have swept eastward ike an army.
| and in 1864, some of the advance guard
reached New England.
This writer also tells Us that tie ter
ritory once occupied by the potato-bugs
is never abandoned ny them; but that
their permanent residence Is somewhat
mitiGated by the presence Of a parasite
which feeds upon them. thus giving Us a
practical illustration Of the drift: OF The
/ saw
Ten aeas. It's ssi53 i'y those Who knew.
E.ye o,ler lle4~ That lite en-:
A-G these il taTh hay other -.
Ana 80 - tgEH,.EDs-'
Il Is comforting assurance TO lie told
that the potato-bus has 50 far gone East
with tie prevailing winds. ana that IN
til he gets blown round the world he is
not likely TO fetch Up any Of these Paci-
fc States. California and Nevada are TO
be sin.nlariy blessed ii they are 10 es-
cape the ravaGes Of the all destroying
grasshoppers, and locust.. the army
worm and the potato-bus.
| When we are reminded that nobody
has ever seen 2 rat in Carson City and
! its neigLborhood, and that. 50 far, we
have escaped pretty much al the plague.
which have come upon other countries,
save the cabbage-louse, which seems
to have become a perennial nuisance,
We come 20 recognize good cause for
| thanking the Genius which rres:des
over Our good fortune.