The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1877-05-19
About NOXiOuS Insects.

The first few warm days in spring
awaken swarms of insects from their long
slumber, and remind the farmer and
gardener that there is such thing as
"war of races" and that the battle is not
always to the strongest, but to the most
NUMEROUS and persistent. Many farm
er learned this fact last summer while
| fighting Colorado potato beetles, and he
may as well be making ready to meet
this enemy and scores of others, which
are found upon almost every farm and
in almost every garden. The pillow and
spade will unearth many insects which
| if let alone may during the year become
the parents of hundreds and thousands;
therefore it is always safe plan to com
mence fighting noXious species while they
are in numbers. The white grubs, which
are turned up in almost any good grass
| land or strawberry patch, will in time
change to the common brown May beetle,
a very destructive insect both in its
larvae and perfect stage. Birds, and es-
pecially the crow and black bird, are
| fond of these grubs, and will search over
newly lowed ground very carefully
for them if permitted to do so.
The great greasy cut-worm is the larva
of very pretty moth, which, like the
May beetle, is attracted by light, and fire.
| quently flies into the open doors and win
dows of our dwellings during warm sum-
mer evenings; consequently we have two
cellentOpportunities for lessening these
pests; first, by killing every larva found
while working the soil, and by taking
all which may be attracted into our pres
ence by lamps, or fires built for the pur-
pose at night Some farmers build
| fires in their fields at night for the pur-
rose of attracting night-fying species of
insects, which fly into the flames and are
killed. The making Of fires in the open
field for this purpose is of questionable
| utility, inasmuch as it is well known that
many useful insects are also attracted
| by the light of the fire, and are destroyed
with the noxious ones For instance, the
HarpGJUS is an extensive genus of ground
| beetles, which feed almost exclusively
upon other insects, and some of the
specie have been found destroying the
larva Of the Colorado potato beetle; but
! they are nocturnal in habit, and likely to
/ be destroyed when any such wholesale
| and indisCriminate methods are adopted
as those named Under such circum-
stances we believe man should know
enough entomology to distinguish be-
tween well-known friends and foes, be-
fore putting any wholesale method of
slaughtering insects into practice.
The rapid increase of noxious insects
of late years is doubtless due in a great
measure to our interference with natural
| laws, whereby the preponderance of any
one class is prevented; but, through gen
eral ignorance or stolid Indifference to
what naturalists have taught them, the
agriculturist permits the hunter to kill
off the birds, or himself helps in the
general slaughter of the innocents,
whether bird, beast, or reptile. But the
noXious insects we have ever with US,
and even if little is done by everyone
owning farm or garden, their numbers
may be reduced. There is probably no
better general insecticide than lime, es-
pecially for the vegetable garden, where
it is readily applied to the soil or grow
| ing plants. The flea beetles which often
attack Cabbages and turnips in spring
may be driven away by busting the
plants with dry lime; and the grubs of
the asparagus beetle, and the slugs of
the saw-tiy, which often strip the leaves
of cherry, pear, and other fruit trees,
quickly die if touched with this caustic
substance. ...,.
The Larvae of the potato beetle Can
make little progress on leaves covered
with lime; still, when this pest is
abundant, more powerful poison is re-
quired to keep it in check. Nothing
better has yet been discovered than Paris
green, mixed with flour, at the rate OF
one pound of the former to fifteen of the
latter, which is then busted over the
leaves while wet with DEW. 7. Sun