The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1882-08-04
Something About Blghts and Insects.

Many popular impression proved in
time TO be wrong had yet grain of
truth in it. For instance, it was once
belived by some of our advanced agri
culturists that fungi and insects only
attacked diseased vegetation that they
were in some respects scavengers whose
duty it was to sweep away things
already doomed more rapidly from the
surface of the earth. But we had all
TO abandon the position. Though
sometimes there were fungi and insects
Just suited to diseased conditions and
no others, as rule it was not so, The
healthiest would be attacked and suf-
fer with the rest. Insects, especially
were bound to get living, and it made
but little difference to them what were
the conditions of health III which they
found the plants they prepared to feed
on. If there were any left who doubt
ed this, the era of the Colorado potato
beetle must have fully converted them.
To potato beetle, all in the shape of
potato stalk is "fsh that comes to
net
Still the grain of truth in this case
was this. The healthier a plant and
the faster it grew, the more likely was
1t to escape insect ravages; and so it
often did seem that healthy plant
escaped serious damage, while the un-
healthy one would succumb to the
enemy. Its conditions of life already
weak. q plant of course the more
easily gives way before an additional
injury, that a more healthy one would
live through This fact has been turn
ed to good advantage in the raising of
some farm crops The turnip is sown
on as rich piece of land as we can
get, primarily because the richer the
land the better the whole crop but in
no small degree because we want the
plants to keep ahead of the turnip-hy.
We know well that the slow-growing
plants OF poor soil soon give way to the
enemy and are eaten entirely up soon
after the plants appear; but on rich
ground, no matter how abundant may
be the insects, we are bound to have a
good crop for all.
But this fact so we'll known to
turnips and some other things, has not
been as thoroughly recognized through
allfarming and gardening operations as
it might be. We spend a great deal OF
thought on remedies against blights and
bugs, and it is right that we should
give some attention to this subject but
at the same time an excellent aid is in
the superior health and the luxuriance
of the farm crops. We SOW thick,
manure light, are different to drainage,
and have no care for hosts of little
things that go TO make up the character
OF the best cultiyator, and now and
then nature comes in with favorable
season and we get good returns for all
our indifference. But nature will not
always work for us at this liberal rate.
The time comes when even she strikes
for higher wages, and then unless we
turn to and do something of il our
selves, we have bad crops. We blame
mildews and the insects, when if we
had been more careful to apply the
rules OF good practice we should have
got through tolerably well. 1t was a
primal condition that man should not
have anything at all to eat unless he
worked for it. He was to water things
with the sweat of his brow. 1t is not
on the record, but it was no doubt a
a condition also, that all these little
pests and annoyances were sent to make
him employ his best efforts, instead of
his poorest -Germanto,on Tele-
graph.