The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1883-02-10
INGENIOUS INSECTS.

|
fellow-lnen, it is ten times as true of him
in his relation with the lesser and lower
forms of creation. We seldom trouble
ourselves with the food question as far
as the animals and insects are concerned,
if We did we would see how closely it is
connected with our own supply, espe-
cially in the direction of fruit and vege-
tobles, for which other mouths than ours
are perpetually gaping. We take it for
granted that the world and the fulness
thereof was made for us alone but
others think differently, and put in their
claims before us, and frequently succeed
in enforcing them. When we state that
straw berries are the peculiar food of four
families of insects, that eight families of
insects perfer cabbages to anything else,
that nine nations SO to speak, of hearty
little eaters are ravenously fond of the
potato, and twenty one similar nations
are likely to devour the abundant growth
of our fruit trees, we indicate some of the
dangers which threaten to destroy some
of our favorite foods, and which are
greater an most of us imagine. We
are RI minded of these facts by volume
| in which they are set forth with posi-
| tive certainty. 1t is entitled Injurious
| Insects of the Farm and Garden. and is
the work of Mrs. Mary Treat, who is
| thoroughly competent to discuss these
pests, whose name is legion, and whose
habits are we'll known to naturalists. 1t
has become necessary Of late years that
they should be very carefully studied,
for they are perpetually appearing in
new localities and it would almost seem
with increased powers Of destruction.
They have been known to pass from the
Old World to the New, or, speaking more
scientifically, insects which are native to
the Old Word only have suddenly been
found in the New World, of which they
have become terror. Such, for ex-
ample, is the Asparagus Beetle, which
appeared on Long Island twenty-five
years ago, where it increased and multi
piled to such an extent as to occasion
dead loss of some forty Thousand dollars
in single county. One asparagus grower
lost the product of three acres out of
seven, and others had their beds so badly
injured that they plowed them up. In
about two years after his advent the
Asparagus Beetle had extended himself
at least forty miles along the northern
side of Long Island, and behaved as if
verything there belonged to him. lie
was mistaken, however, for in the fol-
lowing year there came a small, shining,
black, parasitic fly which did for him
and.his progency, nobody knows precisely
how. About this time Rhode Island was
invaded by a bean Weevil, who has at
different times and in different places
made himself abundantly known. Mrs.
Treat goes into the history of these crea-
lures, considering them i'll connection
with the crops which they devour, pas
sing from those which are injurious to
garden vegetables to those which are in
furious to root crops and Indian corn,
and from these to those which are iniu-
rious to cereal grains and grass crops,
and then to the more dainty tribes which
prey upon fruit trees and small fruits,
and infest our gardens and greenhouses.
A recent reading of Lubbock's book
upon ants reminds us that Mrs. Treat,
uh n iS nr,cfina1 f,, ;sf h..
thing to tell us about aphides, which is
worth quoting "In Florida. | was
studying large black and red ant (Cam-
panotus esuricVs), and was greatly inter-
ested in three immense droves of dark
colored aphides-the 'ant's cows as
they are often called-that were thickly
clustered on the under side of the young
leaves of an orange tree. While watch
ing the ants moving about among the
drones, noticed several tiny ichneumon
tieas mounting the backs of the plant
lice. They were 50 small as to be scarcely
visible to the naked eye, but good lens
soon helped me to see what they were
doing. They were busy depositing eggs
in the ANTS cows The ichneumon
would mount the back of cow when
the latter would become FESTIVE and try
to dismouut its rider by kicking and
nearly standing on its head, and thus
would set the others next it to kicking
in the same way, until all on the leaf
seemed to be panic stricken, and were
kicking. striking and throwing them
selves about in most ludicrous manner,
all the while holding on by their beaks.
And twas very amusing to see the ants
Try ing to find the cause of the panic
But the little ichneumons did not seem
to be in the least disconnected, and did
their work most effectually, as the sequel
proved. Not many days after witness
ed the egg laying the abdomens of the
plant lice were very much distended, and
they no longer gave any nourshment to
the ants, who passed around among them
as if disc ,uraged. Two ants would meet
and seemed to consult with each other,
when they would stroke the COWS with
their antenn;e, but meeting with no re-
Spouse they would pass to another leaf,
with no better result. At last they
tried to remove the COWS :; they would
take them gently in their mandibles, but
il many cases the beak was inserted so
firmly in the leaf al terry l could not re-
move it. When they did succeed in re-
moving one they invariably carried it to
the nest. This was the most complete
| destruction of plant lice | ever witnessed.
| could not find a single living specimen
left. In due time a little shining black
ichneumon tiy-the counterpart of its
mother-emerged from hole in the
back of each aphis." The value of Mrs.
| Treats little book, which is entertaining,
as the reader perceives, is largely in
creased by its illustrations, which are
| numerous.
Progressive Farmers.
The true farmer does not stop to count
the COST of improvement, for his reason
prompts him to believe that he cannot
90 wrong by endeavoring to improve.
Every acre of his farm is cultivated to
it's highest capacity, and his soil never
deterorates in quality. lie rotates his
| A., Al