The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-06-17

SEED In the hlu or drill. 4ne poOL
stand " so often complained of is very
often caused by wire worms which
e It the vital part of the seed before 1t
has broken ground. AS the worms
live in the ground for two or three
years before transforming to the
winged state, a field once infested Is
difficult to clear of them. Probably
the best plan is to SOW in the hills or
drills pieces of cotton seed cake
which have been moistened with a
LIQUID mixture of Paris green or Lon
don purple. In England wire worms
show themselves to be fonder OF rape
seed cake than of grain, and probably
our pests are equally fond of cotton
cake. Wire worms attack potatoes
and all other commonly sown crops
as we'll as corn. The winged beetle }
live in and upon rotten wood, and
therefore logs and old rails should not
be permitted to lie and rot in the
fields.
THE WHITE GRUB.-LachnOstermG fuSca.
The "white grub" is the larva Of
the common brown May-beetle or Dor
bug. The beetles are night-fyers and
are the large awkward bugs which
enter lighted rooms at night and
brighten timid people by their loud
buzzing and strange antics. in the
winged state the insect lives upon
trees. They often do severe damage
to fruit and shade trees without Iting
su spected because of their work being
done at night. During the day they
remain quiet upon the limbs of the
same trees they feed upon at night.
If trees attacked by these beetles are
discovered, large numbers of the
pests may be killed by Earring them
upon sheets spread on the ground
under the trees. The best time to do
the Earring is early morning. The
beetles caught ON the sheet may be
killed by turning them into buckets
half full of water with a film of kero
sene on the top. The beetles may
also be readily trapped by means of
the lantern trap already recommended
for night-dying moths. The damage
this insect does in the winged state is
small compared with its ravages in
the larval or "white grub" state. AS
a grub it lives in the ground three or
four years, during which it is a vora
cious feeder, eating chiefly the roots
of grasses and c~lovers. The grubs
are often so abundant under lawns
that when the ground is plowed
bushels of them may be picked up.
Flowing infested ground and hand.
picking the grubs is probably the only
efectual and i'm mediate remedy for
the grubs, but if the beetles are
trapped and killed as they easily may,
after the grubs in the ground have
been transformed into beetles and met
a premature end there W II be no more
grubs. In this case especially pre-.
ventive is far cheaper than cure.
THE COR CURCULIo, OR BILL BUG
SphenophOrWs zeae.
The corn curculio, snout beetle or
bill bug as it is differently called, is
rather o plentiful on wet bottom
land, and young corn is frequently
badly damaged by it. This bug is
ash cOlored, about one, fourth inch
long, and has a snout half as long as
the body. 1t bites into the young
plant near the ground and deposi s
its eggs in the place bitten. The
maggot when born eats into the
pith of the stalk and bores it's way
up to thu tip. The insect passes the
winter in the adult or winged state
hidden under stones, boards or trash.
1t is essentially a semi-aquatic pest
and is never troublesome on high or
dry land. The best remedy is pow.
dered lime wet in spirits of turpentine,
to be sprinkled about the young
plants, and hand picking of the
beetles. They are easily caught as
they feign death when disturbed.
PLANT LICE-AphiS avenae.
These are in dry seasons more or less
injurious to Indian corn. If very
abundant the infested stalks may be
sprayed with the kerosene emulsion
and will effectually clear off the lice.
AS a rule, however, the best remedy
for lice on field crops is manure.
This will stimulate the plants to pro.
duce sap enough to feed both the lice
and the maturing seeds.
THE BUD OR BOIL woRM-Hel5othIs
Grm3gerG,
is one of the most dangerous enemies
of the corn plant. This pest has al.
ready been treated of under the head
of cotton insects.
These papers have shown that the
ravages of noxious insects are greater
than most people suppose and that in
nearly every case prevention is far
cheaper and more practicable than
cure. But preventive measures to be
effectual must be timely and systematic
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