Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1890-06-12
FARMER AND PLANTER.
ENEMIES OF THE POTATO.
What They Arc and How to Deal with
Than,

life and health, expense and perhaps
premature death. No wonder that this
esculent holds prominent place in the
list of foods; no wonder that, as it is
both cheap and healthy food when I'M
disturbed by insect enemies, and hence
one great desideratum is practical
knowledge that will save the crop from
the devastation Of its foes. Among
the numerous insects that delight
of the Solomon Tuberosum we have
known the white grub to destroy many
of the tubers, especially when the
ground is MANFRED with chip manure
and barnyard manure-the grubs and
the eggs of the beetle go with the ma
nure. These grubs are from the eggs
Of the beetle known as the May bug,
and these same grubs are sometimes
very destructive to meadows and past
ures, eating off the roots of the grass.
We have known whole crops nearly
ruined by them. The chief remedy is
to avoid putting manure on the ground
containing the grubs and eggs Of the
beetle, and to encourage the red
winged blackbird and crow to follow
the pillow in the spring. The cut
worm family, of which there are
several species, are troublesome, es-
pecially the one that does its work
in the night. This one climbs the stalk
and cuts it almost off, and the only way
of checking them is to follow them into
their holes and kill them. This family
are destructive in gardens, eating off
young cabbages, tomatoes, sweet corn,
etc. After doing the mischief they bore
into the ground and await the coming of
another night We detect their con-
cealment by the hole they make, and
usually they are easily found and de-
stroyed, but to be efficient they must be
followed up daily for awhile. Another
enemy to the potato tops is the tomato
worm, familiar to all growers of toma-
toes. They are sometimes quite de-
structive. They eat like pigs, and their
appetite is Unsuitable. The moth is a
large, gray-winged insect, and it begins
to fly and lay its eggs on the under side
of the leaves in the evening twilight.
We once had small patch in the gar
den, and we hunted the patch over
daily until we had killed over four hun
dred worms and destroyed many eggs
A more formidable enemy is found in
the family Canthesades. There are Ger
tainlY three species that prey upon the
tops, and are very destructive, for they
come very suddenly in drove of thou
sands, and they make short work Of
stripping the vines of their leaves.
These insects will blister the skin al
most as readily as the Spanish fly
| (Canthain resicatonie). In killing
these beetles, one somehow got OF
to our back next to the skin, anC
after awhile we felt smart
ing, and, upon examination, ou
better half found well-flled blister
the size of mans thumb nail All three
of the species are about the same length
from half to -three-quarters of al
inch long, with jaws powerful enough
to speedily chew up potato leaf. ThC
worst one of the three, because the mos
numerous, has its elytra or mingioners
striped with black and yellow in parable
lines. They generally appear before tn,
tops are in blossom, and after few
hours of undisturbed work, will leave al
acre of potatoes as bare of leaves as
young Shanghai chicken is of feathers
Another one of this genera is black
with marginal stripe of white on tn
wing covers, and the third one is asl
color all over. There is another specie
as black as CROW, found abundant
on the golden rod, but we have neve
seen but few on the potato. Mos
of these droves can be driver
from the potato field with du
perseverance, using small bundle 0
green things with the leaves on-ge
them started, and they will all go tn
same way. TO kill them all is hope
less task, and yet, with two hours hare
work it killing, we have more than ono
seen them take the hint and abando
the field. The difficulty in using poi
sonous solutions is, you don't know whe
they are coming, for even when the
are plenty, some fields escape. TIL
poison can not we'll be applied until to
late to remedy the evil. We hav
heard it said that ducks devour ther
eagerly, and If this is true, flock c
ducks OPPORTUNITY introduced Nigh
prove an art of safety for the crop. Blu
wo have not told the whole stor
yet, for the driving away on
drove does not prevent other
from entering the field and so W
are in a continual warfare, unit
driving them out is the safest and bes
way to save the crop. But worse tina,
these, because more general, is the Co
orado beetle. (Dotypheroka Lueata.
1t is not the beetle itself that eat
the foliage, but their larvae. Thes
beetles roost all around the field, wal
ing for the vines to appear, that the
may lay their eggs on the under side {
the leaves; their unerring instinC
teaches them that their expectar
young will be amply provided for.
these eggs are not destroyed, they wi
hatch out brood large enough to d,
your the foliage of the whole hill
Having no wings they can not g
away, and don't want to. Picking til
! beetles by hand when they begin to la
their eggs, and hunting their eggs an
crushing them, saves good deal of af
err trouble, and if carefully done ever
other day will most likely save tn
crop. But some eggs will escape dete,
ton, the larvae will soon appear abo,
the size of pin head, and they gro
very rapidly and eat voraciously. The:
must be picked daily, or we must reso
to spraying the vines with a solution
; london purple or paris green, to pois,
: them. This is quite an effective rem
4 dy, but as newborn beetles are comir
from the ground every day to lay mol
|. eggs. it will not do to relax our effort
The Larvae, when full grown, enter tt
= earth where they change to pupa, ar