The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1893-06-01

communications for this column should be ad
dressed.l
Victory is ours and we are the PEG
pie. Some philosopher has said tina
the brave never glory over the dis
comfitare of their defeated adver
saries an as general principle tha
will held good. But as every rule il
allowed an exception, SO may the peo
pie of Austin be excused for exultinp
on their triumph and victory over the
few petty, small-souled, selfish Great.
ures Tor creature) who have tried by
every lawful and some unlawful
means to bring ruin and disgrace on
our fair city, for such would have
been the result had the schemes OF
Lex been crowned with success. lie
should now hide his diminished head
or better still, emigrate to wider
neld for his undoubted talent. Aus
tin is loo small for this lineal descend.
ant OF Anananias, 1t would be great
DRAWER the regatta if the manage.
ment could advertise that Lex
will be there and that he
will be performer, if an
involuntary one. AS he claims to be.
lieve that the dam twill not hold
water" it would be good idea to test
his faith by giving him an opportun-
ity to dive into the lake on the up
stream side of the granite wall, and
on his refusing TO do so, tie his lies
around his neck and pitch him in.
He wouldn't make much disturbance
in the lake, as his load would sink
him quickly and he would never
again come to the surface. Now I've
got relief and will 60 back to the
farm,
The farmer and gardener have
many insect pests to worry their souls,
but none more exasperating than the
cut worm. The cotton farmer is most
afflicted with this pest, and where it
is numerous planting has some times
to be repeated three or four times be-
fore it gets beyond the stage for mis-
chief. The gardener has greater
variety of food suited to its taste, and
it's depredations cover wider field
with him. Young tomatoes, cabbage,
beans, squash and many other kinds
of garden truck have q great attrac-
tiOn for this worm. There are several
different species of cut worms, but
they are all about alike in their de-
structiveness. Their life history
is much like that of all
other such worms that prey
upon vegetation. The parceat moth
is "fy-by.night," at which time of
day it deposits it's eggs on the
branches of plants and schrubs where
they are Matched and live on the
leaves of the plants till the approach
of winter, when they burrow in the
soil and shelter there till the return of
warm weather when they emerge
with empty stomachs and keen appe-
tites.' Then they "get their work in"
and develop into full sized
worms early in the summer. Their
next move is to retreat to a neatly
prepared cell in the soil and there
change to the pupa state. About
three week later they make another
change and emerge from their cells
full-fedged moths, ready to carry
forward the perpetuatfon of the epe-
cies. Every farmer has noticed that
like weevils and ether pests the cut
worm is more numerous some seasons
than others. That may be accounted
for by the strength of their natural
enemies or the climatic conditions
prevailing during the winter and the
condition of the land. They ore
choice morsels for birds, frogs and ants
and where these prevail in some force
the worme seldom become numerous
enough to do much harm. Flowing
before severe frost is fatal to them un.
less buried too deeply.
There are other methods of check
ing their damage. The plants can be
sprayed with poison or suitable bats
can be laid round. They can also be
trapped by placing boards in the rows,
under which they will crawl. A
good plan is to dig down when a
plant has been eaten and kill the
worm.
That hawks are commonly regarded
as enemies of the poultry yard and
dovecote is undoubted. The old muz"
Zle loader is near at hand in nearly
every farm house and is brought into
WhOh SNSAeSNSSs
in the hen yard indicates the approach
of aerial foe. Hawks and skunks are
commonly credited on many farm
with material reduction of the pin
money which comes by way of the
hen house, and never ceasjng warfare
is waged on both these depredators
If the facts are as stated in a report
recently Issued by the agricultural
department on the hawks and owls of
the United States, the farmer has all
these years been killing his best
friends. The report is the product OF
DIR. G. Hart Merriam, the chief ormi-
biologist, who says he had scientific
experts to examine the contents of the
stomachs of 200 hawks and owls and
that the result proves that this class
of birds commonly looked upon as
enemies to the farmer, really rank
among his best friends, and should,
with few exceptions, be encouraged
to take up their abode in the neigh
borhoad of his home. he says that
only six of the 70 species and sub
species of hawks and owls of the United
States aye injurious. Of these, three