Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-04-20

of late years, and In 1893 was worse than
ever before. Or. Smith made a carei"'
examination in a number OF cases. ana
in every case found that where chemica'
manures were used injury was insignih-
cant or entirely wanting WINE III many
other fields In which old me'hoos "e'e
empIoyed no stand was obtaiheo a'.e'
two or even three replantings. ana the
acids looked excessively ragged ana uh-
even Muriate OF potash. he thinks ID
,ess effective than kainit. but has very
decided insectici1e value. Nitrate OF SOFA
rarL. close to kainit In effectiveness
and IA pecullarly valuable as ferurzer
from the rapidly with which ~ peoo'"
available AZ plant food, strengthening anu
stimulating growth as well az dcs'ros'"s
Insects.
Tho doctor further says: II have hau
onnortunitics several times tins year W
note wlrc-worm injury on farins uo'lt ,.,.
7 by chemical fertilizers as compare
those on which the usual routine Wa' ~,
lowed. and the verdict was always anu
,.os,,y In favor Of the chemical manures.
No insects can live for any lengthy 'iihr
I'm a soil saturated with these ier.h'nelH'
and | have tried all forms Una. nv
come under my notice. MI rIV'e"''
found white hellebore very enectNe
AGAINST the cabbage maggo'' u,eu pn :"
maggot that is found in disease" oiiions'
hoIIebore was far inferior III us ac.'on W
kainit or nitrate OF potash. 1ruShcis us'nb
these materials constantly are d u"'I va
claiming practical exemption from vu
worm injury. whlch - WV" W.
on planted crops. ..,.t.,,os
sr have no desire TO present statsucs
on this subject; these | VIII reserve LOT
auother occasion: my object VIII ne sdI'i,'
tv tho few citations that have peeh ih"ue'
and which are examples OF uosc uPo,'
y.hIch 7 base my faith that the inteligent
nee ~ fertilizers will be Of very great aiu
I'm eventually freeing us from the injuries
of many troublesome species .,,,..
"rb,s combined with other inteIlsent
farm, nractlcc will. I think, prove the mann
reliance OF tho farmer III luiuTc' i''a
tlcldes will and must continue to be use'
In some cases; but In my opinion they
h.ve heen sometimes relied upon 10 inc
exclusion of more radical measures.
"rbe strength az which supstahcu
nro,-ee effective and its action on the
nIant. are matters Of Importance. wo
hundred pounds Of nitrate OF SOFA ana wv
hounds of kainit are not uhusu'uIS i"i
applications, and calculating inns amount
IN onion rows / found that TO make
thorough application J must use t,e u,
rate at the rate Of 3 IL ounces TO gal
Ion OF water, and kainit pound to gal
lon | made certain that these were Ell
fective insccticide mixtures. ana lnch
mad one OF our leading onion-growers try
them over onion rows. Ihey dld not III
iure the plants In the least, either as 10
leaf or bulb. and as lo-foot rows were
treated, injury would have beeh QUICKLY
roticed Even the tender foliage OF rose
will stand a solution OF KANT at INC rave
NJ : ounces in | gallon.
CASA matter Of fact. the solutions which
come into contact with the Insects are
often saturated, and much stronger than
the mixture given. for II the material IS
Lroadcasted or sown In the rows each
droD of water carries with II all that II
can dissolve. and as the moisture evapo-
rates the mixture becomes just as strong
as il is possible to be- and Of course the
insccticide effect is intensified"
1t appears that Or. Smiths theory was
discussed at the fifth annual meeting
Of the Association OF Economic Entc-
mologists. and that it was cornbated 10
some extent 10y Messrs. Hopkins and
Webster.
Mr. Hopkins thowght it was a ques-
ton as 10 whether the fertilizers really
kill insects, or by giving plants increased
vigOr enable them to outgrow injuries.
lie had observed in his practice on the
farm that the use of stable manure on
sod infested with white grubs and wire-
worms had the effect Of producing good
crop Of corn when plowel under, while
on adjoining land not fortified the At
tack Of these insects was very dcstruct-
i've
Mr. Webster had no doubt that ferti-
lizers increased the vigor Of plants, but
thought that Mr.. Smith had not demon-
strated that they destroyed or drove away
the insects.
This is an interesting subject, and we
give our readers the benefit Of these eX-
pressons OF opinion on the part Of sci
entiic men, trusting that during the
coming season our friends will make
observations which will enable them 10
form opinions Of their own.
In this connection We may mention
that truck farmers who missed reading
the letter Of w. f. ". CIR. W. +. Wise),
weekly issue OF the 18th and our daily
OF the same date, missed a paper Of great
practical value-a paper which ernbodies
the experience of some Of the best truck
farmers in section which is widely
known for its truck.