Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1897-07-22
The Annual Battle with Insects.

The protection Of our common
birds from ruthless destruction
assumes a new Importance in the
eyes of many, now that special alton
tion Is drawn to the great economic
value of the creatures by the Depart
ment of Agriculture. It's estimated
that about 800, ,000,0 900 are saved to
the farmers of the country by the
birds; and if this is true to-day,
what must have been the case fifty
years ago? We had ten song and
field birds then to every one that is
now in existence in this country.
Insect life has been steadily multiply
ing in direct proportion to the
slaughter of the birds and with the
disappearance of every species of
birds there has come into existence
new insects that help to make agri-
culture more uncertain and prccari-
Gus.
Our birds were the appointed
guardians of our crops in field, forest,
and garden. Most of them depend
Tor living upon insect, Vermin, and
rodents. When Audubon stated that
the woOdcock would eat its weight
In insects in one day he merely called
attention to the general omniyOrOus
birds. They are all great insect de-
stroyers.
For quarter Of n century science
has been laboring in the cause of
agriculture to reduce the number of
garden pests and to hold them in
check. The annual battles with the
insect foes are carried on energetic
ally from early spring until late
autumn; and the farmer or gardener
is never quite sure of his crops until
they have been actually harvested.
In spite of all the protective agencies
that science has surrounded the fields
ana gardens, with disasters Of gigan-
tic proportions will break out Occa.
sionally through the sudden growth
of some species of obnoxious insect
or fungous growth.
1t is the destruction Of the potato
crop one season by the Colorado
beetle ; the total failure of the wheat
yield in certain States by the rust or
blight another year; or tho wide
spread injury to the cotton plants by
the boil worms. Somewhere within
the United States some crop is pretty
sure to be seriously damaged by the
insects or fungOus growth nearly
every season.
An idea of what this annual battle
means to the farmers can he family
appreciated by examining some OF
the common insect pests that regu.
larly appear in our gardens and fields
Spring has barely opened before the
hrst foes appear. Usually in our
Northern and Middle States the
currant worms are tho first formid.
able enemies to appear in numbers
These appear early in June and
sometimes late in May. The saw fly
weeks before this has deposited its
eggs on the gooseberry and currant
bushes and from these eggs emerge
the deadly and destructive currant
worms. Before the fruit has sci
they will completely defoliate the
bushes, unless the farmer energetic
ally sprays them with hellebore ir
Kerosene emulsiOn-thebe best remedy
SO far devised,
An early, and two subsequent
sprayings of this emulsion must be
made to save the currant and goose
berry bushes. While work is II
progress on the currant bushes, tn,
cherry and plum trees will b,
attacked by their most formidabl,
foe-the plum curculin. The cherry
trees do not suffer so severely from
the curculi0 as the plum. All sort
of remedies have been tried and sug
gested for this tough little insect
but 80 far nothing has been found tha
VIII XIII the curculio that will no
also destroy the foliage of the trees
, a peculiar habit of the curculi
, has been discovered, however whicl
enables the farmer, with a Httl
labor to capture it. When limb j
! Jared, the curculios roll up and dro
to the ground, feigning death, if no
disturbed in the grass, however
they very quickly recover their mol
? NAL activity and return to their work
: by spreading white sheets under tn
r trees and by jarring the limbs wit
long pole, the farmer can yer
easily collect a crop of the insects an
:, burn them. To avoid doing injur
, to the trees the poles are shod wit
rubber, which can strike against til
limbs and not cut the bark.
K The codling moth comes next upo
e the scene, The moth begins acti>
8 operations on the apple trees befol
4 the blossoms have fallen, and it is
this season that the farmer mu
g begin spraying for them. The Gu
}. culio has not been disposed of by an
o. means before the codling moth a
,. pears on the trees. The two mu
be fought at the same time. I'll
apple trees must be sprayed wi
q London purple just as soon as Il
q petals begin to fall, and a secoi
lr spraying should be administered
" two weeks or less. AS the codlil
moth may also appear on the pc
a trees, it is safer to spray with Il
it same mixture.
d The grapevines are subject
If attacks from anthrax early i'm {
season, and they must be sWabb
. with solution of copperas, one pour
y to ten gallons Of water. Later [
y Bordeaux mixture must be appii
% % to prevent fungus spores from lod
u ing on the vines. This is appli
ie before the blossoms appear, a
!" twice thereafter at intervals of ten
twelve days.
of The apple and pear trees are liai
H. to be attacked by anthrax or the SCI
r, and the same celebrated mixture
Or used OF them too, Where the sc
n appears on the bark in large blotch
no the bark Is scraped with dull kn
and washed with kerosene em
or sion and Bordeaux mixture.