The evening times., 1900-09-07
roBAcCo-DEsTRoYING BUGS.
Agricultural Department Pamphlet
for the Benefit of Planters.


for the Benefit of Planters.
The Department of Agriculture has just
issued a pamphlet on the insects that dam
age or destroy the tobacco plant 1t is writ
ten by L. o, Howard, the entomologist.
The year book of the Department in 1898
contained similar article. which attract
ed such attention among tobacco planters
that Mr. Howard was induced to revise it
for more extensive distr! button. Mr.. How
ard describes minutely the different in
sects the color size. and manner in which
they attack the plant and presents Illus
trations that give the planter an adequate
idea OF what the bugs look like.
The most serious one, experts have de-
cided. is the fea beetle or flea bug, as
il is commonly called b. the tobacco
planters. This insect makes its appear
ance about July, is OF reddish brown
color and is found in almost any tobacco
field from Arkansas TO Florida and as far
north as Connecticut. II bGTes into the
leaves OF the plants. making small white
holes Its eggs are laid in the root OF the
plant. and as they hatch very rapidly the
health OF the plant is seriously affected.
Besides. the holes made in the leaves aTe
OfteH the rcCeptacies for bacteria, which
start a disease OF the leaf which frequent
Iy damages il more than the iTsects
themselves. This insect also attacks 20
mato and potato plants
Tobacco hO-nwoTms or horn blowers are
classed as the next dangerous enemy 10
the plant There are TWO species which
are not easily distinguished. Both OF the
same coIor-green. with oblique white
stripes on the body-but the horn on one
is red. while on the other it is black. Both
are found abundanIy in the tobacco grow
ing regions of the United States. but one
ma he Ia q
make their appearance in May or the early
part of June in pairs. They hatch on ths
under side of the leaf in the dusk OF ;he
evening. The actual damage done by them
varies. One year they may be YER. scarce.
while the next they may become almost a
plague
There are TWO classes Of bud worms sim
liar to The horn worms. One is known for
convenience sake as the true bud worm
and the other as the false The true bud
worms are peculiar to the regions south Of
Maryland. In the early part OF the season
they are not found 10 any great extent
but become abundant in August The
false bud worm is something like the
cotton boil worm which is found on the
cotton plant Then there is the suck fy.''
which is not only new 10 tobacco growers
but also TO scientists. 1t was discovered
and named by Professor Uhler in 1885 He
received specimens from Louisiana Texas.
Mississippi and Alabama. From the latter
State he also learned that the same bug
fed on the tomatoes. It is considered a
serious enemy TO the tobacco plant not SO
much 10 the first crop as TO the second and
third crops which it frequently destroys.
This insect sucks the cell sap from the
young leaf. which soon becomes yelIovisil
and wilted The old leaves often crack and
become ragged.
The tobacco leaf miner is another inject
which Is paratiyely new to this coun-
Try. The adult insect is a minute grey
ish moth. which lays it's eggs upon the
leaf and bores between the surface of the
leaf, making a fat mine Up to 1928 it
was found only in North Carolina but
since tnesr it has made its appearance all
over the tobacco belt. In Florida the I1af
miners show On the tobacco plants i'll May.
but in southern Virginia they have been
found il November.
Of the insects injurious to cured tobacco
none approaches that species which has be-
come known as the cigarette beetle. It
not only feeds on dried tobacco and snuff
but also on Thubarb and ginger. Living
on the cured tobacco the insect does its
damage principally by boring through the
wrappers so that the manufactured cigars
or cigarettes will not draw. The adultera-
ton of the fine cut by the bodies of the
insects is also a kind of a damage, Mr
q
mology has told him that ''he buys infest-
ed shortcut by preference, both because
he can get it cheaper and because the bod
les of the insects impart a distinct and
not disagreeabl favor 20 the tobacco. =
He admits, however, that il IS a cultivated
taste. number Of other insects ccasion-
ally affect tobacco after the leaves are
dried, but they are not nearly as impor-
tant as the cigarette beetle
After the description of each insect Mr..
Howard explains the best way for the
planters to fight that particular one, but
he has summarized all the remedies in
the following:
Upon looking over the whole ground
it seems that the tobacco crop is not a
difficult one to protect from insects. It
has not so many insect enemies as many
other important crops, and the method of
cropping itself is unfavorable to the in
crease OF insects and favorable TO their
ready treatment This is especially true
of all portions of the country north OF
Florida.
In the seed beds there is in general
no great danger OF insect damage, but il
insects should obtain 3 foothold most OF
them can be readily and safely treated by
means of the arsenicat spray.
After the plowing of a field into
which plants are 10 be set, attention
should be paid to ridding the soil of cut
worms This can be done safely azd
easily by means of the poison-trap C op
or the bran-arsenie mash Where Il her
of these remedies is used it is real. y
a matter of Indifference from The insect
standpoint whether The land has been left
falIow or whether clover or small grain
has been grown. The planter can really
follow Just which course he thinks lest
for his land without reference to cut
worms.
1T is important that the solanaceous
weeds in the Immediate vicirity of the
field. aad particularly the nightshade. the
| horse nettle. or bull nettle, and the iimson
weed, should be cut down, with the ex-
eeption of few marked elumps. These