The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1901-08-31
liz ARM And GARDEN.
MATTERS or INTEREST rc
AGRiCuLTuRIsTs.
Some Up-to-Date Hints About cuittyn-
ton Of the Soil anu Yislds Thereof
Horticalture. itioultars AM. slorseul-
ture. sk #
The Grafn Louss -. wheat

The Grafn Louse rs wheat.
it is appropriate at this time to
q otlee this insect whose rayages In
wheat in several counties Of Okla
-noIna have greatly reduced the value
OF OF this years crop, says a bulletin of
the Oklahoma Station. BY extensive
pondence and by conversations
with many ma wheat growers, uniform
testimony is secured that throughout
certain regions the wheat or grain
louise has greatly damaged this years
crop. In fact the injury in some re-
gions has been SO great that farmers
have preferred to replant the wheat
ground to some other crop. A recom-
niendation to this effect was inserted
In some OF the newspapers of the ter
ritory some time ago.
The station received the first speci-
mems Of this louise early in April, and
the entomologist has since that time
given most of his time to a thorough
investigation of the distribution and
life history of the insect. Itbecame at
once apparent that the main damage
was not due to the well known grain
lOuse'' (Siphonopho aYenae1, whose
structure and life history have been
SO well aired in the newspapers OF late.
Our form differs from the one nlsn-
toned in several details and will soon
be described as a new variety closely
related to the true grain louise. ~ IN
some cases it was noted that the gen
eral trend of the migrations OF the in :
7 sect was from south TO north. me
louise, like its better known relative,
Is capable of very rapid multiplication
and this is favored by dry weather.
Males are unknown and the reproduce
ton is by the process called .partheno-
genesis, or the giving birth to the
living young. The viviparous females
are wingless hut enough winged fe-
males are produced to enable the
species to migrate from one field to
another in search of food. These
winged females were present in large
numbers from about the middle OF
April to the first of May. sa F.s5
There is no evidence that this louise
has a true egg-stage. It is probable
that it winters over in the adult stage
and feeds upon the leaves of the wheat
during favorable weather during the
entire winter. The past winter was in
some respects very favorable to the
deyelopmenttof the louise in large NUM-
bers and it is not therefore matter
for surprise that such hordes Of lice
should have appeared so early in the
spring. There is no practical spray
ing method that can be recommended
against this insect pest. Some have
suggested spraying with the usual
kerosene emulsion and this would
probably reduce their number if ap-
j piled before they spread over SO large
an area as to make the plan quite
impossible and too costly. Our great
lest hope lies, however, in the rapid
.Inulup lication and energy of the
natural insect enemies of this louise.
The most abundant and useful of these
enemies In Oklahoma is surely one Of
the "lady-bird" beetles (Hippodamia
,eonvergens). This is a nearly hemi-
spherical beetle about three-sixteenths
,of an inch in length and OF a reddish
yellow color with several black spots
ION the back. The head and tnorax are
BLACK with reddish yellow margins aud
the thora1 has bwD elongated reddish
yellow spots.
The larvae of these beetles are even
more rapacious and active than the
mature beetles. The larMa is a long,
blackish, somewhat aattened. and very
active larva with six legs Of more than
usual length. The larNa when it
reaches maturity cnrB up ON some leaf
or stem and changes to the pupa from
which the mature beetle energies in
q few days. The beetles 1--we over win
ter In the mature stage In ereviees of
trees and boards. These "lady-bird''
beetles have appeared In such largs
numbers in some parts OF Oklahoma
that farmers have written to the Ex-
pertinent Station for some remedy to
destroy them. Every wheat grower
should look on these beetles as his best
friend and in no case allow them to be
destroyed.
Specimens Of the wheat louise and
especially specimens OF ali the beetles
found in the wheat fields are very
much desired by the Experiment Sra
'tion at saltwater and may be sent
through tdle mail IL inclosed in tim or
wooden haxas.
Row ito Dress Calvsa.
Calves froIn three to six weeks old,