Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1902-05-16

OF dppl1lhE ~ uANA Doiaou al
to iniure the user I have never
known a case of injury resulting from
the use of sprayed tobacco. 1 know It
can be sprayed so as to destroy the
worms and yet leave so small a guam
tity Of arsenic in the leaves that it can
scarcely be detected by chemical
means.
Yet is is always possible that some
careless man will use more poison
than he ought, and / have always re-
Trained from recommending the prac-
tice on this account No one but
careful, intelligent man has any bust
ness to handle poisons
l suppose it was the possibility Of
mischief being done in this way and
not actual knowledge Of harm having
been done, that led to the introduction
Of bill at the last session Of the Cen
eral Assembly making it unlawful to
Use poisons on tobacco. The bill fall
ed to pass; just why, I do not know.
II was opposed by growers Of some Of
the counties of bluegrass Kentucky.
Possibly your own people took the
same view Of it,
But while it is still lawful to use
poisons in tobacco, It must be kept in
mind that harm can be done with It,
] have myself observed at times a dis
position TO use entirely tog much Paris
green. Even when the proportion Of
poison TO water is right, lack of care in
keeping the powder stirred up some
times leads TO excessive quantities
being discharged at the last on single
plants. It is best TO adopt the rule
Of using the least quantity that will
kill the worms.
AS with all other work with injuri-
Gus insects. to be successful it must
be done promptly, before the worms
are large and before they have become
/ excessively abundant a stitch in
time will save nine times nine
With u.s. and I suppose with you
also. cutwOrms are sometimes trouble
some about The young tobacco plants
shortly after they are set ont i'm the
fields. The worms come in, generally,
from adjacent grass land. and do their
worst mischief at the edges Of fields.
. a few can easily be taken out by hand.
If the situation IS particularly bad. it
is we'll to spray the plants with Paris
F green and lime. The young leaves
can be sprayed very freely with this
most of them will never De taken from
the field
Generally speaking of field crop in
sects, it may be said that they are
more difficult to deal with than fruit
and garden truck pests because of the
. eXten7iveness Of the crops, and the
. cl0seness with which most of these
. are grown Close, rank growth Of
heritage shelter them from applica
tons of insecticides Treatment must
. ina consequence be precautionary, in
the main, and 7 am satisfied that when
every farmer is as well trained I'm his
art as he should be the great insect
question viii be largely solved He
will not have to fight insect outbreaks.
He will avoid them.
Yet while spraying wheat and corn
may not be practicable in all cases,
farmers can we'll afford to provide
themselves with such apparatus to be
used i'm small areas i'm stamping out
pests gathering head, and for the
many uses for which sprayers are
serviceable about the orchard and gar
den. A good workman will accom-
plish much with poor tools. but these
d days tools are much more essential to
the best results than ever before. and
. the man who would not be left behind
{ in the race viii equip himself with
the best
Educate your young men and wo-
men for farmers, so that they NAV
have an intelligent interest in these
things. Too many of them are look
ing forward to a life in the city. We
have more lawyers and merchants
than is good for us now. The petty
round of whist parties and banouets
characteristic of the city and which
look so alluring when viewed from
a distance are for the most part but
the outcome Of lack Of earnest pur-
pose and high ideals of living. They
are not good for your girls. For de-
veloping sweetness Of character in boy
or girl there is no place like the farm.
Keep them there, for their good and
yours.