The age-herald., 1902-05-18
Cabbaqe Worms.

The green caterpillar that is commonly
 found on cabbage Is a ravenous feeder,
 and unless checked in their work at an
 early stage will soon devour a crop.
 These caterpillars are matched from eggs
 laid by the white miller or butterfly
 which we see fluttering over the cab
 bage fields They make their appearance
 quite early in the season. The worms as
 soon as full grown, crawl on the under
 side of the leaves where they encase
 themselves under web and from where
 they soon turn to butterflies, and thus
 the supply of worms is keIt up and
 unless destroyed there may be several
 broods during the season. When all the
 conditions are favorable for the growth
 of the plants they may be pushed and
 grown so fast that the worms have but little effect, or al any rate can be easily headed off by the constant cultivation and by the use of fine dirt thrown In among the leaves when hoeing and also breaking off the bottom leaves on which many of the worms may be stored and
 blowing these in the ground which will 1 destroy all the worms which may be de- posted on them as well as any eggs un- l matched. But when the weather is dry
 and the plants are making but feeble l growth, it is then that the worms get i in their work of destruction and unless l checked will soon eat up the crop. Per- haps more remedies have been given for
 killing cabbage worms than for any oth- | CT of our destructive insects. The best thing for destroying them that l have l yet found is the preparation recommend 1 ed In my last article for killing various l nsccts,-slug- shot lime and tobacco mix ed only I would add to this for killing 1 cabbage worms a small quantity of ar senic or Paris green. To ten pounds or the others. add half a pound of the
 Paris green. and mix thoroughly before
 using. or in other words, 1t would De
 well to use five pounds each of the slug
 shct lime and tobacco dust and add to this the half pound of Paris green MIX
 all well and dust on the plants early in
 the morning while they are wet with
 dew This can be dusted on by hand or from perforated boxes made for the pur-
 pose, but always dust on by hand. NOW 1 do not like to recommend the use or
 Paris green for cabbage. Yet the small amount which plant would receive from this preparation would soon be lost
 by being destroyed by dew or rain. Yet
 one cannot be too careful. and l would
 not advise the use of Paris green after
 the plant begins to head up, but it can be used with perfect safety before the leaves begin to turn in and form heads.
 The fastest way to kill these worms IS In destroying the butterflies. ThlS can De done in several ways by placing lighted l lanterns Of evenings over tubs or water in the fields. Another good plan IS 10 prepare a pool of water near the caooage
 field and poison this pool. The butter hes will gather around these pools Of
 water and so they can be killed off very fast this way This is especially a good
 plan in time of dry weather. Dissolve
 strychnine, which can be readily per formed by the use of a little vinegar, but not in water; then dissolve the sWeeten- ed water in the pool and apply to IL the di. solved strycbnine. But this Is par ticular job, and care must be taken that no stock be allowed near this pool. 1 Where the butterflies are not found in
 great numbers 1 would not use the pois-
 oned pools, but use the dust on the l plants, and keep the young worms kill 1 ed of in this way. One or two dustings l should be made a week, or when there 1 are worms.
 Harlequin Cabbage Bug.
 | This enemy is found only in the south l ern states, extending so far north as l L1laware- In some sections they have | proven very destructive not only to cab l bage, but to many other crops suchas l turnips and mustard. The full grown
 bugs live over winter, hidden under leaves, rubbish and trash. They come 1 out in the early spring and begin at l once to feed and lay their eggs on the | crops mentioned. Kerosine seems to have
 more deadly effect on this bug than any | thing else, so that 1t would be a good | plan to plant a few rows of mustard 1 early and as soon as the bugs come Kill | them by spraying with pure kerosine. 1 Put 1t so strong as to kill bugs, mustard | ana all, if necessary as the mustard | should be planted only as trap for the 1 bugs.
 I There are great many lice which feed 1 on plants Among the most destructive of | these are the ones that feed on cucumber 1 and melon leaves. These get on the un-
 der side Of the leaves and suck the life | cut of the plants. As this louse works l from the under side of the leaves, they are hard to get at and so become very | destructive The best remedy for kill ing them Is tobacco tea sprayed on, but | In order to reach them special sprayer | made for the purpose must be used. They must be reached from the under
 side of the leaves. Kerosine emulsion will
 also destroy them very quickly They do
 more damage in dry than in wet wealth l CT; in fact, when the weather Is dry | they will soon destroy whole fields of I melon vines. In the melon growing sec tions of the west, this insect has become
 very troublesome and it has become im- | possible to grow a crop of melons with | out having to destroy these lice.
 Squash Bug Black.
 had hoped that 1t would be unneces-
 sary for me to mention this great foe
 to squash vines supposing that they | confined themselves mostly to pumpkin | and squash vines. But in the absence of these, I fined them on watermelon vines | and that too, in numbers sufficient to | soon stock the field. Most every farmer
 Is acquainted with this black or dark I brown bug, as they emit an offensive odor | when disturbed These bugs being rather | large are easily found, and are found now | at this season in pairs on or near the
 vine crops. About the first of June the l female will steal away alone to lay her | eggs on the underside of the leaves, and | the patches of dark brown eggs are very | easily found by looking on the under side l of the leaves. These should be taken off whenever found and destroyed at once. | But 1t will be far better to trap and kill all the old bugs If possible and never I allow them to lay an egg. This is one | of our hardest bugs to drive or kill, as | nothing seems to disturb or affect them | except kerosine and cnrbolic acid. Kero- | sine emulsion will kill the young brood l if 1t Is used on them immediately after | they hatch out end before their backs I begin to harden, while they are in the l sofe state. But as stated it is better l to trap the old bugs and destroy them. l This can be easily done by placing shin l gles on the hills and going early in the
 catching the bugs which have taken | shelter under the shingles during the | ntobt bava known this huQ all my