The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-09-15

backs of a number of potato bugs, the bane of the farmer. And here," he continued, pulling back leaf, there are the soft bodies of the young. Here are the yellow eggs of the buzz" turn ing over another leaf until it's back could be seen. These bugs picked out the only member of the potato family in the garden.
 Most insects confine themselves to the plant of one family. The asteris butterfly, for instance, lives upon the members of the umbelliferae; the eight spotted forester feeds upon all varie- ties of the Japanese and American am- pelopsis and the grape.
 Here is a story which will illustrate how the asteris will seek out the plant which it requires for food. One after noon as I was walking through the park found an old asteris butterfly. Evidently she had deposited nearly all her eggs, and her race was nearly end- ed. Her wings were so badly torn tha she could hardly beat the air sufficient | ly to fly. She seemed to have just ! enough strength left to hunt for the precious food plant on which to de- posit the last of her eggs. For more than an hour watched her. She struggled on and on, obeying the in- lstinct to secure for her young their proper food when they were ushered into the world. At last she succeeded in finding a bit of wild carrot, and on l this she settled, and, her life ebbing away, deposited the eggs. Having ful- | filled all her expectations, this anxious mother sank upon plant. worn and exhausted, probably never to rise again. I have observed the same persistence in plants. have cut down plants to- ward the end of the season, and just before fruiting time, and have observed Ilater that tender shoots had been thrown up from the roots with tiny blossoms on them. Unable to bear fruit normally, it persisted in doing it's duty.
 Some insects do not confine their l food to plants of one order, but seem to be omnivorous. The cabbage butter fly is very partial to the nasturtium, as well as the plants of the crusiferous I family, and have found it also on the mignonette. .s. z- ]
 ""The plants in the garden are ar- ranged in snlaI groups or small masses, so that it is easy to apply the poisons and to experiment. without interfering with other plants. It makes it possible to cover up certain plants with a small tent or canvas case to secure the fumes of bisulphide of carbon and cyanide of potassium and sulphuric acid gases and the easy application of insecticides, II S1, Sfof "a ay E, form, and also for the testing of the numerous new insecticides that flood the market. The object of this is to find out what will kill the insect with out injuring the plant, so that we may apply the proper remedy when the insect is found in the park. Sometimes ,l I have to try eight or ten different ij strengths of poison before I find the one which will work in the juices of the leaf eating insects and kill them with out injuring the tissues of the plant. Tn order to dothis successfully it is necessary to make a chemical analysis I of the plants I started the garden four years ago, in order to learn about the aphides, or plant lice, that take up their food by suction, and about the ,l leaf eating species of Lepidoptera.'
 Do you find any insects which are l not native to this country2' ss ' I Yes. the elm beetle, which was l brought here from Germany. It was landed in Germany. think, about thir- ty years ago. The wood leopard moth. or elm borer. is another. It probably came from Germany on some trees which were being imported. I dscov- cred It about twenty years ago. It is almost omnivorous. It feeds inside at least one hundred species of trees and plants, and has destroyed thousands upon thousands of the finest maple trees on Long Island and in New Jer- sey. The egsg are laid at the junction
 of the leaf with the twig. As they
 grow they emigrate to larger limb. and finally reach the trunks. These they. girdle, 50 that the first heavy iwind breaks off the limb or tree at the ipoint where the insect has been at
 work. I have seen trees eight or ten inches in diameter cut off. The San Jose scale is another pest imported to this country. believe China has been
 located as tits native habitat. That
 came into the country on the Japanese
 quince It feeds upon roses. >
 CT have found in the garden many
 curious creatures I never knew were
 here-night flying moths mostly. It Is part of an entomologist's duty to watch
 at night to discover where esgs which Iare unexpectedly found on plants come
 from. ."-New York Tribune.
 WHERE THE JET COMES FROM.