The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-02-22
GARDEN INSECTS.

rear but sroradically, while others
ore with us alawys. Some are more
Injurious in particular localities, and
others only under peculiar climatic
conditions. In our warfare with insect
posts we ere coming more and .uoie
20 seek methods of prevention rathp.
Than of remedy. AS the progressive
physician is placing larger emphasis
upon hygiene and less upon drugs, so
tie entomO .ogist IS giving more and
more study to the relation of insect
pests to their surroundings so that he
may better advise methods of culture
which will eliminate as far as pos
sible the losses from them Such cul-
tural methods for controlling insect
pests are more largely applicable to
what we may term field or staple
crops, but nevertheless have an appli-
cation to the crops of garden and or
chard
Thus It Is well known that many
pests hibernate over winter IN the old
vines, stubble, or other refuse from
crop which is left on the soil. If this
refuse be removed there will be less
chance of the pests remaining over
winter and though there will be an
immigration from outside the next
season, there will be fewer individuals
and less injury than IL they had been
allowed to accumulate undisturbed.
Other garden pests, such as cut worms,
hibernate in the soil over winter.
Therefore, IL 1t be possible to plow
the garden late in the fall and thor
oughly harrow it, many of these will
be destroyed by exposure to the wealth.
er and their natural enemies. In the
case of insects attacking the roots or
boring in the stalks or vines of plants,
when 1t is impossible to reach them
with any insecticide it is often pos
sible to so stimulate the plant with
a liberal use of quickly available fer
tilizer that fair crop may be Sc
cured in spite of the attack and it is
well known that starved plants are
always more readily attacked by in
sects and diseases than those which
are vigorous and thrifty.
But though much may be done by
way of prevention, we must be pre-
pared to give battle TO the insect in
vaders Of the garden promptly and
efficiently IL we would save our crops
from their attack. To await injury
by an insect and then attempt TO fight
1t usually means failure as far as
preventing considerable loss Is con-
cerned. Those gardeners who con-
troll their insect enemies most sue
cessfully are those who are constantly
on the watch for them, and knowing
the best means for handling them,
are prepared to combat them at once
upon their appearance. A good spray
pump should be part of the equiment
Of every garden. For the small gar
den, a good bucket, compressed air
or knapsack pump will be most salts.
factory, while for larger gardens a
barrel pump with an attachment for
sprying several rows when occasion
demands, or an automatic pump gear
ed to the wheels of the truck will be
found more economical Of time and
labor The small compressed air
sprayer is handy as It leaves both
hands free for use. and is therefore
useful II 1t Is desired to spray two or
three small trees, possibly with the
use OF stepladder to reach their
tops A supply Of those insecticides
which are needed every year, such as
paris green, arsenate of lead, whaleOil
soap, tobacco dust, copper sulphate or
prepared bordeaux mixture, should be
laid in at the beginning of tie season,
so that no time may be lost when an
insect invasion occurs.
As soon as potatoes are up and TOM
atoes are set out they are at once in
tested with myriads of small black
flea beetles. They perform prodigies
in jumping which would put TO shame
any Olympian winner of the broad
jump, for one of these little beetles
will jump several feet, several hun
dren times its own length, to equal
which a man would need to jump a
half or three-quarters of mile. Many
species of these flea beetles attack our
garden crops, but the most common is
the so-called potato-fea beetle. The
flea beetles have an interesting life
history in that the larvae stage is
passed on the roots of various COM
mon weeds. Here they live unob-
served and indeed are not always
readily found, but when they trans
form to adults they leave the native
food plants and swarm on the more
tooth-some cultivated crops.
The best means Of control so far
devised is to keep the young plants
covered with thick coat of bordeaux
mixture. This does not destroy the
beetles, but in some way acts as a
repellent or deterrent, for they pass
by plants so treated. A spraying
with bordeaux mixture should be Civ
Ell at this time for the prevention of
diseases, at any rate, and to it should
be added hati-pound of paris green
per barrel TO destroy the ever-present
Colorado potato beetle. A second
spraying will also usually be necessary
fns, tho ataY Y,act a, coon NJ. A.. -