The Athena press. [volume] (Athena, Umatilla County, Or.) 18??-1942, 1911-05-19

| some times appear III spIinS "a'ol
! during the warm seasons or the year,
trv nouring kerosene over the surface
of the water, allowing it to spread
over the surface. This will effectively
kill all the wigglers, after which the
oil could be allowed to run off. This,
however, would not be permanent, as
the wigglers would be very apt to be
found in plentiful numbers in short
time. A good plan is to clean out
the spring, placing in it vessel of
some kind. The wigglers will not
injure the water in any way, how
ever, even if present.
To destroy the aphis which attacks
garden and ornamental plants, spray
as soon as the insects appear with
either kerosene emulsion or tobacco
To make the latter spray, use one
pound of tobacco leaves to four gal
Ions of water. Simmer one hour and
then strain. Two pounds of tobacco
dust or ground tobacco may be sub
stituted for the leaves. To make
kerosene emulsion, use two gallons of
kerosene to half pound of whale oil
soap to one gallon of water. Dissolve
the soap in water by boiling, and add
the suds boiling hot to the kerosene
away from the fire. The mixture is
then agitated violently, preferably by
pumping it violently back on itself
with force pump. After four or five
minutes the mixture suddenly be
comes creamy in substance. Use one
gallon of the emulsion to twelve gal
Ions Of water in spraying.
Cauliflower, like cabbage and other
plants of this group, should be trans
planted just little deeper than they
grow in the frame or seed bed. Usu-
ally We plant them from half inch
to an inch and half deeper. This
depends somewhat upon the condition
of the soil. Cauliflower requires q
moist soil. If grown upon very dry
soil in a dry atmosphere, the head is
tough and rather strong. But when
grown in the proper conditions, it is
very fine and much priced vege
table. Do not attempt to grow them
in shady places. Gives them all the
sunshine they want and keep the
ground we'll titled and moist. The
leaves should be tied over the head as
soon as the head begins to be ex
posed. Usually this is when the head
is from three to four inches in diam
eter. This is simply for the purpose
of making the head tender and keep
ing it wet The only thing that can
be done to keep the aphis out of the
cauliflower head is to spray thorough
ly with kerosene emulsion, tobacco. or
pyretheum decoction before the plants
head. If the aphis get in theer once,
they cannot be gotten out.
Wire worms are one of the most
difficult insects to combat. Many
experiments have been undertaken to
find something that will poison these
worms, and all such tests have thus
far been unsuccessful. Treating the
seed and planting mustard in the
fields have proven of a little benefit
It has been found, however, that fail
plowing of the infested fields will
mash a great number of the soft
pupa, which is the resting stage of
this insect. If all the wire worms
would go in the pupa condition each
fall they would be quickly killed out
of the soil by fall plowing, but where
the species exists for several years in
the worm condition, fall plowing will
destroy only portion of the insects,
that is, only those that have entered
upon the pupa stage. Where fall
plowing is persisted in year after
year, the wire worms are, however
gradually worked out of the soil. AS
usual thing, wire worms are the
more destructive in new or sod land
than in cultivated land. The natural
food plant of the larvae consists large
ly of the roots of native grasses.
When small number of domestic
plants are substituted, the worms
naturally work on the roots of these
for their sustenance. They are known
to be destructive to almost every
kind of plant.
The little black insect often found
eating the strawberry plants is
known as the flea BEETLE. There
"'dIN hNCliI W bG IlO VubCIlNS TemeUV1
for this insect when it appears on
the plants during the fruiting season.
Bordeaux might be applied were it not
for the fact that it would cause the
berries to taste bad, making them I'M
marketable. The common practice of
cutting off the strawberries lust after
harvest and burning them is one that
is very beneficial in getting rid of
this pest.
1t should be more of a common
practice to spray young fruit trees,
even though they seem to have no dis
ease or insect annoyance. The green
aphls is very commonly found on
young trees and one of the most
effective remedies for this pest is to
spray with sulphur lime while the
trees are in dormant condition. \
great number of eggs are thus de-
Stroyed, At the same time this sul
hpur lime spray will assist in a great
way toward the eradication of the
canker. Red spider is another nest
found on young trees as we'll as old.
that can be treated successfully only
by this spray. One of the most effec
tive remedies to prevent ants from
climbing the fruit trees and eating the
young buds is to tie fluffy band of
cotton about the trunk of the tree
Ants Will very rarely go over this
fluffy band.
When grasshoppers are small it is
best to kill them by spraying with
strong SoapsudS, kerosene emulsion