The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-01-11

from one 10 TWO lnCneS long. ranging
in color from gray to black. as usu.
ally found they are dark green and
about an inch long. They feed at niebt
cutting Off young plants near the sur.
face of the ground and sometimes cir.
die large plants. During the day thew
can generally be found Just under IN.
surface Of the ground near where thev
last fed. burrowing down to moist soil
They eat anything that is tender ana
succulent and may be destroyed by
means OF poisoned bait. Glover or cab.
bage leaves sprayed with Paris green
! scattered over the field in small bunchc.
| late In the day, or poisoned bran will
be effective.
Wire worms are slender brownish or
yellowish white worms with a hard
| covering, feeding on the tender root.
OF plants. Fall ploughing. including A
thorough stirring and pulvcrizing Of the
| soil is the best means of getting rid
Of wire worms. They are seldom found
| In serious numbers in land that Is well
cultivated every year.
White grubs are the immature forms
Of May beetles or June bugs. Fail
ploughlng and thorough cultivation Will
destroy most Of them. II undisturbed
they may follow along row eating N
| the roots and destroy one plant after
another. BY digging about a plant on
the first indication Of whiting the in.
truder may be found and killed. They
make excellent bait for fish. and this
knowledge impaired to the boys Of the
family will usually reduce this trouble.
some grub considerably.
The red headed flea beetle IL Ice.
than "A quarter Of an inch long, with
wing covers striped lengthwisc. As ii.
name would indicate. II is a very lively
insect. appearing usually late in tie
summer. when it ruins the flowers for
cutting by eating I'm the green hracts
surrounding the flowers. Spraying with
arsenate of lead is the remedy
The striped cucumber beetle some.
times eats the petals Of asters This
also is controlled by spraying with ar.
, senate of lead
What are known as root lice cause
the plants to have "a wiltcd sicllly ap.
pearancc. Upon pulling up the affected
plants the roots will be found to 10
covered with blush lice. \ mulch "
tobacco stems. or tobacco dust. applied
early in the season will prevent thu
attacks OF this insect. Saturatiug the
soil about the plants with freshly made
tobacco water will destroy the lice
The root lice live over winter IN the
soil, SO 1t is not safe To plant asters
the following year on land where they
have appeared.
The destruction Of birds OF all kinds
has permitted the rapid increase ~
insects. 1t is therefore to the interest
of every cttivator OF the soil To pro-
tect the birds and encourage them u
make themselves at home on our lands
70
when this may he required in dry
weather or when the ground Is frozen
Diseases of the Aster.
Yellows-The yellow disease Of the
aster is characterized by a pale yellow
ish green color and a spindling growth
the entire plant having a pale bleachei
color, and the flowers are pale green
or white. Frequently only a part OF
the plant Is affected. often dividing "a
branch so that one half the termina,
flower will he sickly green and the
other half n normal color. The dis,ase
is apparently brought on by an irreCu-
lar!ty in the moisture supply and rarely
appears under glass or under Cir'um-
stances where moisture conditions are
I under complete control. In field Gull
ture early ploughing and frequent cul-
tvation will conserve the soil moisture
and produce conditions So nearly UNI
form that the losses from the yelpws
are usually not serious
In small paintings where the yel-
low disease has been prevalent, and
where thorough cultivation is not praC.
tirahle, trial of mulchng IL sag.
gested to keep n more uniform cord.
ton OF soil moisture. investigations
made by the Massachusetts, ArriCu-
tural College some years ago demon
strated that this disease Is not caused
by any organism, either fungus or har-
terum and It IL not communicated
from one plant TO another.
Damplng off and stem rot are caused
by microscopic fungus eating of the
stems Of the young plants Three fac
tors favor the growth W the fungus
the presence Of decayng matter. con-
tinuous moist condition and want ~
sunlight Ordinary potting soil fun -
organic matter Ia a good breeding place
for fungi, When sowing aster seeds
in fats or frames covering the sui
with half an Inch more ~ sterile sand
Will largely eliminate the first fac
The second factor is overcome by MAJ.
ing the intervals between watering -
long as possible This IL facilitate
by the sand, which acts NJ n mulch -
the LAYER of soil below. II Is an al.
vantage to have the surface dry II 'He
soil in which the roots are frcl''r
are reasonably moist Sowing the sc,..-
in rows admits light and air - 't"
stems and permits frequent stlrrirr -
the surface.