The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1917-08-09
CARRYING THE GARDEN
THROUGH 10 SUCCESS
FighLlne Inseetg md Drouth

split pea, destroy IN few days the
vines he has been carefully nursing
along for weeks; or find his late cab
bages, or some equally iusty looking
crop, turning pale and hopeless-look-
ing just because bunch Of little green
lice, that don't look big enough or
strong enough to survive good puff
of wind have camped out in the under
side Of the leaves.
They don't seem big enough to be
worth bothering about at first, and so
after killing a few and cussing the
rest, he let's them 60. But they won't
go worth a cent. They stay right
there and go on increasing almost as
fast as the high cost of living. They
go on like the fieas in the sad tale
Bill Nye used to tell about his dog;
the evening of the day the poor dog
finally died and was buried. Nye got
back from the funeral and was natur-
ally surprised TO see what he took to
be the dog sitting on the front step
waiting for him. On closer inspec-
ton it proved to be only the feas
which had got back from the funeral
ahead of Nye, and had gathered there
to ask him when he was going to get
another dog. So if you see the bugs,
worms, beetles and plant lice hang
ing around after they have cleaned up
the garden, remember that they only
want to express their appreciation Of
past favors and will come again.
How to Know What to Feed a Bug.
Since the laws against patent medi-
cines for people became more strict,
they have taken to making them for
garden pests. There are half a dozen
remedies" for every kind of bug and
worm; and as there are about the
anne number of insects for everything
that grows, it looks at first like quite
a complicated problem to know what
20 do in any particular case.
But it's not as bad as it looks.
There are three general classes of
garden pests, and with a little OBJ
servation you can quickly tell to which
of these any particular intruder be-
longs.
The first are the chewing insects.
They chew and swallow portions Of
leaves or fruits. They include such
desperadoes as the potato beetle and
the cabbage worm.
The second are the sucking insects. |
They take their meals in the form Of
thu plants Juices, sucked from below
the skin or surface of leaf or stem
or fluit. To the beginner il often
seems impossible that they can be the
cause of the trouble which is appar-
eft. They include the various greer.
black and blue plant lice which at
tack different vegetables and flowers,
scales, and some other "bugs", usu-
ally soft-feshed, which seem to make
good living without visible means
of support.
The third are the various maggots
and root worm and bores which work
out of sight, and are usually noticed
only when the results of their nefari-
GUS labors suddenly become evident.
Make the Punishment Fit the Criminal
So, while there are a great many
bugs and beetles, from the point of
view Of garden protection, there are
only three-those that eat, those that
suck, and those that keen out Of
sight.
The things that can be used against
them may be simplified in the same
way. For the eating insects, use a
stomach poison. Arsenate of lead is
in general the most satisfactory thing
for this purpose. It forms the basis
of most of the special combinations
or trade-name insecticides, many Of
which are very good, recommended
for the different eating insects.
For the sucking insects, arsenate
Of lead is practically useless, for the
simple reason that they never 5wai-
low any Of it. What is needed for
them is some material that will kill
them by contact. This we have in
nicotine extract and in kerosene emul-
sion. The former is the more effec-
tive and also more convenient to use.
Either of these can be used in combi-
nation with arsenate of lead sprays,
but remember that in order to be eff
fective they must come in direct con-
tact with the insect.
rFOCeCtlOn Against Blight.
In addition to the insects, there
are several diseases which frequently
cause trouble, such as late potato
blight, tomato "rot", bean "rust'', etc.
There is no satisfactory cure for any
Of these fungus diseases once they
become established, but spraying with
Bordeaux protects the unaffected
parts, and if done in time they may
ward off the trouble altogether.
AS simple and effective a plan for
garden protection as can be had there 4
fore is to spray all crops that are
likely to be attacked with a combina-
ion of arsenate of lead and Bordeaux
mixture. Apply often enough to keep
he growth covered-every ten days
n so. To this spray add nicotine ex-
,ract or kerosene emulsion whenever
sucking insects are present.
The next article of this series will
ell what crops may still be planted
or use this fall. Any of our readers
Who are interested in the culture Of
,ither vegetables or flowers should
iend to v. Atlee Burpee & Co., of
Philadelphia, for their Midsummer
iaFden Book, and list of booklets and
eaflets on gardening, which have
,een prepared for general distribu-
ion. = F. F. Rockwell, author of
Around the Year in the Garden,
Home Vegetable Gardening, etc.
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