Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1918-09-17
Who harvests Your Carrots

badly this season, as is indeed no unusual
occurrence; and the complaints received
by the Maine Agricultural Experiment
Station indicate that the trouble is by
no means local. Many growers report
that the total carrot crop OF 1918 is
failure,-,hs prize having fallen to the
maggot progeny of the carrot rust fS, a
pest of many years' standing.
There was one man in Orono, now
ever, who leaned back In bis chair after
he had heard Of the general carrot situa-
ton and gave grunt of real satisfaction.
This was not, of course. due to joy at the
misfortune ovsrtaking Maine war gar
dens; but he was struck suddenly with
the pleasing fact that his carrots were
all right. They had been, In fact, for
three years. Now that be came to think
of it,-so bad bis parsnips.
Previous to this time his parsnips and
carrots had been In as bad way as
those others. The tops OF young carrots
would turn reddish, wilt and the roots
would be found to be tunneled by slender
whitish maggots. The few thai lived
through the season long enough to be
stored without mauifesting any degree
of injury on the outer surface, were
likely to be found perforated In all direc-
tions by dirty brown burrows which
sheltered the whitish msggots. HIS
stored parsnips were commonly In the
same condition.
"What had happensd?" he asksd him
self. Why bad the trouble with bis car
rots and psrsuips ceased for the past
three years while those OF his neig b bors
continued to suffer Ne much as ever?
Like many another discovery bis prob
lem had been solved more BY hit than
good Wit, ~ the sayiug goes. For three
years he had been spraying small area
of his garden (perhaps space OF ground
as biz over as could bo covered by an
umbrella), with a poisoned bait intended
to tenn pt and kill the fly that lays the egg
that matches into the maggot that de-
yours Young onions. he must have
thought it paid or be would not have
kept at 1t for three years. However,
that is another story which has to do
With onions and onion maggOts. Just
now we are interested In the fact that
circumstantial evidence indicates that
the bait intended for the onion pest also
tenn pted the carrot rust flies to eat, drink
and be merry with the result that they
died before laying eggs.
This report is not made on. the basis
of experimental work or . demoustra-
ticu. But the coincidence OF poison bait
sprav and healthy carrots and parsnips
is sugpestive and quite possibly signif-
can't. At any rate We offer the circum'
stance to the public for what it may
chance to prove worth and suggost tna'
| war gardeners and others who have LOST
carrots this year try the remedy OF the
Orono man In 1919.
The poison bait mixture 10 pint OF
tmolssses, an ounce of sodium (nr potas.
sium), arseuats and four gallons OF
water. Dissolve the poison 10 q little
hot water and add II and the molasses to
the remainder Of the water. Apply cold,
and at occasional small spots. A baud
spray pump is convenient and 10 neces-
ssry for a large field. But 10 the garden
a watering pot with not too coarse nose
can. be used. Or the poison can be
sprin kled by using whisk broom or
other devise from which the taken up
LIQUID can be shaken of on the ground.
Apply Just a. the carrots break through
Ithe yround and every ten days thereafter
up TO the middle Of July.
AZ this 10 bait spray III 10 not neces-
sary to apply it directly TO the leaves
and % It contains soluble poison y
might ipjure the young plant u you did
/ II the fiy feeds upon this substance II
will die and u the ay died the carrots
will live free from the nsggot attack.
This pest has been injurious to carrots
in Canada siuce 1885 and made hs ap
pearance in 1901 10 New York In celery
fields. In attack on celery the leaves OF
lvouup plants early in spring turn red
i iisb. and the roots are blotched with
lrusty patches, particularly toward thei'
ltips. Roots Of carrots when stored iol
|, winter. although not manifestipg any
deQree OF injury on the outer surface, ars
st tunes perforated In oil directions .by
Itjrtv brownish burrows, from whiof
lfbeee whttish yellow msegote may bt
, found projecting. When celery 10 10
:. feoted the larvas seem TO begin eating IN
10 the thick part Of the root when th'
, olapt 10 about half grown, stunting u q
, A "a make it wcrthless Tor market.
, This specles ID quite minute, the paren
, As u,easoFsne 0uly shout one-eixsh or 81
! inch In length, with . wing expanse OF
, ,,ttle moro than three tenths Of IN Inch
Il The body 10 dark green and % ratne
1 soarsely clothed with yellow hairs. Th'
head and legs ars pale ysl'evr ana tn
o eyes block. 49,.
\ The oarrotrust fg b = psst n sprop:
: ebvheece y has been introduced 10 sni
! lcountry. n 10 . porthsrn spesses 80
{ neruanently established In New bruna
{ uiok, Ontario and ouebecs Cnna@ y
8 | s,des occtsfing II Nav YORK en9 ~
nsnpshirs. .-thap. D. Woods. paseseo'