Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1919-04-22
AMONG THE FARMERS.
"sPkED TEE FLOW"

| "sPkED TEE PLow"
Correspondence on practical agricultural topic
1 ~ sonclted. Address all communications In
tended Tor this department 20 HnNBY ID
HAEhosp, Agricultural Editor Oxford DEM
Garden Pests and Their Control.
(By Il. p. Sweetser, Assistant Professor OF
Horticulture, u. Of NJ
The one great difficulty with, control
of pests in our gardens seems to be that
we lack sufficient information concerning
the lite history OF the pest In question
Many serious losses are almost certain
to occur when new pests appear but
there is really little excuse to continue
experiencing losses from old and well
known troubles.
There are many methods of attack OF
which some ofthe most important are:
!. Fall plowing. This practice has
much to do with the control not only of
serious insect pests but ia good prac-
tice TO follow with such bothersome
weeds as witch-grass. The principle of
this practice is that the unprotected
stages of the pest can often be exposed to
the rigors Of the winter with death as q
result
2. Rotation of crops. II is frequently
advisable to change the order of plant
ing crops on given area for the purpose
of removing host upon which some in
sect has been living for period of years
perhaps. Crops Of extreme difference in
manner Of growth should be substituted
for series of years, until the pest has
been starved to death.
s. Cleanliness. It Is usually well 10
burn infested refuse from the garden,
and breeding places should not be al
lowed as may occur if piles of waste and
rubbish are allowed to collect.
4. Planting dates. By Fastening or
delaying the date of planting it may be
possible to avoid the annual or seasonal
attack of the insect or disease in ques-
ton.
g. Mechanical devices are used with
considerable success. Among those
most commonly used are paper wrappers
about the stems, covered france for bills,
tarred paper pads, hand picking and
refuge traps.
6. Trap crops. Sometimes it Is pos
sible to plant crop which is particularly
liked by a troublesome insect so that the
main crop will not be injured.
Z. Poisoned bats are sometimes used,
made up of materis! which the pest pre-
fers to fresh vegetables.
s. Repellents. T6rpentine and car
bOlic acid may be used as repellents by
mixing them with some dusty substance
which can be sifted over the plants.
g. Spraying aud busting. Chewing
insects may be controlled by use OF
poisonous sprays and sucking insects are
easily killed by actually reaching them
with q contact spray of oil or csustic.
10. Natural enemies of the insects
should be encouraged. Birds, tosds,
lady bugs and similar natural enemies
should be encouraged in the gardens.
The spotted garden slug. This COM
mon and troublesome pest Injuries a
variety of crops common TO our gardens. |
Among these are lettuce, celery, toma- |
toes, melons, parsnips, beets, carrots,
turnips, onions, leeks, cabbage, beans,
peas, potatoes, straw berries and mush- |
rooms. The injury done consists OF
holes eaten 10 the leaves or fruits and a
dirty slime which shows the track of the
slug as il crawls about.
This pest Is usually found in damp
places under rotten logs, boards and
rocks. It feeds at night and returns
night after night to the same resting
place so long as conditions are satisfac-
tory so far as temperature and moisture
are concerned.
nieht picking by lantern light; the use
AE nla
which the sings may be picked during
the day; poisoned bait consisting of
boiled potatoes sprinkled with white
arsenic; lime, salt or SCOT scattered In
lines about the garden; or, strips Of
cloth tape about two inches wide or less
which has been soaked in a saturated
solution of iron or copper sulphate may
be used, As the slug will perish when
once in. contact with the caustic tape.
The cut worm. This fellow works in
the night but most of the damage is done
lust at the soil line and on tender plants
like peppers, tomatoes, cabbage and
similar plants. The best control on
plants of the type named Is to wrap the
stem with paper at the time the trans
planting is done. However the cut
worm does immense damage to such
crops as early beets If control is not well
in hand.
IL is advisable in such q case to
sprinkle poisoned bait over the area
few days before the young plants come
up. 1t is well 10 renew the poisoned
bait every week until the plants get
large enough so that injury will not be
serious. The bait should be made from
bran or chopped green clover, mixed
with highly sweetened water and paris
green. One pound of paris green and q
ousrt of molasses will be sufficient for
100 pounds of bran. Mix the paris green
in dry and add the molasses and suffi-
cient water to make q thick dough.
Spread on the garden along the rows 10
the early evening so that IL will not dry
out quickly.
The imported cabbage worm appears
iu the head OF cabbage and caulifiower.
Use srsenate of lead and water until In
the case of the caulifiower the head be-
gjns TO show white. Hot water and
pyrethrum powder will each help In con-
troll il there is any dissatisfaction in u.s.
ing srsenate of lead.
The striped cucumber beetle Is best
controlled by using dusty repellsnts in
which there is some material like tobac-
co. turpentine, or carbolic acid. Squash
as a trap crop with cucumbers some
times works and late planted cukes and
SQUASH are seldom seriously attacked.
The white grub. We are all familiar
with the destruction which this insect
does in our strawberry plantations and
the injury does not stop there. In the
gardens, beans, potatoes and corn suffer
even though We have no conception OF
the damage done by this pest in some of
the western states. During certain years
the destruction to corn and grass fields
l. Mianonain IllinaiS and Ohio had been