The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1919-06-19

Ell" By U. S. Dept. OF Agriculture)
From the time the earliest seed is
put into the ground to the harvesting
of the last crop, every home vegeta-
BILE garden may be expected to suf-
fer from the attacks Of the army OF
insect pests which annually creep
from their winter quarters, hungry
from their long fast, to fatten on the
carefully nurtured seedlings, riddle
the grown plants, and multiply to
countless thousands during the days
of midsummer. The careful and far
sighted gardener may most readily
demonstrate his skill through the
adoption and correct application Of
the remedies best designed to conrtol
this horde.
Colorado Potato Beetle
Wherever small plot Of potatoes
is grown, the Colorado potato beetle
is likely to be found. The mature or
"hardshell' beetles, which have spent
the winter safely buried in the
ground, begin to come out about the
time when the plants are few inches
high. First they hungrily devour a
part Of the young and tender foliage,
after which they begin to deposit, on
the undersides Of the leaves, their
clusters of orange-colored eggs, of
which thousand or more may be
laid by single female. Effective
work may be done at this time by
Manipulating the beetles from the
plants into can of water, with a lit
tie kerosene over the surface. The
eggs may be crushed between thumb
and finger.
Care at this stage will prevent the
appearance Of the fat, shiny red lar
vac or "slugs", which are much more
destructive than the beetles, fire..
quently stripping the plant entirely If
left without attention. When first
Matched, these feed in groups, but as
they grow larger, they spread over
the plant. When growth is com.
pleted, they descend to the ground,
into which they burrow to depth of
several inches. When in the course
Of few days they again emerge, they
have taken the form of the parent
beetles.
The Colorado potato beetle is one
of the pests most easily controlled.
1t feeds readily on poisoned foliage
and the well known treatments Of
spraying or busting with arsenate of
, lead or Paris green should be familiar
to every grower The spray mixture
may be prepared in small quantities
by mixing two-thirds of an ounce, or
ten level teaspoonfuls of powdered
arsenate of lead with a gallon of wa
ter. This should be applied with
sprayer capable Of throwing a fine,
misty spray. A good atomizer will do
effective work on small scale, at a
cost Of dollar or less. The upper
surfaces of the leaves should be we'll
covered by the spray. A simple
method Of busting is to mix thorough
ly the same quantity of powdered ar
senate of lead or a heaping table,
spoonful of Paris green with quart
OF air-slacked lime or lime plaster.
Dust this over the plants by shaking
throught cheesecloth bag.
Cabbage Worms
One of the earliest spring butter
flies to haunt our gardens is the dane
ing white sprite recognized by few as
the parent of the disgusting velvety
green caterpillar which in midsum-
mer and fall works such destruction
to our cabbage plants. This pest, the
imported cabbage butterfly, passes
the winter in the chrysalis, attached
to old cabbage stalks and fences,
buildings and similar projections. AS
soon as cabbage, caulifower, and like
crops are available, the eggs are de-
posted singly upon the leaves. The
caterpillars reach their growth in a
short time, and there may be several
generations annually. BY fall, they
may readily become so abundant al