Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-01-21

minute grub is crushed as soon as
| it is Matched.
| Wherever the female punctures
| the apple to deposit her egg, or
wherever any adult beetle punctures
/ 1.-THE fruit to feed, the tissue Is poi
soned so that it never develops
normally. The result is knotty, mis-
! happen fruit which cannot be sold.
| The injury done by the curculio by
| feeding on the leaves is not serious.
The application of arsenate of lead
recommended for the control Of the
| codling moth will usually control
the curculio also. The fruit should
be covered with a protective layer
Of poison soon after it is formed.
These insects are among the most
common pests of the orchard. There
| are four different species which at
tack the apple, but they are all more
or less similar in appearance and
habits and all can be controlled by
| the same means. Therefore, a sepa-
rate discussion is not necessary.
The aphids, or plant lice, most
commonly found on apple trees are
small, soft bodied insects. Most Of
the insects are wingless and green
ish in color. During the season, how
ever, winged generations appear
which serve to scatter the species.
During the winter small shiny
black eggs can frequently be found
near the dormant buds Of an apple
tree. In the early spring these eggs
hatch into very small nymphs which
develop rapidly into female aphids.
These females are already fertilized
and give birth to living young, all Of
which are females. These, in turn
give birth to young, and so on,
through the entire summer.
Late in the summer a generation
is produced which is about half male
and half female. The females Of this
generation deposit the black eggs
which pass the winter. During the
summer, especially in the second
generation, both winged and wing.
less insects are produced, and in
this way the species is scattered.
+ The first generation appears just
as the buds are beginning to swell
in the spring and the young insects
attack the tender leaves sucking the
sap from the leaf tissue, causing it
to curl and become so distorted as
to be Of no use to the plant. Ere
quently the insects will insert their
beaks in the young fruit and suck
the sap from the succulent tissue,
dwarfing and deforming it.
Since these insects have sucking
mouth parts and secure all OF their
food from beneath the surface of the
plant they must be controlled by a
contact insecticide which kills by
coming in contact with their body.
For this purpose "Black Leaf 40",
or kerosene emulsion is most eft1-
cient.
This is frequently one of the worst
insect pests affecting the, apple. 1t
is known wherever the apple is
grown.
The insects are small, reddish
brown \plant lice or aphids scarcely
one-tenth of an inch long. The legs
are usually darker than the bodies,
frequently being almost black. The
insects which live above the ground
have their bodies almost covered by
a mass of whitish, waxy fiber, which
gives them woody appearance.
Those beneath the ground have
much less Of this covering and are
mealy in appearance.
In general, the life history OF
these insects is similar to that al
aphids. Frequently many of the in
sects on the root colonies live over
the winter, but they do not breed
during the winter months.
The woody aphis sucks its food
from beneath the bark Of the tree.
Above the ground the colonies are
most frequently in the axis Of
leaves on the new growth especially
where the bark has been injured.
The insects prevent the tissue
from healing and cause abnormal
swelling. On the roots of the tree,
the insects cause conspicuous round.
ed swellings or gals to develop.
These gals are most numerous
around the crown Of the tree and
they finally cause the decay Of the
root.
One of the most common means OF
spreading these insects is on nursery
stock. For that reason especial care
should be taken to prevent the plant
ing of such trees. The colonies above
the ground can be destroyed by thor
ough spraying with per cent kero-
senJ emulsion. On the roots Of the
tree the control is much more diff
cult. If the soil is removed and
kerosene emulsion is applied, the I'M
sects can be destroyed, but there is
danger of injuring the tree. About
five pounds of tobacco dust mixed
with the surface four inches of soil,
for a distance of two feet from the
tree, has been fairly satisfactory.
Plant Food Content of Velvet Beans
and Cotton Seed Meal
J. B. D., Eatonton, Ca, writes:
Will a ton Of shelled velvet beans
ground up be equivalent to "a
ton of cotton seed meal, and
available as quickly?
A ton of velvet bean meal from
which the hulls have been excluded
will contain approximately 21.S per
cent protein, Sc per cent fat, "a
per cent fiber, and Sill per cent
carbohydrates. A ton Of velvet bean
meal contains the equivalent Of
about $40 per cent nitrogen, per
cent phosphoric acid, and IL per
cent potash. This would be equiva
lent to a content per ton of 1913
pounds nitrogen, 20 pounds phospho-
ric acid, and 81 pounds of potash.
A ton Of cottonseed meal, as you
doubtless know, contains about 2.5
per- cent phosphoric acid, or so to
so pounds per ton, about 80 to "a
pounds of potash, and from 100 to
140s pounds of nitrogen. Cotton seed
meal, as you will see, therefore, is
much richer in fertilizing constitu-
ents, particularly in nitrogen, than
velvet bean meal. I think there
would be little difference as to the
relative availability Of the plant food
content Of the two provided the ma
terialS in each instance were we'll
incorporated with the soil.