The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-06-09

The farmer, trucker and rural population in general are the ones who ought to conserve the enormous amount of surplus stuff that annually goes to waste on the farm. The cost to them is practically nothing bu3 they don't seem to realize that the effort to conserve through canning or otherwise hereditary. The importance of such for attention. There are notable ex- captions to be sure, but when these are noted, strange to say, it often proves hereditary. The importance of such food in the diet does not seem to ap- peal to many hard working country people, who believe and practice eco nomy in most things. Formulas for preserving any and everything are free ly available from many sources.
 Look Out For Caterpillars
 A close observer remarked few days ago that there would be cater pillars this year on account of the cold winter and late spring. These pests were particularly bad last sea- son, and it. should be known that the cold did not destroy them. Already, the first brood have made their appear ance, but as always, they are not num- erous enough to cause much damage and are rarely noticed at all.
 In some sections, there are three different broods and it is the last ones that defoliate the trees, decorate the trees with their unsightly nests, mak- ing home for the hideous crawling things, and literally destroy the lungs of a plant just as surely as tubercu- losis does to the human and animal life. The best method of control, as in all insect management, is prompt ness in the application of such reme- dies as the case may indicate. All caterpillars, being voracious feeders are easily destroyed by the simple method of poisoning their food. Arse nic in some form or in combination with various other agents that com prise most insecticides will utterly de- stroy them. A sprayer is needed, either liquid or dust will serve the purpose and material are obtainable is to destroy at the first appearance and stop any further broods.
 Making Hay
 A few days ago I saw farmer in South Alabama moving down what appeared to be fine crop of mis- cellaneous weeds. They were, in fact, weeds that had overgrown his perman- ent pasture lands largely devoted to lespedeZa. I saw that he was making preparations to save the weeds, and on inquiry found that his purpose was to turn them into hay for his livestock. He had been doing this for several years and told the writer of great variety of weeds, usually considered worthless and only pests, that produced hay of splendid quality and eagerly eaten by all livestock. He said, turn A horse or mule loose in pasture and watch closely what he seems to relish and one will be surprised at the enorm- ous amount of weeds consumed, often in preference to grass, particularly be' fore weeds come to maturity. IhLnk of the amount of edible weeds and grasses the farmer annually destroys in his effort to produce cotton and corn for the boil weevil, the corn wee vii and other insect pests, in order that he may obtain sufficient money to buy feed stuff for his animals. Nature has planted round about the southern farms a great variety of plants use full to man and the wise ones are profiting from her bounty.
 Questions And Answers
 o. What causes my squash vines to appear stunted and even the fruit when they appear are irregular in shape and some deformed so cannot sell them. Could anything be done promptly that would help? D. w., Anniston, Ala.
 A. This condition could be due to poorly drained soil and lack of adequate land preparation, but the most likely cause is some root trouble due either to disease or insect pest. Little can be done for such plants of short life.
 O. We have several pear trees loaded with fruit, but one of our best trees is beginning to turn a pale yellow, hardly noticeable as yet but evidently something is wrong. Could you sug- gest help? s. N, Plantersville, Ala.
 A. Such troubles are difficult to ac- curately explain without personal ob- servation. There may be disease, but the same symptoms could be attributed to borers, root disease or poor drainage and lack of cultivation. But little could be done at present.
 o. Swiss chord and Chinese cabbage are my fsvorite greens. When should these be planted in the garden to be