Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-06-26

INJURY. Inc eggs are readily seen
in clusters of from three or four
to fifty or more usually. on the
underside Of the leaves, and are of
a yellowish brown color. If these
are destroyed, a great deal Of dam
age may be prevented by the adults.
Because Of thick shell covering,
the squash bug is very resistant to
sprays. After the crops are har-
vested the vines should be burned
and the entire place cleaned to de-
stroy shelters for them during the
winter. Before the plants are up
in the spring. many of the bugs can
be trapped under pieces of boards
placed on the ground where they
collect during the night. The boards
should be examined every morning
and the insects killed by hand.
Everyone who grows cabbage or
cauliflower has noticed early in the
spring the unsteady, zigzag, jerky
flight of a small white butterfly
lowering and alighting at frequent
intervals over your garden. They,
themselves, do little or no harm
but they are the forerunners and
mothers of a pale yellow or green
ish caterpillar or worm which feeds
on the leaves, which it skeletonizes
and fills with holes sometimes leav-
ing nothing but the veins in the
leaf. Later they burrow into the
head and may destroy the entire
plant. Where only a few plants are
grown, hand picking is often the
cheapest and easiest way of de-
stroying the worms. They may be
easily killed, however, by spraying
or busting with either arsenate of
lead or arsenate of calcium, both of
which are readily obtainable at any
drug store and are mixed at the
same strength. If a spray is to be
used, the powder should be mixed
thoroly with water in the proper
ton of one ounce of the poison to
one and one-half gallons of water II
a dust is desired, the powder should
be mixed with slaked lime. land
plaster or other fine, dry material
in the proportion of one part of the
powder to ten parts of lime or other
material.
The striped cucumber beetle, a
small, yellow. black striped beetle
is one of the most serious enemies
of the cucumber, squash and melons.
The greatest injury is done to the
young plants soon after they come
up: the worm stage of this insect
also burrows in the stem both
above and below the ground and
often feeds on the underside of the
fruit when it lies on the soil: the
beetles sometimes destroy the flow
ers by eating off the pistils and
also cause injury to ripening fruit
by gnawing holes in the rind. Many
plants are killed outright while
others are SO injured that they make
only sickly growth. The beetles
live overwinter in trash and old
vines and can be partially controlled
by destroying the refuse in the
fall This beetle also serves as
carrier for a serious disease of Gu
cumbers, melons and squash known
as bacterial wilt. They not only
transmit the disease from plant to
plant during the summer but they
carry it over the winter and infect
the new plants in the spring. The
best control for this pest is a dust
made up of one pound of calcium
arsenate with five pounds of air.
slaked lime or land plaster and the
young plants almost completely
covered with this mixture.
The tomato horn worm or tobac-
co worm is the most serious insect
enemy of the tomato but also at
tacks eggplant. potato and peppers.
1t is the caterpillar stage of this in
sect which feeds SO ravenously and
may strip a tomato vine in day or
two. No doubt you have often
noticed that something has been
eating large portions of the vines
but no enemy is seen, altho the full
grown caterpillar is three or four
inches long. This is due to its color
which hammonizes almost perfectly
with the foliage. 1t has q prominent
horn at the rear end of the body
from which ii derives it's name. AS
far as known this horn is perfectly
harmless. In the small garden
Manipulating is most practical
means of control altho arsenate of
lead spray will control them, also.
Natural parasites also help greatly
in the control of this worm. Often
these worms are seen with large
shaped bodies attached on end to
their backs. Too many people mis-
take these for the eggs of the worm
and destroy them but in reality they
are the eggs of a parasite. which
when Matched bore their way into
the body of the tomato worm and
destroy it in q short time and then
seek for other prey. Tomato worms
bearing these white bodies should
never be destroyed as more para
site friends are de-. royed than
enemies and the gardener is the
ultimate loser.
Most of us are acquainted with
the Colorado potato beetle or more
commonly called potato bug, which
is the most serious pest of our most
valuable vegetable, altho it also will
feed on eggplant. tomato. pepper,
nj mi
1t has an exceedingly ravenous
appetite and is continual source
of worry to air gardeners who in
clude Irish potatoes in their list OF
vegetables.
The smooth. shiny. orange colored
eggs are deposited on end in groups
on the undersides of the leaves and
are readily noticeable. 1t is we'll to
destroy them in this stage whenever
detected. Where only a few pota-
toes are grown, it is practicable to
hand pick the beetles into pans
containing a little kerosene or the
plants may be sprayed or busted
with arsenate of lead or calcium
arsenate as for the control of the
cabbage worm.
A discussion of Injurious garden
insects would not be complete with
out some mention of the cutworms
or army worms. These are cater
pillars of the adult night flying
moths which are not very particular
upon what they feed. but do great
damage to most any of the soft
young plants as they come up or as
they are transplanted.
Cutworrns are smooth. nearly
naked caterpillars varying in length
from one to two inches when full
grown, usually dull colored and in
1iSfinnfI1- VIC rI-a NTH