Rensselaer Union, Volume 5, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 April 1873 — Farm and Garden Insects. [ARTICLE]

Farm and Garden Insects.

Farmers and gardeneis seldom attempt to study the habits of those insects which dtrey meet on every side. This is a great oversight, and the destruction of fruits, flowers, and grain by insects is owing, in a great measure, to a want of knowledge in legard to their habits. Most people consider that the study of entomology is the special business of a few scientific entomologists, who rarely attempt to do more than to classify and describe the species, leaving the practical part of the science to others. To learn the habits, history, and varir ous transformations of species is the province of those who work in the fields and forests, but we regret to say that the number of persons who do fhis,lor take any interest in the subject, is comparatively small; hence the widespread and prevailing ignorance of this all-important branch of natural history. Who should know, or have a’ greater personal interest in knowing, something of insect life, than farmers and gardeners, who cannot escape being brought into contact with it almost ex-ery day of their lives? Injurious as well as beneficial insects abound everywhere; and when we consider the fact that every species has one or more enemies of its own kind, it is self-evident that the names and history of both friends and foes must be known, else all may perish by our hinds alike. . Ignorance is certainly the cause or source of all our troubles in farm life, as weli as in every department of human industry. For instance, a farmer may find that his meadow's are being destroyed by what is generally known as the “white grub,” but if lie has no knowledge of this insect he will make very slow progress in destroying it, and perhaps waste time and money upon nostrums recommended by itinerant vendors who are ever ready to take advantage of the ignorant. Now, the various species of May beetles are the parents of the white grubs found, in our meadows and gardens, some requiring one year, and others three or four, to undergo their transformations; therefore it is evident that if w r e destroy the beetles we will have no grubs, and vice versa. If a man desires to break up a meadow infested with white grubs and plant potatoes upon the same, he must expect to have his crop badly damaged by this pest. If strawberries are set out the chances are tnat every plant will be killed by the grub. . Sncb land should be planted with corn the first year, followed by wheat, rye, or oats, until the grubs have either heen killed by tillage or have finished their transformations and become beetles,- at w hich time they will surely leave, for this insect breeds almost entirely in meadows and uncultivated fields. All insects pass through four different stages: First, the egg- second, larva, known as gtubs, worms and caterpillars; third, pupa; fourth, image or perfect insect, whether it be beetle, moth, butterfly or bug. Some species of insects are readily destroyed in one of these four different stages, while it is almost impossible even to find them in either of the others. As a rule, to destroy a brood of any particular specie* of insect while in,the egg would be a difficult task; but there are a lew noted exceptions. For instance, the eggs of that noted pest of our orchards, the teDt caterpillar({7(f.worawipa Americana), may be found at this time of the year in compact clusters of several hundred, surrounding the small twigs of apples, pear, and other trees in our orchards. Simply by knowing these eggs and where to look for them, a man may in a • few hours gather and destroy the entire brood that would appear a few months later in the form of innumerable caterpillars, defoliating the trees. Other insects are more readily destroyed while in the pupa or chrysalis state. The chrysalids of thelately introduced cabbage worm (Pieris rupee) can be found all through the winter upon the sides of outbuildings in the immediate vicinity of vegetable gardens, and they may be readily gathcred,and destroyed, thereby checking, if not wholly prevditing, the spread of this great pe3t. It is true that the natural enemy ’ of this cibbage worm has also followed it to this country, and js now making great havoc in its ranks, and will probably very soon get it entirety under control, but a little aid on our part may~not be labor lost. The friend who is helping ua in this work is a very small parasitic fly, known to entomologists as Ptermalus puparum, and is so minute that a hundred of its

lartfe can And sufficient sustenance !n a single chrysalis of the cabbage worm named above. Not ftiorct than one species outof every hundred of our common insects do us any harm, therefore it is a ,sin, if nothing more, to kill indiscriminately friends and foes. The Colorado potato beetle is making its way rapidly toward the Atlantic States, and we shall soon see it upon the fields about New York and other East&ra cities. But it has met many enemies already, and probabiy others will be discovered as it advances, among the very insects which we have been accustomed to look upon as useless, if not positively injurious to vegetation; and these minute friends will no doubt do more for us in checking this terrible pest of the potato than we' can do ourselves. The lady birds help us to rid our trees and plants of the greenfly (Aphis), and the Tachina fly attacks the larva of the spotted squash beetle (Wpilaclnui Borealis) ; the CaloSonuis help us to destroy the cut worms, while the tiger beetles prey indiscriminately upon the various kinds of flics. Willi these and many similar examples before us, is it not strange that so little attention is paid to the subject? While the annual loss to tho country through the . depredations of insects amounts to many millions of dollars, only three States have as yet it necessary to appoint an entomologist to gather and disseminate the requisite information to prevent this immense waste of property. Jt is high time that our people awoke to the importance of this subject. Let them begin by introducing the study of practical entomology' into the common schools, so that the next generation of farmers and gardeners may bfe superior in point of knowledge relating to the insect world to thorn of tire present;— New York Sun. —A wore an always looks younger in a light cambric of simple pattern. Something of girlhood and spring arc suggested by them, and yet they are as available by the matron as by swQfit I sixteen. A charming young wife‘once confided her penchant for these inexpensive toilers,‘Tor,” site said in closing, “gentlemen like them so well.” They show very good taste in liking, them, as the best of the feminine sex have found out already, English and French women Wear cottons in summer alternately with silks, and a most captivating effect is produced. — —ln some of the larger breed of fowls the- legs sometime*---become swollen, and covered with a scab on scurf. This re--tards thrift.—Suclwlilials gropC aliniity yin. henMhy and inactive. It has been ascertained by microscopical investigation that this senrfiness-is-the work of mi insect—a scaly kind of louse. The following recipe is an effectual remedy: Twenty grains of carbonate of soda; one ounce of lard; one drachm of sulphur. Apply till a healthy appearance is restored. —The ltev. A. J. Potter, Mcthodhreir. euit preacher, out. on the Texas frontier, does not rely on the “sword of the 'Spirit" for defense againSt the redskins. He rides a fine horse, and carries a Winchester rifle and a six-shooter, and a cartridge belt with forty rounds of ammunition. -■ - ~~ ~ " Ask for Prussing’s Cider Vinegar and take no- other. Warranted Pure. Preserves Pickles. Consumption'.— For the eure of this distressing disease there h?.s been no medicine yet discovered that can show more evidence of real merit thau A lien's Lung Balsam. This unequaled expectorant for curing constimp.tion, and all diseases leading to it, such as affections of ttio throatv lupgs, and all diseases of the pulmonary organs, is introduced -to the suffering public after its merits for the cure-of such diseases have been fully tested by the medical faculty. The Balsam is, con-’ seqnently, recommended by physicians who have become acquainted with its great success. A Death's Head and Ckossbones ought to be the trademark of every dealer in Hum Bitters. But no; to proclaim their real mission would ruin them, so they sail winder false colors, and do their deadly work surreptitiously. Fortunately, their triumphs over credulity are nearly at an end. Ever since the introduction of Dr. Walker’s CawpouxTa Yinkoak Bitters the sale of all the burning fluids advertised as “tonics” has been rapidly declining* They are still the unwholesome solace of individuals- who wish to satisfy a morbid appetite for*strong drink, without compromising tbt4r_respectability; but the sick are evcrywTi'ft'e. discarding them, and adopting the Vinegar Bitters. The success of this wonderful remedy astonishes Dr. Walker himself He la heved. when lie gave it to the world, that it was an unequaled tonic, free from the objections urged against the medicated fire-waters and dilutions of strychnine, quinine and other powerful alkaloids employed in modern practice; but lie scarcely expected that it would prove a specific for chronic dyspepsia, llvef-coinplamt, incipient consumption, confirmed rheumatism, gout,- scrofula, nervous affections, general debility and all diseases that disorders, without destroying, the vital machinery. Yet this, unless thousands of witnesses have conspired to . deceive the public, is actually the case. A friend of ours who is chief clerk in the Governmental Dispensary, -say that no medicine chest is now complete without Johnson's Attodym Liniment. We always supposed it was prescribed by law-; if it is not-it ought to be, for certainly there is nothing in the whole ■materia mediva of so much importance to the soldier and sailor as Johnson's Ayoilnye Liniment. t Veterinary Surgeons all over the country arc recommending iK7mrklan's~i , <irntnj J’oiidi~ tion Powders for the following trouble in horses: Loss of appetite, roughness of the hair, stoppage of bowels or water, thick water* coughs and colds, swelling of the glands, worms, horse ail, thick wind and heaves. . Tested bv Time.—For Threat Diseases, Colds and Coughs, “itrovm's Jlr'ohchlqt ches" have proved tlielr efficacy by a test of many years.' ' ; Tnr i: now ns ant, . „-- j l , rmii/i,.. i, li i ; >t»TH:<“ prppambva. Ci.isTAwnb-'s Exn:i:.i„k iI canjfoi be exo-Ur,! bv Nature: its tint.-: chi,lle,i"i; bdiiipnfiaon wjtli Nature's most favored production* ami duty detection. : Flagg's Instant Relief. Warranted to relieve all Rheumatic Afflictions, Sprains, Neuralgia, etc. The best, the surest and the QuickCs' remedy for all Bowel Complaints. Relief guaranteed or tho money refunded.