Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 32, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 April 1877 — Potatoes and Potato Beetles. [ARTICLE]

Potatoes and Potato Beetles.

In localities Whirl 411e*CMloractd pAt&tbbeotle hue appeared ,-therer tr considerable anxiety felt in rtga r d todfce -W----potato crop. I f thfc Aey remain, permanently Wlus—ana we can see no good reason why; they. shouldnotjbtcomfc as mttcn at home on the Atlantic Coast as on ttajgfeat plains of cultivators of potatoes must make up their ®iwfe M fight Ibis peatoWOmiJearto year. or give up the cultivation of one of our WstUbfoFand WuabfefaAn trops. -Tvtwenty years, affords us no nope of its passing away after a brief visit; but shows^rettfj’onrlnaively that haamma.. to stay with us as long as food is provided, which might IfL Xwber interbrejied CT mean, “ as idßgftfimtss ftmy f aha wdfe| runs,” for thefeMeß noViriteHikudwii that there are hundreds m plants beside Takipg the most cheerful view we may of this I potato-beetle dtfe’: 8 serious matter, And our farmers must make up their minds to give the insect no quarter,, Jiiit, fight it early, an j late, per-, sisteritly killing all that may be found on their all, They*®annofbecoine so numerous in' any Off«HdChmy«A to Ifijm iEe b’dtatb crop to any ffie severe drought, laßrwasonTTff'part'bt tne M.» cut son that the second brood of potato beetles found little to feed upon; and millions niustiavQ.Mrishfid,.before, reaching the imago or perfect still, enpugh did find food to yiem througis, idftfrey arc now hibernating ip safe quarters, ready fto cfrnefortli tp nip the first green leaf from this .spring’s planting. If all had perished Within ohe,. two oHkhore States., ttefr place would soon from Without; therefore, there is no safety in presuming.that say particular-local-ity, or region of country, Js to be free fronUhmn/faMingAho-coming Mason. t ’ Thpftiwureinmwly aU as the Northern States having had personal experience with this inscot, there is no.longer any needDf tfWg teetp it can. ajad will do if allowed to have its own way. Either poison or kill the beetles in some other way, or see the crop destroyed; and a»theaa^ wsll to pfilpNM BrfteptoMem wagare-Se-fore the appearance of the enemy. No other destructive agent has yet been discovered so effective and cheap as Paris

green, and twenty years’ experience In its use have shown that It can be employed with perfect safety upon the vines without the least danger of injuring the tubers for food. Many will doubtless plant early varieties in order to escape the expense and trouble of fighting the beetle during the season; for, in most localities, there are at lM»t two broods in a season. But if all 'piaht early sorts, it is to be /eared that there will be a* scarcity of potatoes l«*e in the season; although, with proper earn, the Alph,a and Early Roue (our two earliest sorts) pay be kept over in as sound * condition as the very latest. Upon the whole, it may be good policy for the present, to plant the early sorts mainly, or until all cultivators of pota> toes adopt some settled plan of fighting and subduing the potato beetle. Last year.it had its own way over a large extent of .country, comparatively few farm* eWmaking any attempt to destroy thenili; thereby leaving the few who did, to do allfhe iroik Iff this direction; with tfttle or no prospect of success, on account of the vast numbers of beetles maturing in the fields of their negligent and perverse neighbors. This system of breeding nuisances to annoy one’s neighbors should dot be tolerated;'and if all c|nnot work in accord in subduing such insect pests, t|ere will have to be an appeal made to the Legislatures of the different States for a law to compel men to do their duty in such matters. It is to be hoped that the good sense of our farmers will prevail, and that all wfll unite in making war upon this common enemy.— N. Y. Sun. ‘ V I .’ * • k k u 1 i >