THE SECRETARY'S PORTFOLIO. 333 



The Rural New Yorker gives tlio following remedy for squash bugs : 

 To make one barrel of the preparation, use half a bushel of fresh hen 

 manure. Put this into the barrel and fill up with water, leaving room to stir 

 and mix thoroughly. When I put the seeds in tiie ground I prepare the mix- 

 ture. The older il is the better. Stir every three or four days, and keep cov- 

 ered to prevent evaporation. When the vines are large enough, apply the liquid 

 with a coarse sprinkler. Stir the contents of the barrel thoroughly each time 

 you apply it, and keep the barrel filled up with water. Bear in mind that this 

 is a powerful fertilizer, and be careful not to use too much at a time. I usually 

 apply it two or three times a week, or as often as the bugs make it necessary. 

 It is also a sure remedv for cut worms. 



ALUM AN INSECTICIDE. 



C. W. H. in Fruit Recorder says he dissolves one pound of alum in three gal- 

 lons of water and has used the solution successfully in fighting the cabbage 

 ■worm. He says : 



I tried the alum solution on my currant bushes and recommended it to 

 others, and in every instance it had the desired effect. For washing down the 

 trunks of young peach, pear, and apple trees it works nicely, and I would recom- 

 mend its use as a cheap, effectual, and non-poisonous insecticide, always ready 

 and always reliable lor me. Its action on the worm or caterpillar is instan- 

 taneous, and he seldom needs more than a few doses. 



VINE-HOPPERS. 



Harris, in his "Injurious Insects," says of the vine-hoppers : 

 The vine-hoppers, as they may be called, inhabit the foreign and native grape 

 vines, on the under surface of the leaves of which they may be found during a 

 greater part of the summer ; for they pass through all their changes on the 

 vines. During most of the time, the young remain perfectly quiet, with their 

 beaks thrust into the leaves, from which they derive their nourishment by suc- 

 tion. As they increase in size they have occasion frequently to change their 

 skins, and great numbers of their empty, cast skins will be found throughout 

 the summer adhering to the under sides of the leaves and upon the ground 

 beneath the vines. When arrived at maturity, which generally occurs during 

 the mouth of August, they are still more agile than before, making use of their 

 delicate wings as well as their legs in their motions from place to place, and 

 •when the leaves are agitated they leap and fly from them in swarms, but soon 

 alight and begin again their destructive operations. The infested leaves at 

 length become yellow, sickly, and dry, and give to the vine at midsummer the 

 aspect it naturally assumes on the approach of winter. But this is not the only 

 injury arising from the exhausting punctures of the vine-hoppers. In conse- 

 quence of the interruption of the important functions of the leaves, the plant 

 itself languishes, the stem does not increase in size, very little new wood is 

 formed, or, in the language of the gardeners, the canes do not ripen well, the 

 fruit is stunted and mildews, and if the evil be allowed to go unchecked, in a 

 few years the vines become exhausted, barren, and worthless. In the autumn 



