274 NEBRASKA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 



Cucumbers at this date are looking excellent. The first cucum- 

 bers have been marketed, but they are rather small. Fruit is setting 

 well and gives promise of making an excellent crop. 



Th two insects which have given us the most trouble this year 

 are the melon aphis or plant louse and the striped cucumber beetle. 

 The aphis appeared early in the spring on the under side of the 

 leaves, causing them to curl, but they have practically been eradi- 

 cated from our vines by spraying with strong solution of tobacco 

 extract. The vines were held up and the spray directed on the under 

 side of the leaves. The vines have been carefully watched since, and 

 at the first appearance of any colonies the leaves were destroyed 

 and the vines thoroughly sprayed. Anoth-er very Important and 

 troublesome insect which attacks the curcubits, and particularly 

 the cucumber, is the striped cucumber beetle. This insect appeared in 

 gieat numbers this year, and has necessitated a continual and con- 

 stant warfare against the beetles, and with very little success in 

 their control. The nature of the injury and the mouth parts of the 

 insects are such that they are very hard to reach. It has been 

 recommended that arsenate of lead or Paris green will successfully 

 hold these in check, but our experience with spraying with these 

 insecticides gives very little satisfaction. We have attempted to 

 keep the vines thoroughly covered with slacked lime which is more 

 or less of a repellant and keeps the beetles away. After the vines 

 becomes rather large the direct injury from the beetles Is not 

 serious, but they spread the bacterial disease known as the melon or 

 or cucumber wilt, which is a secondary result of the insect injury 

 and which is very troublesome. Many of the vines wilt and die over 

 night. However, the best way to prevent this is to exterminate the 

 beetles. 



We are marketing cucumbers from t he following varieties: 

 the Early Frame, Early Russian, and Thornburn's Everbearing. The 

 letter perhaps is the best. We are testing a number of other varieties 

 which give promise of being excellent, but all somewhat later. These 

 early sorts are usually a short, compact cucumber. 



Prospects for the potato crop at this time are excellent. Our 

 first early Ohios have been marketed and the yield seems to be good. 

 From five to fifteen tubers are found in the hills, and approximately 

 one-third are of marketable size, being as large as a duck egg and 

 some larger with numerous smaller potatoes. The vine growth is 

 somewhat large rthan in ordinary years, but this seems to be an 

 index to good yield. Uncle Gideon's Quick Lunch compares quite 

 favorably with the Early Ohio, although the number of potatoes in 

 the hill is not quite so large, varying from five to ten with approxi- 

 mately one-half marketable size. Burpee's Extra Early is a white 

 potato and gives promise of being an exceptionally high yielder, as 



