FAKMERS' INSTITUTES. 171 



a larva and a pupa as before, hatches from the stubble in midsummer, and is 

 ready to repeat the process again upon the early sown wheat of autumn. The 

 midge also works a great deal of damage in some seasons by laying its eggs upon 

 the heads of wheat just before it is ripe. This soon hatches into the little orange 

 colored maggot whicli destroys every kernel with which it is in contact. Our 

 corn is frequently seriously injured by the cut-worm, and when planted upon 

 low land by the wire-worm. These cut-worms, of which there are several spe- 

 cies, do great injury in our garden vegetables. The enemies that are so persist- 

 ent in the destruction of cucumber, melon, and squa^li vines, are the striped bug 

 and the squash bug. 



The principal enemy of the potato is the Colorado potato beetle. This is 

 undoubtedly the most noted of all our insect enemies, coming as it did so sud- 

 denly upon us and taking such complete possession of our potato fields. The 

 damage it does amounts annually to millions of dollars. 



The principal enemy of the apple crop is the codling moth, whose larvae bore 

 through and through the fruit, rendering it unfit for market or for use. The 

 trees are attacked by the aphis, which sucks the juice from the growing twigs, 

 while the canker "worm and the tent-caterpillar strip the tree of every leaf, and 

 two species of borers attack the body. 



The curculio is the little Turk that takes such especial delight in the destruc- 

 tion of plums and cherries. 



The beautiful Clytus destroys maples, while borers and grubs attack the oaks. 



By this we see that our insect enemies are both numerous and active. They 

 are constantly at work. Their numbers and their activity warn us that we must 

 fight them. 



Fu'st, we need an accurate knowledge of their habits. A knowlede of the 

 habits of the Hessian fly, for instance, enables us to destroy large numbers of 

 the pupas by burning over the stubble soon after harvest. 



The habits of the potato beetle are easily understood. They are few and 

 simple. The principle one is that it eats, it eats constantly in all stages of 

 its growth. It is through this habit that we are enabled to introduce Paris 

 green into its stomach. It would be well for us if we could manage all our 

 insect enemies as easily as we can this one. But there are few that we can 

 destroy with j^oison. 



The currant worm, that we may exjoect here the coming season, is destroyed 

 by sprinkling powdered hellebore upon the leaves. 



The striped bug is driven away by sprinkling plaster and ashes^ mixed with a 

 little sulphur, upon our vines. 



There are many insects, however, that will eat nothing that we can give them, 

 such as the borers, codling moth, curculio, and others. These we have to man- 

 age in some other Avay. 



The borers we cut from the bark with a knife, or kill them in their holes with 

 a sharpened wire ; or, better still, we kill the eggs before any damage is done 

 by washing the trees with a strong solution of soap, in June or July. 



The codling moth is destroyed by fastening, with a string or tack about the 

 trees, bands of coarse woolen cloth or papei', under which the larvae secrete 

 themselves to undergo their transformation. These bands are examined once in 

 ten days after the first of July, and the larvte that have secreted themselves are 

 killed and the bands replaced. The orchard requires clean culture, and the 

 rough bark must be scraped from the trees in order to compel the larvae to go 

 under the bands for a hiding place. Hogs in the orchard are also of much 



