HEMIPTERA. 185 



consequence 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 mil- 

 dews, and, if the evil be allowed to go on unchecked, in a few 

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

 autumn the vine-hoppers desert the vines, and retire for shelter 

 during the coming winter beneath fallen leaves and among the de- 

 cayed tufts and roots of grass, where they remain till the following 

 spring, when they emerge from their winter-quarters, and in due 

 time deposit their eggs upon the leaves of the vine, and then per- 

 ish. As the vine-hoppers are much more hardy and more viva- 

 cious than the European vine-fretters or plant-lice, the applications 

 that have proved destructive to the latter are by no means so effi- 

 cacious with the former. Fumigations with tobacco, beneath a 

 movable tent placed over the trellisses, answer the purpose com- 

 pletely.* They require frequent repetition, and considerable 

 care is necessary to prevent the escape and ensure the destruction 

 of the insects ; circumstances which render the discovery of some 

 more expeditious method an object to those whose vineyards are 

 extensive. 



I have found that the Windsor bean, a variety of the Vicia 

 Faba of Linnaeus, is subject to the attacks of a species of leaf- 

 hopper, particularly during dry seasons, and when cultivated in 

 light soils. In the early part of summer the insects are so small 

 and so light colored that they easily escape observation, and it is 

 not till the beginning of July, when the beans are usually large 

 enough to be gathered for the table, that the ravages of the insects 

 lead to their discovery. A large proportion of the pods will then 

 be found to be rough, and covered with little dark colored dots or 

 scars, and many of them seem to be unusually spongy and not 

 well filled. On opening these spongy pods, we find that the beans 

 have not grown to their proper size, and if they are left on the 

 plant they cease to enlarge. At the same time the leaves, pods, 

 and stalks are more or less infested with little leaf-hoppers, 



* See Fessenden's " New American Gardener", p. 299, for a description of the 

 tent and of the process of fumigation. 



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