i. S< hool Leaflei j 185 



, and oth( 1 gra liki plant and potatoes are liable to injury 

 from white-grub own or planted on newly tun dally 



if the sod is more than two years old. There is always some risk from 

 injury by th< od land is planted to corn or potato Prob- 



ably the most effective way of preventing the ravages of white-grubs is to 

 practice n three- or four-years rotation. Moreover, we believe this to 

 be, in the majority of eases, good agricultural practice. By rotating 

 crops the land need not remain in grass longer than two years at most, 

 and the white-grubs will be prevented from gaining a foothold. 



it is said that crows and blackbirds go to plowed fields and feed on 

 ite-grubs. If BO, the crow is not so much of a pest as many think 

 he i - 



OBSERVATIONS FOR PUPILS 



j. Catch some May beetles. How large are they? What color 

 they? Note the two hard wing covers on the back. How do these 

 meet down the back? How many wings are under these? Describe these 

 wings. Are they larger or smaller than the wing covers? How does 

 the bi 't them out of sight under the wing covers? Determine, 



if possible, bow a beetle carries the win;- < overs when it flies. 



2. lurid the; two black jaws of the beetle. Examine a leg of the beetle 

 and note the claws on the end of each leg. Note the spines on the legs. 



3. Find a white-grub in the soil. In what position is it? What is 

 the color of one of these grubs? How many legs has it? Notice the 

 peculiar feet. Is the end of the body white? Does the grub have any 

 jaws? Notice the row of dark round spots along each side of the body. 

 How many of these spots arc- on each side? These are the openings 

 through which air passes into the body; they are the breathing pores of 

 the body and arc called spiracles. 



WASPS 

 Anna Boi pord Comstock 

 The wasps and the bees arc near relatives and many unobserving 

 persons do not know them apart. We had some polite neighbors once 

 who came to us and told us apologetically that our bees had swarmed 

 into their kitchen and were helping themselves to the preserves which 

 were then being made. We hastened to the besieged kitchen and then 

 we had to say apologetically to our nice neighbors that they certainly 

 'lid not know bee s from yellow-jackets, for there were only wasps taking toll 

 of preserves in that kitchen ; and yet the honeybees and the yellow-jackets 

 are -.cry unlike. The bee is fuzzy and broad-waisted , while the yellow- 

 jacket is polished and narrow-waisted. However, the feature by which 

 entomologists always distinguish bees from wasps is that the bee is pro- 

 vided with a pollen basket on each of her hind le^s, which the wasps lack. 



