Teachers' Leaflet. 581 



quarters when dear," but often the extra cost is more than paid for by the larger 

 harvest. Cutting should be done lengthwise, through stem and bud ends in order 

 to equally distribute the eyes, which are few at the stem any many at the bud. 

 The size of the piece is more of importance than the number of eyes, though each 

 piece should have at least one bud. 



Potatoes which have sprouted in the darkness of cellar or pit, sending out 

 long, colorless shoots which must be broken off before planting, should never be 

 used for seed. The tuber has been robbed of that much stored food, and besides, 

 several small and weaker shoots will take the place of the one removed, for like 

 ether plants it sends up side branches when the main branch is gone. 



But farmers who plant for an early crop often " start the buds " by exposing 

 the potatoes to light and warmth for a few days before planting, being careful 

 not to let them develop beyond a short little knob, which will not rub off in the 

 planting. The size of the crop obtained varies enormously according to favorable 

 soil and season. In the United States the average yield is from ninety to a hundred 

 bushels to the acre, but three hundred bushels are not uncommon, and there are 

 many records of four and five hundred bushels. The annual value of the crop is 

 more than one hundred million dollars. Besides being a food staple and manu- 

 factured into starch, many thousand bushels are made into alcohol. New York 

 State leads in the production of potatoes with Iowa, Michigan, Maine and 

 Pennsylvania close behind. 



LESSON XLVI. 



INSECT enemies. 



This should be a talk to the pupils by the teacher. — 



The first to appear are Leaf Flea-beetles. They come as soon as 

 the plants are above the ground. The are very small and unless watched 

 for, their work may not be noticed until the plants have been seriously 

 damaged. They puncture the leaves, gnawing countless numbers of 

 little holes through them. Not only does this injure the plant by check- 

 ing its starch manufacture, but it opens up the way for the spores of the 

 early blight to enter. The remedy is Bordeaux mixture to which Paris 

 green has been added in the proportion of five or six ounces to fifty gal- 

 lons. Begin early and spray and spray and spray ! The same remedy 

 holds good with the more common Colorado beetle whose ten-lined, 

 black-and-yellow coat is familiar to every one who has worked in a po- 

 tato field. In some localities the stalk-borer gives trouble. This is a 

 small, gray, beetle, only a fifth of an inch in length with three, small, 

 black dots on the wing covers and a black beak. With this beak the 

 female punches a hole in the stein near the ground and in it lays an egg 

 which soon hatches into a tiny, white worm with a hard, brown head. 

 It eats its way up the heart of the stalk, causing it to wilt and look sickly. 

 Outside applications are of no use, but a partial crop may mature from 

 uninfested stalks. The insect matures in September and lives over the 

 winter in the stalk ; therefore, they should every one be burned, and also 

 any ground-cherry or horse-nettle growing near, that not a bettle may 

 be left to return next year. See Home Nature-Study Leaflets Vol. Ill, 

 No. I. 



