INJURING THE LEAVES. 177 



stem or root and form cocoons in the earth by fasten- 

 ing particles of soil together with their gummy silk. 

 They then change to pupse, and remain thus until 

 the following season, when they emerge as moths. 



Remedies. — The remedy most generally recom- 

 mended is that of cutting out the borers with a sharp 

 knife as soon as their presence is suspected. It is 

 well to cover over sections of the stems at different 

 places to induce them to take root at various joints, 

 so that if the main root is injured the plant can 

 continue to grow from these additional roots. It 

 is claimed by some that the injuries of the insect 

 can be prevented by occasionally sprinkling, or 

 dusting, the stems near the base, with Paris green. 



INJURING THE LEAVES. 



The Cucumber Flea-beetle. 



Chrpidodera cucumcris. 

 This is a small, blackish, punctate beetle (Fig. 91),. 

 about one-sixteenth of an inch long, with yellowish 

 antennae and legs, that appears early in 

 spring, and as soon as the squash or cu- 

 cumber plants are up, attacks them, eat- 

 ing off small, round patches of paren- 

 chyma from the upper surface of the 

 leaves. Like all flea-beetles, they are Fig. 91. 



., ,• 1 • ti'i t Flea-beetle. 



quite active, hopping readily when dis- Magnified. 

 turbed. The larva? are said to mine the leaves. 

 11 



