54 



EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



9-10 EDWARD VII., A. 1910 



habits in British Columbia, data for which have been furnished by Mr. H. J. Quayle, 

 of Whittier, Cal., who made studies on the life-history of the flea-beetle in British 

 Columbia in July last. The beetle is a general feeder and besides the hop, is known 

 to feed on rhubarb, beet, cucumber, turnip, radish, cabbage, mustard, potato, and red 

 and white clover, as well as a number of weeds. The eggs, larvae and pupae of the insect 

 were found by Mr. Quayle at a depth of from three to six inches from the surface of 

 the ground, and, it is stated by him, that the larvae apparently feed on the roots of the 

 hop as well as upon other plants growing in the yard. Dr. Chittenden says : ' The 

 abundance of the beetles when they appear early in the season on young plants, their 

 constant reappearance, and the constant new growth of the plants from day to day, 

 make it difficult to apply direct remedies with more than temporary benefit. Where 

 the hops are sprayed with kerosene emulsion or whale-oil soap for the hop aphis the 

 numbers of the beetles are lessened. Among measures which give promise of value 

 are the institution of clean methods of cultivation, including deep fall ploughing, 

 treating hop poles in such manner as to prevent the beetles from hibernating in them, 

 and clearing all remnants from fields so as to leave them as bare as possible to prevent 

 the beetles from sheltering there in winter. Arsenate of lead, Paris green, kerosene 

 emulsion, whale-oil soap and Bordeaux mixture should receive further tests, as should 

 the employment of trap crops.' With regard to the trap crops, as the beetle is par- 

 ticularly fond of rhubarb, it is suggested in the above bulletin that this plant be 

 grown ' between rows, e.g. in the vicinity of woods, as an attraction, or lur.e, for the 

 beetles, it being believed that the beetles will concentrate on these plants and thus 

 give the crops an opportunity to grow to a sufficient height and strength to be able to 

 resist the ravages of the pest/ 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO ROOTS AND VEGETABLES. 



These crops were affected to a considerable extent by insects during 1908. The 

 season in most districts was a remarkable one, owing to the long continued drought. 

 At Ottawa the months of June, July, August and September were particularly dry, 

 the rainfall from the end of May till the beginning of October being only 6-80 inches. 

 Boots and vegetables consequently suffered severely from this cause and from attacks 

 of various insects. Wire-worms were prevalent in land which had been in sod and 

 which had just been used for potatoes. The Striped Cucumber Beetle was reported 

 as being destructive in western Ontario. The Turnip Flea Beetle was very trouble- 

 some in many gardens. These small, very active, shining beetles did much harm to 

 young turnips and were also very destructive to the first sowings of radishes. Boot 

 maggots were more abundant than in 1907. Plant lice were much in evidence during 

 the season. Towards the end of the summer, Swede turnips, cabbages and cauliflowers 

 were attacked in many districts by the Turnip and Cabbage Aphis. At Ottawa, early 

 in October, celery plants were severely injured by plant lice and many rendered useless. 



The Small White Cabbage Butterfly, Pontia rapce L. — This well-known enemy 

 of market gardeners has been much inquired about. Its injuries during the past season 

 have been prevalent throughout Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick. The velvety 

 green caterpillars, are about an inch long, with a broken yellow line along each side, 

 and an unbroken one down the middle of the back. At first they eat the outside leaves, 

 but eventually bore right into the head of the cabbage. As soon as the first appearance 

 of the caterpillars is noticed, the plants should be dusted with pyrethrum insect 

 powder, 1 lb. in 4 lbs. of cheap flour, after the whole has been mixed together and 

 kept in a tight jar for 24 hours. As this remedy is so simple and has been recom- 

 mended so often the annual loss by this insect should not be allowed to take place. 



Cutworms. — Early in the season, cutworms, as usual, were present in injurious 

 numbers in many districts throughout the Dominion. Beports of serious injury by 



