8 
Cultural practices—A practice in high favor among prominent 
asparagus growers is to cut down all plants, including seedlings and 
volunteer growth, in early spring, so as to force the parent beetles to 
deposit their eggs upon new shoots, which are then cut every few days 
before the eggs have time to hatch for the first new brood. 
Other measures that have been employed with advantage consist in 
cutting down the seed stems after the crop has been harvested, and 
again once or twice during the cutting season, or in permitting a por- 
tion of the shoots to grow and serve as lures for the beetles. Here 
these may be killed with insecticides, or the plants, after they become 
covered with eggs, may be cut down and burned, and other shoots 
allowed to grow up as decoys. The trap plants should be destroyed 
as often as once a week. 
With concerted action on the part of growers in following out any 
of these last methods the insects may be held in check, at least in 
a region where asparagus does not grow wild in too great profusion. 
Where this is not practicable, insecticides must be brought into sery- 
ice. It is well in any case to employ insecticides after the cutting 
season, since if the insects are destroyed at this time their numbers 
will be lessened for the next year. 
Lime.—One of the best remedies against the larve is fresh, air- 
slaked lime, dusted on the plants in the early morning while the dew 
is on. It quickly destroys all the grubs with which it comes in 
contact. 
Pyrethrum is credited with being useful, and a mixture of soft 
soap, quassia decoction, and water (about equal parts of the first two 
to 5 of the last named) is effective against the larve; but these 
remedies hardly commend themselves for extensive use. 
Arsenicals—The arsenicals, applied dry mixed with flour, as for 
potato beetles, answer well; they possess the advantage of destroying 
beetles as well as grubs, and are of value upon plants that are not 
being cut for food. Some use a mixture of Paris green and air- 
slaked lime, or plaster, 2 pounds of the former to a barrel of the 
latter. To produce satisfactory results the lime or arsenical must 
be applied at frequent intervals, or as often as the larvee reappear 
on the beds. 
Arsenate of lead has given excellent results. This insecticide has 
come into very general use in recent years for the control of leaf-feed. 
ing beetles, such as the potato beetles and asparagus beetles. In Con- 
necticut Dr. W. E. Britton tested it on asparagus, spraying the plants 
from all four sides in succession because of the shght leaf exposure 
as compared with most other forms of plants. Good results followed. 
The same amount of benefit should be accomplished with scarcely 
greater expense by spraying from opposite sides and repeating this 
(Cir. 102] 
