445 



grouud. lusects of this order are not very apt to be killed by applica- 

 tions of sneli poisonous substances as Paris green or hellebore to the 

 outer surface of plants, as has been recommended for the destruction of 

 the Colorado bug- or potato-beetle, as the chinch-bugs do not eat the 

 whole substance of the leaf, like the real beetles, but merely insinuate 

 their j^iercer or sucker through the outer cuticle into the parenchyma, or 

 inner fleshy substance of the leaf and stem, in order to suck up the sap, 

 leaving the outer surface on which the poison is deposited almost un- 

 disturbed. 



Two METHODS OF DESTEOYING THE COLOEADO POTATO-BUG. — The 



Department of Agriculture has received, through the President of the 

 United States, a communication addressed to the Executive by two 

 French gentlemen of Point-a-Pitre, Guadaloupe, West Indies — Count 

 A. d'Adliemar and Gr. Barret de Nazaris — announcing their discovery of 

 two effectual methodsof destroying the Colorado potato-bug, which they 

 freely offer to the people of tlie United States. The first of these remedies 

 is as follows : Soak guano in lime-water, and apply the liquid to the 

 roots of the potato-vines. The second : Take lime-water, salted to two 

 arcometric degrees, and in it dissolve two kilograms (say five pounds) of 

 common sulphide of potassium to each cubic meter (say 201 gallons) of 

 water. Pour this mixture into the concavities of the ground all around, 

 the potato-vines. This last remedy is said to have been used in France 

 with excellent effect for destroying the Phylloxera upon grape-vines. 



The remedies as above proposed for the extermination of the Colorado 

 potato-beetle have evidently been written by theorists who know nothing 

 whatever of the habits of the insect, and under the false supposition 

 that it injures the rOots,like the root-louse or Phylloxera in France, which, 

 being found on the roots under the earth, may be destro^^ed by liquid 

 solutions or mixtures which soak into the ground. Our Doryphora^ how- 

 ever, does not attack the roots at all, but contents itself with the 

 foliage. 



MICROSCOPIC OBSERVATiOiNS. 



BY THOMAS TAYLOR, MICROSCOPIST. 



In accordance with instructions of the Commissioner of Agriculture, 

 I attended the annual meeting of the ^o^"^ Jersey Cranberry Associa- 

 tion, which met at the Tom's Kiver, Nevv' Jersey, on the 9th of Septem- 

 ber last. It was composed of a large and highly intelligent class of 

 gentlemen, nearly all of whom are engaged directly in cranberry cul- 

 ture. The subject which principally engaged the attention of the 

 members was the cranberry-rot and its remedy. The effects of manur 

 ing, irrigating, salting, sulphuring, liming with gypsum and caustic 

 lime, sanding, and the use of phosphates were all discussed, and various 

 opinions expressed as to their respective merits. 



The secretary of the society, Mr. A. J. Rider, stated that he had tried 

 guano, i)hosi)hates, lime, plaster, salt, and sand, all of which had proved 

 beneficial, with the exception of salt. The methods of application have 

 much to do with the substances employed. Weak solutions of manu- 

 rial compounds will prove of more value, when frequently applied, than 

 those highly concentrated. Mr. D. E. Gowdy said that he had used no 

 fertilizer until the present year, when he spread 600 pounds of guano on 

 five acres of bog land, but discontinued the use because he noticed that 

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