120 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



ages to cottoQ in Union, Moreliouse, Tangipalioa, East Feliciana, Con- 

 cordia, Claiborne, and Wasliingtou Counties. Very great damage was 

 also done in Dc Witt and Austin Counties, Texas. In the last-named 

 county whole lields were swept. 



The Colorado potato-beetle {Doryphora decem-Uneata) made its appear- 

 ance in Pennsylvania in two counties, in one of which the damage was 

 reported as quite light. South of Mason and Dixon's line this insect 

 is reported in one county in each of the States of Virginia, North 

 Carolina, Alabama, and Tennessee, but in all these the injuries are re- 

 ported small. The greatest annoyance is in the States north of the 

 Ohio Eiver. In Ohio several counties report greater or less injuries, 

 not so severe, however, as those reported from Michigan. In Indiana 

 this beetle was more or less destructive, while in several counties of 

 Illinois it was despairingly i)ronounced a permanent scourge. In one 

 county only (Outagamie, Wisconsin) Avere they pronounced worse than 

 in 1871. In Minnesota and Iowa they were reported as disappearing in 

 most of the counties, while in Kansas they were but incidentally men- 

 tioned. In Clarke County, Virginia, the Cantharis or common potato- 

 beetle injured the crops to some extent. The counteracting agency of 

 other insects destroying the Colorado beetle was mentioned with much 

 satisfaction in different parts of the country. A correspondent in Erie 

 County, Ohio, stated that the Colorado potato-beetle was quite numerous, 

 this being their worst season, but by concert of action through the county 

 it was kept in check ; that when the weather was hot, the best way to 

 destroy them was to keep the land well cultivated, and when the light, 

 well-pulverized soil was hot, in the middle of the day, to knock them 

 off the vines, and the heat of the ground soon kills them. When the 

 weather wiU not admit of this, a tablespoonful of Paris-green in a pail- 

 ful of water sprinkled on the vines will be effectual. 



In several comities north of the Ohio Eiver this insect was quite 

 active. In some cases its depredations were serious, while in others 

 they were successfully resisted by remedies. Infusions of Paris-green, 

 dog- fennel, and May-weed were reported as quite effective in different 

 places. The general opinion appears to be that these insects were not 

 nearly so numerous or destructive as in former years. Similar reports 

 come from Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri. In Pulaski County, Mis- 

 souri, the disai)pearance of the beetle is attributed to the destruction of 

 its eggs by the lady-bug, (Coccinella,) which appeared in great numbers. 

 In Nebraska the Colorado beetle was more annoying, its ravages being 

 quite severe in several counties. In Boone County the ^' old black potato- 

 bug, enlarged and improved," was quite a nuisance. This was, probably, 

 the Macrohasis albida, specimens of which have been received by the De- 

 partment, with the statement that they devour, not only potatoes, but 

 several other vegetables. From the same locality come reports of a 

 large round beetle, with faint stripes along its dusky back, which has 

 been very destructive. The terms of description suit several destructive 

 insects, and hence are insufficient to identify the one in question. In 

 Eepublic County, Kansas, the "old-fashioned" potato-bug {Cantharis 

 cinerea) greatly injured potatoes and beets. The Colorado beetle was 

 also annoying in Helena County, Montana. In Iron County, Utah, 

 potatoes, beets, and corn were destroyed, to a considerable extent, by a 

 dark green worm, an inch and a half in length, not yet identified. Our 

 correspondent says that the ground was literally covered with these 

 worms. It was reported in Madison County, Virginia ; Logan, Tuscarawas, 

 Eoss, Pickaway, Morgan, Meigs, Coshocton, Butler, and Ashland Coun- 

 ties, Ohio J Washtenaw, Montcalm, Lenawee, Clinton, and Antrim 



