— 43 — 



Noctiiidac — papaipema nitela — Common stalk borer ; Papaipema cataphrac- 

 ta; Heliothis obsoleta — corn ear worm; x\chatodes zeae — spindle worm. (See 

 Illustration) 



Besides the more obvious differences of size, color, etc. the caterpillars of 

 these moths may be distinguished, as Miss Mosher has done, by the arrangement 

 of the ocelli, the setae, the clear areas, and the hooks of the prolegs. 



SPRAYING TO INCREASE POTATO PRODUCTION 

 Prof. Georges Maheux, Provincial entomologist, Quebec. 



It has been thought heretofore that the only means of raising more abundant 

 potato crops were confined to the fertilisation of the soil and to the choice of 

 cultural methods. Numerous progressive farmers are however realizing that it is 

 not quite so simple, and that in order to succeed with such an important crop, 

 special attention must be i)aid to the selection of the seed and to the proper pro- 

 tection of the growing plants. 



It would be difficult to determine which of these factors has the greater 

 bearing upon the yield. Both have an unquestionable influence ; but it is also 

 known, from the results of numerous experiments, that the selection of seed and 

 the protection of plants by sprayings will insure success. In our opinion, protec- 

 tion means production ; protecting according to established rules is practically 

 carrying on a permanent greater production campaign, besides being the assurance 

 of having fine products and big returns. 



Besides, the question of the protection of crops has assumed considerabl-e 

 importance in the Province of Quebec during the last few years. For a long time 

 it had been thought that man could devise no efficient means to control parasites. 

 Moreover, if the havocs worked by the Colorado potato beetle were obvious to 

 all, it had struck the mind of practically none that fungoid diseases, which sur- 

 reptitiously creep into the fields and often ruin the crops, could leave the farmer 

 any other alternative but that of groaning over an endangered or destroyed crop. 



In order to overcome these beliefs and this ignorance, prejudicial to agri- 

 cultural welfare, we have thought it advisable to undertake an educational cam- 

 paign. Our idea was to enlighten the minds of the farmers and slowly to bring 

 them to reaHze the importance of protecting their crops in an efficient manner. 

 We particularly tried to get them to understand to what extent pests and epidemics 

 'of fungous diseases could bring to nought the most laudable efforts and diminish 

 the yield. 



But then, we had to give striking and indisputable examples of what we 

 were setting forth. At the start, a series of occasional demonstrations was given. 

 If a general campaign had been undertaken covering all threatened plants it 

 would certainly have resulted in a failure. It was thought the object could be at- 

 tained better by selecting one particular crop. 



