118 
the time of cucumber-planting there should be a second planting- of 
squash seed on the margins of the field. At the first appearance of 
the beetles about half the squash-vines should be dusted with some 
easily obtainable arsenite, and soon after the cucumber plants ap- 
pear above ground they should be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture, 
using- the 4-4-50 formula (for preparation see page 151). At about 
the same time the cucumber plants are sprayed with Bordeaux the 
squash-vines should again be dusted with an arsenite. Two weeks 
after the cucumber plants have appeared all but a few of the squash 
plants may be removed. These should be left until the cucumber- 
vines have set fruit, as the beetles will feed on the squash fiowers 
in preference to those of the cucumber. Sirrine recommends spray- 
ing the cucumbers with Bordeaux mixture three times : first, as 
soon as the seed leaves are exposed ; second, when the third true 
leaf appears; and last, just before the plants commence to vine. 
He eays : "The cost of three applications of the Bordeaux mixture 
will not exceed $2.00 per acre ; whereas, the cost of wire covers 
would be $40.00 per acre, and they probablv will not last over 
three years." 
Repellents are effective against this beetle, and Bordeaux mix- 
ture is one of the best, altho it is best to use it in connection with 
a trap crop, as above described. Other much-used repellents are 
air-slaked lime, land-plaster, sifted ashes, road dust, and tobacco 
dust, but these are not always effective when the beetles are 
abundant. 
Clean culture will prevent much of the damage usually done by 
many of the common garden pests, and it is especially effective 
against the cucumber-beetle. It has been recommended in this con- 
nection, that as soon as the crop is harvested the vines be covered 
with straw and burned. This is a far better practice than that of 
gathering them up before destroying them, as the latter procedure 
leaves many of the beetles undisturbed in the field. 
The Squash-bug 
Anasa tristis DeGeer 
The squash-bug, altho confining its attacks largeh^ to the squash 
and other plants of the gourd family, is often very injurious to 
the cucumber in early spring, when emerging from its winter 
quarters. It finds its way into the cold frames in which the plants 
arc being started, when no other food plant is available. 
\ This large, ill-smelling, dark brown bug (Fig. 12, a) hibernates 
as an adult in rubbish, sheds, and wood-piles, under loose bark on 
stumps, or in any other available place of protection. In northern 
Illinois the bugs make their appearance about the middle or the 
last of June, or even later; but I have found most of their injury 
