352 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



ens can also be taught to acquire a taste for them, although they will not always eat them at 

 first, and in many sections have proved very valuable to the farmer in this way. Mr. Ware, 

 of Massachusetts, says: 



&quot; One way of protecting the potato- vines from potato-bugs is to train a flock of Light 

 Brahma fowls to eat them. The fowls can easily be trained to work down the rows by 

 ssattering a little corn in them. Twenty fowls will usually protect an acre of potatoes.&quot; 



An Iowa farmer gives his method of raising potatoes, as follows: 



;&amp;lt; Plant them in good, rich soil, close to the house or barnyard where the chickens run, 

 the more chickens the better; hoe them as soon as they are out of the ground, then plow 

 them at least once a week till they are in bloom. The chickens will keep the bugs off if the 

 latter are not too numerous. If there are more bugs than the chickens can consume, knock 

 them off the vines just before the plow and plow them under every day till they disappear. 

 In this way I have raised plenty, while my neighbor s crops were all destroyed.&quot; 



Among the reptiles, the toad is a valuable assistant, while of quadrupeds the skunk is 

 known to feed upon these bugs. Some species of spiders make prey of them, but still larger 

 numbers are destroyed by insects of a similar class to its own. These are very numerous, 

 and our limits will admit of a mention of only a few of the more important specified by Prof. 

 Riley, among which are the fiery ground beetle ( Calossoma calidum) and those of its order, 

 the convergent ladybird (Hippodamia convergent), the fifteen-spotted ladybird (Mysia fifteen 

 punctata) a larger variety than the former the spined soldier bug (Arma spinosa), the many- 

 banded robber (Harpedor cinctus), and the ring-banded soldier bug (Perillus circumcindus). 

 Besides these a trichina-fly, which resembles the common house fly, destroys vast numbers by 

 laying its eggs on the larvae, which, when hatched, enter the body and feeding upon it, thus 

 destroy it. 



When the potato beetles are collected in large quantities, precaution should be used in 

 burning or scalding them, as the oil of their bodies is very poisonous, and the inhaling of 

 steam or vapor from them has been known not only to severely poison, but to cause death. 

 Early planted fields are not as liable to be injured by the beetle as those planted later. 



Scabby Potatoes. It is supposed that the scab on potatoes is produced by mites or 

 minute animals which burrow in the skin of the young tubers, causing blisters and subse 

 quently leaving holes or pits which give them that peculiar rough appearance when fully 

 matured. The use of lime or ashes in the hill is thought by some to be a preventive, but 

 these will prove ineffectual in some soils. Land on which potatoes have not been raised for 

 several years is less liable to this evil, than where a less period has intervened, while new soils 

 will generally prove an entire exemption from it. The exclusive use of commercial fertilizers 

 is also said to be an infallible remedy. 



How to Tell a Good Potato. But few persons are able to judge of the quality of 

 potatoes without cooking them, as it is often the case that the external appearance may be 

 deceptive and cannot be wholly relied upon; hence, a few reliable hints for testing may 

 prove valuable to. such as are not already familiar with them. 



Take a sound potato, and, paying no attention to its outward appearance, divide it into 

 two pieces with your knife and examine the exposed surfaces. If there is so much water or 

 &quot;juice &quot; that seemingly a slight pressure would cause it to fall off in drops, you may be sure 

 it will be &quot;soggy &quot; after it is boiled. 



The following are the requisite qualities for a good potato which must appear when one 

 is cut in two: For color, a yellowish white is desirable; if it is a deep yellow the potato will 

 not cook well; there must be a considerable amount of moisture, but not too much; rub the 

 two pieces together and a white froth will appear around the edges and upon the two 

 surfaces; this signifies the presence of starch, and the more starch, and consequently froth, 



