ROOT CROPS. 



r.'i 



Rutherglen Bug Nysiw vinitor). 



This little plant-bug is a tiny brown insect with silvery-grey wings, and 

 measures about one-sixth of an inch in length. They suck up the sap with 

 their beaks, and, where numerous, soon cause the plants to shrivel. They 

 appear in summer from eggs that have been deposited on the grass and 

 weeds bj the autumn brood of the previous season, and are particularly fond 

 of potato and tomato plants, though they infest many other plants and 

 trees. They fly very well, and in the warmer part of the day are very 

 active, and for this reason are difficult to destroy by a contact spray used when 

 they are active; and, again, those that do not rise on the wing frequently 



Rutherglen Bug (Nysius vinitor). 



are sheltering on the oinder surfaces of the foliage, and thus escape the 

 spray. The best method to rid the plants is to use a shallow dish or iron 

 tray containing a mixture of water and kerosene, and draw this along 

 between the plants, someone following behind, and, with an old broom or 

 piece of brush, beating the foliage on either side as the tray of oil passes. 

 If this is done in the early morning or in the dusk, thousands of the bugs 

 are brushed in or fall into the oil and are destroyed. A sheet or strip of 

 canvas can be drawn along, and the inactive bugs similarly collected, and 

 then the sheet and bugs dipped into oil. It is generally necessary to 

 repeat this operation several mornings running, or while the bugs still 

 appear. 



