364 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



It is said that Paris green is no help in warding off these 

 beetles. Occasionally a person states that he has defeated them 

 by the use of this poison. Is it not probable that the arsenites 

 will kill them, but that they come in such armies that where 

 one falls two are ready to take its place ? Were I confronted 

 by this host of destroyers, I should try Paris green, or London- 

 purple, the kerosene and sour milk, and the pyrethrum in hopes 

 of finding an easier way to banish them, than that of jarring 

 them onto sheets and killing them. 



Space will only permit a brief mention of several insects 

 which often do serious damage. 



The Army Worm. Fortunately these insects appear in 

 destroying numbers so rarely that, though sometimes they com- 

 mit terrible havoc, they are not a great source of annoyance with 

 our farmers. Paris green will poison them; but they invade 

 the oat fields in such numbers that this is not a practical cure. 

 The best way to keep them away is to dig a ditch on the side 

 of the field which they approach with a steep side toward the 

 field. Every few feet at the bottom of the ditch something like 

 post holes are dug. These catch the worms, which by use of a 

 sort of pounding stick we may destroy en masse. The National 

 Agricultural Reports treat elaborately of this insect. 



The Cotton Worm. This terrible pest of the South is 

 best destroyed by use of London purple, as already described. 

 Hose carts made purposely to apply the poison mixed with 

 water are extensively used. This insect is also fully considered 

 in the reports of the Department of Agriculture. 



The Cotton Boll Worm of the South, or Corn Worm 

 of the W^est. These insects, which fed extensively on the 

 ears of green corn as far north as Michigan in 1881, are very 

 destructive South and West. These insects in the mature or 

 moth stage, like the cut worm moths, are attracted by sour 

 milk, by sirup, and by bright lights, which suggests ways to 

 destroy them. 



Lice and Mites. These insects, which attack our domes- 

 tic animals, often work quite serious mischief. They cause the 

 poultry to languish, and our larger animals to become poor and 



