SQUASH AND MELON CULTURE. 21 



Discussion. 



O. B. Hadwen said that he had been much interested in the de- 

 scription of new varieties. He agreed with the essayist in regard to 

 the depredations of insects, but he would pinch off the heads of the 

 black bugs instead of collecting the bugs in a pail. 



Mr. Pierce said that the bugs would not crawl out of the pail. 

 It was thought by some that the odor caused by crushing them in 

 the field would attract more bugs ; for this reason he preferred to 

 carry them off the field and scald or burn them. He did not 

 doubt the existence of the borer, though he had never been able to 

 find one himself. He had never tested the Butman squash before 

 the last 3'ear, and, although his Hnbbards were rotting some, he had 

 found no specked Butmans. 



Mr. Hadwen said that the black bug lays its eggs in clusters on 

 the under side of the leaf, where they hatch in a few weeks. Before 

 being hatched they may easity be destroyed by pinching them, thus 

 diminishing the number of insects the following season and prevent- 

 ing injury to the squashes in the autiunn. This bug often punctures 

 the vines near the surface of the ground, thereby destroying them. 

 The borer has never given much trouble in Worcester county. 



E. W. Buswell said his experience had been that the black bug- 

 injured the foliage. 



John B. Moore thought that there would be but little difficulty in 

 raising squashes, if we could get rid of the insects. Among other 

 insects which infest them is the blue louse, which is found on the 

 roots sucking out the juices. He had seen a short, white grub in 

 the vine. 



George Hill said that different locations would require different 

 treatment. He was doubtful whether the black bug did as much 

 injury as it is reported to do. He had seen a whole field cut down 

 by the borer. Some years, with the utmost pains, j'ou cannot get a 

 good crop of squashes. He manures broadcast, but more heavily in 

 the places where the hills are to be. The roots will run twice the 

 length of the vines ; the}' are gross feeders, and will be sure to find 

 the manure. 



He found it difficult to keep the varieties pure. He could select 

 seed of the Mountain Sprout watermelon so as to bring it to the 

 Black Spanish, and vice versa. He had selected the seed of a green 

 flesh melon, originally from New York, so as to bring it a fortnight 

 earlier, but while doing this the quality deteriorated. The musk- 



