82 



QUERIES AND ANSWERS. 



tiarrae. 



Squash Borer 



Melon Lice. 



Kerosene 

 Emulsion. 



Kerosene 

 Emulsion. 



Use of 

 Paris Green. 



Destruction 

 of 



Insects. 



Plant Foods. 



under-spray nozzle is sometimes effsctive, as they are consumers of leaf 

 tissue, but they are insects hard to fight. 



490. Q. What are larva) ? 



A. Worms or grubs hatched from the eggs of insects. The larvae form 

 is that in which insects do most damage to vegetation. After a time the 

 larvfe assume the quiescent state, or pupa form, in which they exist during 

 Winter, to appear in Spring in a fourtli form, the perfect or imago form. 



491. Q. Is there a remedy against the squash vine borer? 



A. None yet known. An effective plan is to kill the moths, which can 

 be done after sunset, when they roost in full view upon the leaves. 



492. Q. My melons are covered with lice. What shall I do ? 



A, Spray with one pound whale-oil soap dissolved in six gallons of 

 water, or with fish-oil soap dissolved in eight gallons of water ; or, still 

 better, use kerosene emulsion. Bordeaux mixture or Paris green is of no 

 value in this case, as these insects are of the sap-sucking order. 



493. Q. How is kerosene emulsion made ? 



A. Take a half pound of common softsoap and one gallon of water, 

 and, by agitation, make a complete sud. Mix this sud by violent churn- 

 ing with two gallons of kerosene. It is a contact insecticide of great 

 penetrative power and must be diluted by ten or twelve parts of water. 



494. Q, Against what insects can I use kerosene emulsion ? 



A. It is eff"ective against all garden lice, rose slugs, leaf rollers, root 

 maggots, hairy caterpillars and scale insects. 



495. Q. Can anything be done to prevent Paris green from burning 

 foliage ? 



A. One pound of Paris green to one hundred gallons of water is a 

 rather strong solution, but to one hundred and fifty gallons of water one 

 pound of Paris green is safe. Safety can be assured by adding four gal- 

 lons of limewater. 



496. Q. Can all garden insect pests be destroyed alike ? 



A. No ; because there are two distinct orders of insects destructive to 

 garden vegetables — the leaf eaters and the sap suckers. The first take 

 leaf matter into their stomachs and can generally be poisoned by a variety 

 of substances, as Paris green, London purple, etc. The second order can 

 only be destroyed by bodily contact with some application which, if suc- 

 cessfully applied, stops the breathing apparatus of the insects. This ma- 

 terial may be preparations of oil, tobacco dust, pyrethrum, lime. 



497. Q. Can vegetables and farm crops be divided into classes, each re- 

 quiring distinct food? 



A. Partially so, and divided into three classes : 



1. Those requiring an excess of potash, as peas, beans, potatoes, clover» 

 flax. 



2. Those requiring much nitrogen, as beets, cabbage, oats, wheat, bar- 

 ley and hemp. 



3. Those requiring laige amounts of phosphoric acid, as radish, turnip 

 and corn. 



