102 FARM SPIES 



hoppers to start with in the spring. I do not leave 

 my stubble and rubbish on the fields in the winter, 

 but I plow them and plant cover-crops on them. I 

 pull the stumps because they are not only wasting 

 land and very inconvenient, but they are among the 

 worst things to offer winter shelter for various pests. 

 Sometimes I cannot do all the plowing I want to 

 do, and then I disk or drill the cover crops between 

 the rows. I do not let my oat and wheat stubble 

 stand after harvest, but disk them and plant the 

 land in peas. This gives me hay, adds nitrogen to 

 the soil, and protects my field from washing and 

 drying. When I see that the grasshoppers are very 

 abundant, I keep myself in readiness, and by the 

 time they advance to the crop I have that crop 

 sprayed. It often is necessary only to spray a strip 

 on that side where the attack will begin. The chief 

 damage is done by the full-grown insects, and we must 

 act while they are still young. I find by experience 

 that whatever you do it is best to do it when they 

 are still young." 



u You said spraying; what do you spray?" one 

 asked. 



"I use arsenate of lead mainly; some use Paris 

 green ; and in some sections they use arsenite of 

 soda made up with water and syrup. The arsenite 

 of soda is cheaper and acts very quickly, but in our 

 moist, warm climate of the South I am afraid to 



