132 



FARM SPIES 



" Did you dig up your plants as I did this one ? " the 

 entomologist asked. 



"Why, no/' answered the man, "I did not take 

 time to dig them up ; I just pulled them up, ex- 

 amined them, and had done with it." 



The entomologist replied. "That is very likely 

 the reason that you did not discover 

 these bugs when you examined the 

 plants. These insects are cotton 

 root-aphids, or what some people 

 call root-lice. They occur mainly 

 on the small feeding roots as you 

 will notice when you look at this 

 plant which I have dug up. You 

 see they have their beaks fastened 

 in the tissues, and when you pull 

 up a cotton plant the little feeding 

 roots are torn off, leaving the aphids 

 in the ground. When a few occur on 

 the main stem they will be pulled 

 off when the plant is drawn through 

 the soil to the surface. If, therefore, you pull a 

 plant instead of digging it up, you may not see the 

 aphids, then you come to the conclusion that the 

 roots are clean. In the way I lifted the plant from 

 the soil, the roots are retained by the plant and 

 will bring the aphids to view if there are any." 

 At this time Jake Wheeler relieved his mouth of 



FIG. 54. "These 

 insects are cot- 

 ton root- 

 aphids." 



