POTATO CULTUKE. 179 



keep spraying often, so as to coat new leaves as they come 

 out, so as to prevent the blight-seeds, which float around in 

 the air, from taking root on them. You can use Paris green 

 in this Bordeaux mixture to kill the larvae of the Colorado 

 beetle. We did not, but picked by hand as usual. 



OLD-FASHIONED BUGS. 



There were many of the old blister-beetles, as we used to 

 call them, this year. We did not have them, but many did. 

 I do not believe they can be poisoned. They may be driven 

 off by whipping and abusing them ; but from one experience 

 of my own, and some I have from others, I think that poison 

 used as for the Colorado beetle will drive them off. They 

 will not eat it, and will not die, of course, as you want them 

 to ; but if all the vines are thoroughly wet with Paris green 

 and water I think they will not destroy them. They will go 

 to some other patch, perhaps, but I do not know what better 

 we can do, practically, in a large field. They may be caught 

 in one of our bugging-pans, with water in and coal oil on 

 top, or in hot water, by knocking them off the vines into it, 

 the same as we do the larvae of Colorado beetles, with pad- 

 dles. This for a small patch. I shouldn't like to try it on a 

 large field. 



DIGGING. 



I feel as though I had not said enough in favor of the 

 Hoover digger, it was so very valuable to us this year. The 

 ground was almost as dry and hard as stone. It would have 

 cost us a good deal of money to get the crop dug by hand, 

 and made us very late about getting our wheat in. With 

 four horses on, however, the digger went right straight 

 through, and no trouble, and we didn't pay out one cent for 

 digging (except a few cents for a bolt broken), and we took 

 out the potatoes in a hurry too. The last day of August we 

 put 305 bushels into the barn, and the next day 340. Very 

 few potatoes were cut, and practically none of merchantable 

 size left in the ground. With fast work, of course, now and 



