Pests and Diseases of Plants 249 



You have to do with the so-called corn worm which is very abun- 

 dant in this State and one of the greatest pests to corn growing. It 

 is the same insect which is known as the boll worm of the cotton in 

 the Southern States. No satisfactory method of controlling this has 

 been found, although a great deal of experimentation has been done. 

 Nearly everything that could be thought of has been tried without 

 very satisfactory results. A late planted corn has sometimes been 

 free, for the insect is not in the laying stage then. If it were not 

 for this insect the canning of corn would be an important industry 

 in this State. 



Melon Lice. 



/ have in about four acres of ivatermclons, and there seem to he 

 lice and a small gnat or Ay, and also some small green bugs and zvhitc 

 worms on the under part of the leaves, which seem to he stopping the 

 grozvth of the z'incs, viaking them wilt and die. They seem to be more 

 in patches, although a few on all the z'Ines. Can you please tell me what 

 to do for them? 



Melon lice are very hard to catch up with after you have let them 

 get a start. Spraying with oil emulsions, tobacco extracts, soap solu- 

 tions, etc., will all kill the lice if you get it onto them with a good 

 spray pump and suitable nozzles for reaching the under sides of 

 the leaves. The gnats you speak of are the winged forms of the 

 lice; the white worms may be eating the lice; the "small green bugs' 

 may be diabroticas. If you had started in lively as soon as you saw 

 the first lice you could have destroyed them in the places where they 

 started. Now your chance lies largely in the natural multiplication 

 of ladybirds and the occurrence of hot winds which will burn up the 

 lice. It is too late probably, to undertake spraying the whole field. 



Wire Worms. 



Is there any zvay to destroy or overcome the destructive work of 

 the wireworm, zvhich I find in some spots takes the lion's share of crops, 

 such as beans, potatoes, onions, etc.? 



We do not know any easy way with wire worms. Nitrate of soda 

 is believed to kill or repel them, but you have to be careful with it, 

 for too much will either over-stimulate or kill the kill; about 

 200 pounds per acre, well distributed, is the usual prescription for the 

 good of the plants. Wire worms can probably be killed with carbon 

 bisulphide, using a tablespoonful poured into holes about a foot deep, 

 three or four feet apart. The vapor would permeate the soil and 

 kill all ground insects, but the acre-cost of such treatment must be 

 measured in its relation to the value of the crop. The most promising 

 policy with wire worms is rotation of crops, starving them out with 

 a grain or grass crop and not growing such crops as you mention 

 continually on the same land. 



Bean Weevil. 



Flow can I keep certain insects from getting into my dry beans? 1 

 have finished picking the crop. Every year a little, short, stubby beetle 

 gets in th&m before spring and makes them unfit for use. 



