276 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



June 



only to produce more and larger roots with young 

 thistles, which are the first year's growth from the 

 seed. But two years mowing, when in seed, will 

 make a final end of them. If in meadows, cut 

 sweet elders when they are in bearing, and all 

 that have berries on them will die. A. w. B. 

 West Berkshire, Vt., Feb. 12, 1859. 



For the New England Fanner. 

 THE MAY OR DOK BUG. 



(PHTI.I.OPHAaA QUERCISA.) 



This well-known insect is generally disliked 

 on account of its form and color, and because it 

 is accustomed to trouble us in summer evenings 

 by flying into our rooms, and buzzing around in 

 its noisy fligiit, often tumbling down upon the 

 occupants of said rooms, much to their disgust. 

 But these are nothing to the real reasons we have 

 for destroying these insects, for they are the 

 source of much harm to the farmer ; and in or- 

 der that your readers may recognize their ene- 

 mies, I send you the following description. 



These insects pass through four states before 

 arriving at maturity ; namely, the egg, the larva 

 or grub, the pupa or chrysalis, and the imago or 

 beetle. In the egg and pupa state they are with- 

 out motion, and consequently harmless, but in the 

 larva and beetle state they do consideral)le harm 



The grubs (which are often confounded with 

 the muck worms which live in manure,) are of a 

 dirty white color; the head is brown and the hind 

 part of their body is dark ; they are aliout an 

 inch long, and one-third or more of an inch thick, 

 when fully grown. They lire in the grub or lar- 

 va state three or four years, and at the end of the 

 third or fourth summer, according to Dr. Harris, 

 they penetrate the earth to the distance of about 

 two feet, where they change into pupa and re- 

 main over winter. In May these beetles burst 

 their pupa skin and come forth in their perfect 

 state ; they are then about seven-eighths of an 

 inch long, of a mahogany color, with their shells 

 punctured as if slightly pricked with a pin, their 

 antenna are divided at the end into three leaves, 

 and like the legs and under side of the body, are 

 lighter colored than the wing covers ; between 

 the hind and middle pairs of legs the body is 

 covered with yellow hair. 



As soon as they are hatched they begin to feed 

 upon small roots beneath the soil, and thus they 

 subsist for three or four years, doing an immense 

 amount of damage when very numerous ; for in- 

 stance, sometimes they will undermine meadows 

 so that the turf may be rolled up as if cut with 

 a spade. In the beetle state they feed upon the 

 foliage of trees, often doing considerable dam- 

 age, but as they live only a short time in this 

 state, they cannot commit such depredations as 

 they do in the larva state. 



From the foregoing, I think it will be seen 

 that we ought to free ourselves as much as pos- 

 sible from these troublesome insecs ; the way in 

 which we can accomplish this best, is by cherish- 

 ing the birds which feed upon them ; and I would 

 say that it would be more profitable for the farm- 

 er to protect his corn than to kill the crow, be- 

 cause they destroy an immense number of these 

 and other noxious insects ; we can also accom- 

 plish a great deal by killing all we meet with in 



plowing, when they are often turned up, both in 

 the larva and perfect state, and also wherever we 

 meet them. 



The best way to kill them is to crush them un- 

 der foot, or if there are many of them, by throw- 

 ing them into boiling water, after which they may 

 be given to the hens for food; where they abound 

 they can be collected by shaking the trees on 

 which they feed after spreading a sheet under- 

 neath to catch them ; this method should be used 

 in the daytime, while the beetles are asleep, for 

 otherwise they will fly off to another tree ; but 

 they rarely abound in sufficient numbers for this 

 method, so that the others will answer very well 

 if practiced universally. 



Carleton a. Shurtleff. 



Drooldine, Mass., 1859. 



Remarks. — We have had young cherry, moun- 

 tain ash, and even elm trees, completely stript 

 by these beetles. They are numerous early in 

 June, and quite destructive. Our mode to de- 

 stroy them has been to spread a sheet under the 

 trees in the evening, after dark, and jar them on 

 to it, and then gather them up quickly and put 

 them into hot water. 



THE SWEET POTATO CROP. 



The writer of the following article, which we 

 copy from the American Farmer, published at 

 Baltimore, states that 300 bushels per acre may 

 be obtained when the crop is well managed. In 

 our dry, hot summers, we can raise them in New 

 England without diflEiculty. 



Five bushels of small potatoes are required to 

 ensure abundant plantings for an acre. These 

 are bedded as early in the season as the weather 

 will permit, in the following manner. Raise the 

 beds — which should be not over six feet in width 

 — some inches — by throwing surface earth upon 

 it, and mix in good compost of stable manure. 

 Lay down the potatoes upon this bed, side by 

 side, and close enough to touch, and cover them 

 with three or four inches of compost, and several 

 inches of earth upon that. In due time there 

 will be abundant plantings. This method is con- 

 sidered much better than the old plan of planting 

 pieces of the potato. 



When the plants are fit to be drawn out, the 

 ground having been well prepared, is laid off in 

 furrows three and a half feet apart. Well made 

 compost of stable manure, yard scrapings, &c., is 

 thrown into the drill, and furrows thrown over it 

 from each side, making a ridge, the top of which 

 is then levelled off with the hoe. The holes in 

 which the plants are to be inserted are made fif- 

 teen inches apart; for this purpose a pointed 

 stick is used, near the end of which through an 

 augur hole a piece fifteen inches long is inserted 

 at right angles, which answers the purpose both 

 of regulating the depth of the hole to be made, 

 and of marking by the impression of the cross- 

 piece on the ground the distance of the next hole. 

 A little practice renders a hand expert in thus 

 marking the ground. The plants are dropped 

 according to the marks, and another hand fol- 

 lows to plant then . The young plants are kept 



