5V2 



GLEANINGS i'bi UEE CULTURE. 



July 



AVIRE-MTORMS. 



PKOF. COOK TEJ^I.S US ALL ABOUT THEM AND 

 THEIR NEAR RELATIONS. 



fHOF. COOK:— Inclosed find a species of worms 

 which eat almost any thing- they happen to 

 come' across. They totally destroyed my 

 first planting- of cucumbers, not leaving- a 

 single hill with plants in, and partially de- 

 stroyed my early cabbag-es and tomatoes. The to- 

 matoes are in bloom nearly two weeks, but are g-o- 

 ing- down daily. 1 took as many as fifteen from a 

 single stalk. They go inside and up to the top of 

 the stalks, and eat them clean up. Please give 

 their name and habits through Gleanings; also a 

 remedy for them. J. M. Kehres. 



Rebucks, Pa., June 9, 1888. 



Prof. Cook says :— 



These insects are the (common wire-worms. 

 They are by far the most to be dreaded insect of 

 which I know, for they are the hardest to combat. 

 The beetle that lays the eggs is one of the snapping 

 spring, or elater beetles, so called because of a 

 curious spring-pole beneath their bodies between 

 their front legs, which enables them, when placed 

 on their backs, to spring up and alight on their 

 feet. These beetles are somewhat boat-shaped, and 

 brown in color. These beetles lay their eggs about 

 the stems of grass and other herbaceous plants. The 

 larviv, or grubs that hatch from these eggs, are also 

 brown, or yellowish brown, and are well named, 

 as, when we look down upon them, they look not 

 unlike a wire. These feed as.larvtefor three full 

 years. As Mr. K. suggests, they are indiscriminate 

 feeders. Potatoes, wheat, grass, cabbages, and 

 even onions fall a prey to their voracity. They 

 will not eat buckwheat; languish on peas, and are 

 usually found to refuse beans. They occasionally 

 eat the latter. If I knew they would not take af- 

 front, I would suggest that possibly in such cases 

 they did not know this vegetable. 



As these wire-worms often come in mj-riads, it is 

 hard to cope with them, especially in field culture. 

 We may hope to starve them out by resorting to 

 the summer fallow. It were better, perhaps, to 

 grow buckwheat or peas, and not let the land lie 

 idle. It is worthy of remark, that these insects 

 often do small damage when grass is plowed, the 

 first year after the sward is Inoken up, while the 

 second or third year they do terrible damage. It is 

 probable that, in such cases, they feed on the 

 grassroots the first year, and the crops the two 

 following seasons. 



In garden culture, such as Mr. K. is engaged in, 

 there is another remedy long practiced in England, 

 and which D. M. Ferry & Co., of Detroit, Mich., have 

 . practiced with some satisfaction as follows; They 

 bury potatoes in the garden, running a stick 

 through each tuber to mark its location. The 

 grubs, or wire-worms, gather on the potatoes, 

 which are frequently dug up, and the grubs de- 

 stroyc'l. Tedious as this would seem, I doubt not 

 that it would have paid Mr. K. richly. The myria- 

 pods (thousand-legged worms* are also sometimes, 

 though incorrectly, called wire-worms. 

 Agricultural College. Mich. A. J. Cook. 



Why, friend Cook, yoii astonish me Avhen 

 yon say that wire - worms are the larva? 

 from the snapping-biifrs we boys nsed to 

 have so much fun with. You "do not say 

 any thing about the great big eyes these 



snapping-bugs have, that make them look 

 like an owl with green goggles. Are these 

 great spots eyes, or are they simply one of 

 dame Nature's oddities? And then, again, 

 the idea that these wire-worms live three 

 or four years in the larval state ! Why, I 

 did not know before that there was any in- 

 sect in the world that existed so long in 

 that state. I thought that I knew a little 

 about entomology, but it seems to me I do 

 not know very much, after all. If the wire- 

 worms are fond of potatoes, why can't we 

 soak the potato in some arsenical poison, so 

 as to have them die without any further 

 bother V 



POISON IVY. 



DOES IT YIELD HONEVi' 



fRIEND ROOT:— I inclose with this some 

 leaves, flowers, and berries of what is widely 

 known as poison ivy. My object in so doing 

 is to make sure that there may be no mistake 

 or misunderstanding with regard to the spe- 

 cies of plant we are discussing, and with the desire 

 that you or our good friend A. J. Cook will give us 

 some facts concerning it. In one of my morning 

 strolls I noticed quite a number of bees at work 

 upon its blossoms, apparently gathering honey 

 from it. 1 am sure they were not visiting it for 

 pollen. Now, if it is honey-producing, is the honey 

 poisonous? and if poisonous, would a very small 

 quantity mixed with other honey (say white clover) 

 render the whole contents of the hive unfit for use? 

 Some facts, also, concerning the susceptibility to 

 poisoning of persons coming in contact with it, and 

 remedies for the same, will be appreciated. 



J. Frank Parker. 

 Philadelphia, Pa., June 10, 1888. 



We sent the above to Prof. Cook, who re- 

 plies : 



The plant above is surely the ])oison ivy, or Rhus 

 toxicodendron. It looks much like our most beauti- 

 ful American climber, the arapelopsis, or Virginia 

 cree7)er (AmpelopMs quiiiqucfolid). It can be readily 

 distinguished, however, at a glance. Here the leaf- 

 lets are in threes, or it is " trifoliate," while in am- 

 pelopsis there are five leaflets, as the name implies. 

 This climbs by rootlets, while the Virginia creeper 

 climbs both by rootlets and tendrils. As Mr. Par- 

 ker says, bees do gather honey from this plant. 

 I have often seeti them on it. Because the plant is 

 poisonous, is no sure sign that the nectar it secretes 

 will be so. Indeed, the experience of all the ages 

 plainly avers, it seems to me, that it is not. I should 

 have no fear from my bees visiting this plant. In- 

 deed, the repoi-ts that any nectar is poisonous need 

 investigating. Such poisonous honey is so rare 

 that one may well doubt its existence at all. There 

 are other ways to explain the facts that have led 

 men to believe that honey from some plants is poi- 

 sonous. 



We have poison ivy and poison sumach, rhus ven- 

 enata, very common about here. Many of our stu- 

 dents have been seriously poisoned by simply com- 

 ing in contact with it. It produces erysipelas, 

 which is often very severe and persistent. The 

 best remedy is to keep away from it. Neither ivy 

 nor sumach affects me. A. J. COOK. 



Agricultural College, Mich. 



