46 THE FARM. 



attend to anything else. It is the fiict that beetles are very numerous in 

 spring, together with the ditliculty in destroying them by poison, which 

 frightens so many from the business. The inexperienced grower is apt, as 

 soon as he finds his vines infested, to prepare a dose of poison, making it of 

 very great strength, so as to make certain of killing tlie enemy. In nine 

 cases out of ten the tender vines are injured, and the beetles are seldom 

 apprecial)lj' diminished in numbers. With close hand picking at first, and a 

 reserving of the poison until the larvre make their appearance, the result is 

 very different and much more satisfactorj'. 



The main crop of potatoes should be planted late — that is, if large quan- 

 tities are to be grown. Planting a few in the garden or somewhere else, as 

 a bait to draw the first beetles, greatly lessens the subsequent v.-ork. Even 

 in the same field the potato beetle is more destructive on some vaiieties 

 than on others. Those who have grown the Magnum Bonum say it is 

 especially liable to attack. Grown alongside other varieties, the bugs sin- 

 gled oiit this, while the others largely escaped. It has been suggested that 

 one or two rows of tliis kind bo planted around the potato field as a protec- 

 tion to the main crop. On the other hand, it is said the Early Gem is 

 especially distasteful to the bugs. There is probably some difference in the 

 comparative liability of different varieties to this insect attack. We have 

 generally foiind, however, that the larger gi-owing varieties and the strongest 

 hills of the same variety are least injured. It is possible to plant on highly- 

 manured ground, with seed so vigorous that its rapid growth Avill largely 

 reduce the cost of fighting the bugs. The female beetle instinctively chooses 

 a vine that is a feeble grower on which to deposit her eggs. Where the vine 

 is full of sap, either the eggs will not be laid or many of them will fail to 

 hatch. We hope very much, from the results of recent experiments, in dis- 

 covering the triie way to cut potato seed. If the proper cutting of potato 

 seed will insure greater vigor or growth, mauy of the difficulties in fighting 

 the potato beetle will be overcome. 



It should not be forgotten that the potato grower has insect friends as 

 well as enemies. All kinds of lady-bugs eat the eggs of the potato beetle. 

 It is the abundance of these lady-bugs about old apple orchards that often 

 makes potato growing successful near an orchard when the field crop will be 

 entirely destroyed. Thei-e are several varieties of insects that prej' on the 

 Ijotato larvaj. Farmers who use no poison sometimes find dead potato bug 

 larvsB on their vines. These dead specimens should always be left undis- 

 turbed, as in all probability they are filled with eggs of the parasite that has 

 destroyed them, only needing opportunity to hatch and continue the good 

 work. On general principles, if any insect is found in the potato field whose 

 habits are not known, it is best to leave it undisturbed, suice it is quite 

 l)robably a friend engaged in destroying the farmer's enemies. Entomolo- 

 gists have discovered thirty or more insect enemies of the potato bug in its 

 various stagi s of growth, and tliero are probably others not yet known. But 

 for these friendly insects difficulties in growing potatoes would be much 

 greater than those which now prevail. 



Pliospliato for Pot«.t«Ps. — Wm. T. Woerner, of New Brunswick, N. J., 

 writes: " In planting potatoes I liave used no other manure than phosphate 

 of some i-eliablc brand, for the last ton vcara, and in that time I have not had 

 a grub-eaten i)otato where I put the phosphate. All my potatoes grow as 

 smooth as a bottle, and of a large, salable size. I never use stable manure 

 of any kind on potatoes now. \ would not put it on if it was given to nio, 





