1878.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



83 



position is prepared as follows : M\\ in a pail 

 two qnai-ts of water, two lar^e tablespoonfuls 

 of salt, and sullicicnt fresh eowMtni;,' to make 

 a tliiek jjroiit. J!y lliis nietluid tlie hush has 

 regularly luirne tine, large frnit, entirely free 

 from mildew. Why it aets in this manner lie 

 leaves to seieiililic men to diseover. 



[We copy the above from the Wentern Far- 

 mer for ,)nne, 1S7S, for what it may he worth, 

 and as something so simple in its preparation 

 and apiilieation, that little time and labor 

 will lie lost in making a trial of it, anil if no 

 good, certainly no injury can follow. Al- 

 though nothing is .said in Mr. Ilolman's 

 remedy, or in his experience with it in apply- 

 ing it to his plum trees, what he a]iplied it 

 for, yet the inferentialily is, that it was to 

 kill or expel the rnri-idio, which is about the 

 greatest enemy to the phnu crop that we 

 know of. jVs a sort of corroboration, we re- 

 call the experience of Zuriel Swope, e.sq., of 

 this city, who about four or five years ago, 

 applied '"gas lime " (which is al.so a refuse of 

 the gas house) for the destruction or expul- 

 sion of noxious insects from his garden, which 

 was seriously infested by cut- worms, cater- 

 jiillars, aphids, cucumber beetles, cabbage 

 moths, &c., &c. Mr. S. alleged that he was 

 entirely successful. He applied about six 

 bushcl.s in an enclosure of about ;U by 200 

 feet, mixing it with soil, especially around the 

 hills of the plants. All we have to say to 

 our patrons is, "try it," a prospective good 

 crop is worthy snch a trial. — Ed.] 



TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND BUGS. 



The Sau Francisco LuUclin says: "Prof. 

 Davidson, President of the Academy of Sci- 

 ences, recently called the attention of a number 

 of citizens to the large collection of specimens 

 in entomology made by Henry Edwards dur- 

 ing a period of twenty-live years. This col- 

 lection is said to be one of the largest ever 

 made in the United States, and by fiir the 

 most complete ever made on the Pacific coast. 

 About 00,000 species have been collected, rep- 

 resenting more than 2110,000 specimens. These 

 reiiresent not only all the orders on this coast, 

 but nearly or quite all in the United States, with 

 a large representation of orders from all parts 

 of the world. The collection is really one of 

 the most complete known in this country or 

 any other. The collection is valued at $12,- 

 (JOO, or rather that is about the sum exjiended 

 in freights, cabinets, and the purchase of rare 

 sjiecimens. The labor of 25 years is not esti- 

 mated." 



The above, from tlie columns of a cotempo- 

 rary, and sent to us by a correspondent, may 

 serve as an illustration of the magni- 

 tude of the great Class Insecta, and 

 also what it costs to make a collection iii 

 that department of natural Instory. No man 

 but an active working entomologist knows 

 what time, labor, patience, perseverance, 

 physical energy and pecuniary outlay is re- 

 cpiired to collect, impale, jircserve and classify 

 a cabinet of insects, whether large or small ; 

 and very few have the least appreciation of 

 their value in any sense. Although it is im- 

 l)ortant that every- district of our country 

 should have a knowledge of its local (Mito- 

 mology, yet a massive general collection is not 

 e.ssential ; except, perliaps, for the museum 

 of a scientific a.ssociation, of which there 

 should at least be one in every city or town of 

 five thousand inhabitants and upwards. The 

 00,0(10 species that Mr. Edwards collected on 

 the Pacific slope, probably, includes insects 

 belonging to all the different orders of this 

 c?a,s's of animals. Twenty-five years ago it was 

 said that there were 40,000 species of Coleop- 

 terous insects (Beetles) alone in the museum 

 of Berlin, in Europe. What the number may 

 be to-day we have no idea of. It may be no 

 larger, or even less now than it was then, as 

 insects generally are very fragile and per- 

 ishable. 



When the number in a collection once 

 reaches 200,000, if the very greatest care is 

 not taken of them, we may infer that they 

 will be destroyed by cabinet pests and other- 

 wise, about as fast as the additional accumu- 



lations are made. We really do not know 

 what more oiifcofts "elephant " we could be- 

 queath a man than such a gigantic collection 

 of in.sects, especially if he were a poor and 

 physically feeble man. If he were mentally 

 feeble, it might set liini crazy, or kill him 

 outright. If he were not compelled to labor 

 for a living at some secular occupation, be 

 might keep it in order by making a voluntary 

 slave of him.self. It is fortius reason that the 

 larger number of entomologists — and perhaps 

 the most thorough number — become special- 

 ists, particularly in Europe, as by this means 

 alone can the subject be mastered in a single 

 generation, and then only within certain 

 limits. If in any community ten men of lei- 

 sure and pecuniary means could be found, 

 and with a taste for natural history, and they 

 were to divide the subject into ten sections, 

 and each to iiursne a section as a specialty, 

 more progress could be made in a given time 

 than could be eft'eete<l by three times that 

 number of general naturalists. Under no 

 circumstances need any entomologist expect 

 to be compensated for his labors. Nobody 

 could nuike a pro|)er compensating award 

 except a jury of entomologists, and the com- 

 pensating party would surely "ol)jcctto the 

 jury." In conclusion, we do not think there 

 is a collection of insects on this side of the 

 IJocky Mountains that is equal to Mr. Ed- 

 wards', unless the above statement is ex- 

 aggerated. 



QUERIES AND ANSWER. 



Mr. E. K. II., fVcsiCf??, Lancuatcr rountij, 

 Pa. — The galls upon the hickory leaves you 

 sent us were produced by a species of Phyl- 

 loxera, (P. ceiryee) and are generically allied 

 to the famoits Phylloxera vasiatri.r, which has 

 been so destructive to the grape vines of 

 France and other localities on the continent 

 of Europe. The insides of the galls before us 

 are completely packed with the insects, and 

 if all the leaves on the tree were similarly 

 infested, injurious effects would certainly fol- 

 low. While the insects are protected by the 

 gall, of course no external remedy could be 

 applied short of cutting them down and burn- 

 ing them. We are pretty sure we have seen 

 this insect fully fifty years ago, and during all 

 that time they were, no doubt, jn-esent every 

 summer season, but we have never heard of 

 any destruction of hickory trees. We have 

 twelve or more species of them, but they are 

 not very formidable. 



Mr. D. II., L'tnca.'iter city, Pa.— The small, 

 black insects which have so numerously and 

 so filthily infested the ends of the twigs and 

 small branches of your cherry trees are the 

 "cherry plant-louse," or " IJlack aphids," 

 {A})his cera.s.si) and on examining some of the 

 branches 1 find that you possess both the banc 

 and antidote, in presence of a plain little 

 "lady bird " {Coccinelln mundi) among them. 

 Luckily the cold rains of May have washed oil 

 and destroyed millions of the aphids, and the 

 lady birds are busily engaged in removing the 

 remainder. So that from present appearances 

 you will realize a fair crop of good cherries, 

 unless some other unforeseen cause should 

 prevent it. The "peach aphis" {Aphis 

 persiin) has largely shared the same fate, and 

 the peach croji, wliich seemed to be so seri- 

 ously threatened early in the season, is now 

 rapidly recovering from their infestations and 

 promises a fair yield. 



The insects infesting your currants, little 

 else th.an the cast olf skins of which are now 

 remaining, belong to a family of " Leaf-hop- 

 pers," (Tettiooni.vd.e) which, "for short," 

 many people are in the habit of calling 

 " thrips." The cold rains of ^May have had a 

 similar effect on the.se; although being nimlile 

 leapers, they do not generally fall so easy a 

 prey as the slow, lazy and gre'edy aiihids. 



Jilr. J. C. L., Gap, Lanca.'>ter connti/, Pa. — 

 The larger, ugly and dirt-colored worm in 

 your box, is very probably the "corn cut- 

 worm," (Gortyua zeir.) A cut-worm it surely 

 ie, but there are many .species of these worms, 

 and very -variable in coloration and marking. 

 Eveu the same species undergo a. series of 



changes in their various stages of development. 

 Being found in a corn field and In a hill of 

 corn, we infer it is the individual above 

 named. The smaller worm, of a dark color, 

 with whitish cross lines and six feet is tlie 

 larva of a spcciesof " Soldier Beetle," (Tei.e- 

 I'llouiu.K) of which there are a great many 

 species in Lancaster county, but we think it 

 may be referred to the genus Tdrplionis. 

 These insects have been known to destroy the 

 larva' of the cwrcuUo, and we have known the 

 inatuie beetle to attack and destroy snails. 

 We confined the two in a bottle, and in a few 

 hours thereafter the latter had killed the 

 former and eaten a great hole in his side, un- 

 equal as they were m size. 



Mr. D. L. I{., Bird-in-IIand, Lanrn.ster 

 amnly. — Your rose bushes seem to have Ix-en 

 infested by Tettigonians, similar to, if not the 

 same as the above, although nothing but the 

 white cast-off skins were present on the leaves 

 we examined. We thiidc the mild previous 

 winter was the cause of the abundftnce of the 

 above insects early in the present season. 



CORRESPONDENCE. 



(iuEr.NJ:, L.incaslcr en.. Pa., ) 

 May 2l6t, 1878. S 

 .S. S. Katiivon — Editor Lancanler Farmer Dear 

 Sir: I 6011(1 to you, by stattc, an owl which I cap- 

 tuii'il lapl iiiijlit as lie was making his usual noc- 

 turnal visit to my hen roost ; accept the present. 

 Yours, J.I'axsox IIamih.eto!?. 



[Thanks for the " Horned Hooter," which 

 was safely delivered. It is of the .same species 

 (Bul)O riiyiniami.^) as the one received from 

 (iuarryville last Christmas, and may be its 

 mate, "but this does not nece.ssarily follow, as 

 this liird, except during the mating season, is 

 usually "solitary and selfish" in the extreme. 

 This is the largest species of the owl kind that 

 occurs in Lanca.ster county, at least the largest 

 Horned Owl. The "Snowy Owl" (Xyctra 

 nivea) is his equal in size and rapacity, and 

 often occurs larger. The Horned Owl feeds 

 on small mammals and reptiles ; is a good 

 mou.ser, but has too strong a penchant for the 

 hen roost for his presence to be tolerated in 

 any community where povdtry abounds. Whoa 

 he is succ<'ssful once in a poultry house he 

 usually repeats his visits mitil he "sweeps the 

 board" or is captured, and through his ra- 

 pacity and his success he often becomes un- 

 guarded and "imts his foot into it." In this 

 respect he is probably like many of the bipeds 

 belonging to the hmnan species, and fares 

 about as badly in the end. It is very certain 

 that he sometimes destroys more fowls in a 

 given time than he can po.ssibly consume — 

 therefore "let him die."] 



About Corn. 



Buck, Lancaster Countt, Pa., ) 

 May 31, 1878. { 

 S. S. RATin-ON : Enclosed is a specimen of my 

 corn ; it was very slow coining up, and now seems to 

 he getting less. Nearly the whole field Is badly 

 hurt ; a piece of low ground is not so bad, and a plot 

 of new ground is still less liurt ; other years it was 

 nearly as bad ; it seems to be an insect. If you can 

 give a remedy or i>reventive, you will much oblige a 

 friend. — .Tonaa Iluttcr. 



The corn plants came duly to hand, but we 

 could not detect an insect of any kind upon 

 them, or inclo.sed with them. The blades 

 looked as if some kind of an herb-eating in- 

 sect had cut them in holes ; but, onr know- 

 ledge of entomology is by no means ecpial to 

 the gun we once heard of, which would kill a 

 bird as well "where it isn't as where it is;" 

 and therefore we cannot tell what the insect 

 was, nor yet recommend a remedy, without 

 having specimens, or an accurate description. 

 According to the ob.servatlons of our friend, 

 there must be something the matter with his 

 corn, esiiecially .'is he had a similar experience 

 in "other years." If it were not that we are 

 totally unacquainted with the circumstances 

 attending those other years, we would suggest 

 that the present season has, thus far, Ijeen 

 rather unfriendly to the corn on account of 

 the low temperature of the entire month of 

 May. If it were us, we believe we would 

 rather have oiu: seed corn in the garner thaa 



