98 



tHE LANCASTER FARMER. 



[July, 



two boxes to be packed with some soft or 

 elastic material, to prevent too violent jarring. 

 Packages should be marked with the name of the 

 sender. 



KITCHEN GARDEN FOR JULY. 



In the Middle States, this month, lilte June, 

 is tlie montli of labor in the garden. Weeds 

 are in rapid growth, plants are to set out. 

 Seeds saved, and various matters require at- 

 tention. 



Beans, plant for succession. BeHs, the long 

 blood and sugar ; also Mangold Wurzel may 

 be planted for stock as late as July. June is, 

 however, much Ijetter. Beets, for late winter 

 and spring use, may now Ijc sown. Cabbage, 

 plant. The winter sorts of cabbage should 

 now be planted out. Where many are to be 

 transplanted it is proper to await a suitable 

 time — a heavy rain, or showery weather — but 

 in a small garden cabbages may be trans- 

 planted almost at any season, by careful wa- 

 tering, and, if need be, shading. Velery. plant. 

 Endive, sow. Peas, a few may be sown; they 

 seldom do well this season. Turnips, sow. — 

 Rural Register. 



Quality and Vitality of Seeds. 

 Seeds properly ripened are, with fow excep- 

 tions, as good the second year as the first — in- 

 deed, many are so well protected by natural 

 envelopes that they germinate freely after 

 many years. The vitality or germinating 

 power of seeds is not, however, the most im- 

 2)ortant question of the gardener, for if seeds 

 fail to sprout, the first cast is the principal 

 loss. The quality of the vegetables seeds may 

 produce is the all important question, and that 

 can only be determined when, perhaps, it is 

 too late in the season to remedy the imposi- 

 tion of bad seeds which we may have suffered. 

 Absolute security against seed-frauds can 

 only be found in patronizing seed-houses of 

 acknowledged reputation. It no doubt, in 

 the "long run," woulu be well to reject 

 seeds peddled through the country and sold 

 on commission by irresponsible, and often un- 

 known, if not unprincipled, seed venders. 

 Time is too precious, and the outcome too im- 

 portant, to hazard much, speculatively, in 

 gorden seeds. 



HOW TO KILL WHEAT MOTH. 



A gentleman of experience remarks as fol- 

 lows in regard to the wheat moth : 



" I know of but of one efficient remedy for 

 this insect, and that applies as well to the 

 weevil and to the Angoumois grain moth, 

 which is said to do no little damage in the 

 southern and southwestern part of the coun- 

 try. I have frequently seen every kernel of 

 corn in samples from the Gulf States per- 

 forated by this moth larva. The remedy pro- 

 posed is bisulphide of carbon. We' have only 

 to pour a quantity of this into the bin at the 

 bottom of the grain to kill all of the insects. 

 It is very penetrating and volatile and equally 

 deadly to all the iu.sect tribes. I think that 

 half a pint of the liquid would destroy the in- 

 sects in a Ijin of 50 to 100 bushels of grain. 

 Not having experimented with grain in such 

 quantities 1 cannot give the precise quantities 

 of the liquid to he used in the different sized 

 bins of grain, but this can be easily deter- 

 mined by trial. To try this remedy it is de- 

 sirable to pour the liquid in at the bottom of 

 the grain. To do this we can take a hollow 

 iron cylinder— a gas pipe will do— and fit into 

 it a wooden rod, which should be a little longer 

 than the iron tube. One end of the rod is to 

 be made sharp ; now place the rod inside the 

 tube, and with the sharp end down force them 

 both to the bottom of tlie grain ; then, having 

 withdrawn the rod, turn in the liquid through 

 the tube, which should then be pulled out. 

 The insecticide, of course, is left at the bot- 



tom of the grain, and being very volatile, soon 

 difl'uses through the mass and converts the 

 bin into an insect cemetery.-A?ner(can Miller. 



If such is absolutely a fact, established by 

 experience, we confess we have more confi- 

 dence in it, even for destroying the larvfe of 

 the weevil, than we have in any " best 

 remedy " involving the mere '' stirring of the 

 grain." Exactly what insect is meant by the 

 " wheat moth '" in the above, we do not clear- 

 ly understand. Perhaps Pyralis farinalis — 

 perhaps something else, for wheat or grain 

 moths are many. Many years ago a small ear 

 of corn was sent to us by mail, every grain of 

 which contained the larva of a moth, which 

 was determined for us as the " Angoumoise 

 grain moth" [Butali cercalis). When the moths 

 evolved they left a hole in the centre of the 

 grains as round and sharp as if drilled in ; 

 and we do not think they could have been 

 destroyed save by some remedy analogous to 

 that described in the above paragraph. 



Remedies for the Army Worm. 



To meet a general demand that will proba- 

 bly soon be felt and made for the best means 

 of coping with the army worm, I would here 

 repeat in condensed form what I have in pre- 

 vious years recommended. Experience has 

 established the fact that burning over a 

 meadow, or prairie, or field of stubble, either 

 in winter or spring, usually prevents the 

 worms from originating in such meadow or 

 field. Such burning destroys the previous 

 year's stalks and blades, and, as a consequence 

 of what I have already stated, the nidi which 

 the female moth prefers. Burning as a pre- 

 ventive, however, loses much of its practical 

 importance unless it is pursued annually, be- 

 cause of the irregularity in the appearance of 

 the worm in injurious numbers. .Tudicious 

 ditching, i. e., a ditch with the side toward 

 the field to be protected perpendicularly or 

 sloping under, will protect a field from inva- 

 sions from some other infested region when 

 the worms are marching. When they are 

 collected in the ditch they may be destroyed 

 either by covering them up with earth that is 

 pressed upon them, by burning straw over 

 them, or by pouring a little coal-oil in the 

 ditch. A single plow-furrow, six or eight 

 inchesdeep and kept friable by dragging brush 

 in it, has also been known to head them off. 



From experiments which [ have made I am 

 satisfied that where fence-lumber can be easi- 

 ly obtained it may be used to advantage as a 

 substitute for the ditch or trench, by being 

 secured on edge and then smeared with kero- 

 sene or coal-tar (the latter being more parti- 

 cularly useful) along the upper edge. By 

 means of laths and a few nails the boards may 

 be so secured that they will slightly sloi)e away 

 from the field to be protected. Such a barrier 

 will prove etfectual where the worms are not 

 too persistent or numerous. When they are 

 excessively abundant they will need to be 

 watched and occasionally dosed with kerosene 

 to prevent their piling up even with the top of 

 the board and thus bridging the barrier. The 

 lumber is not injured for other purposes sub- 

 sequently.— Pc)/'. C. V. Riley. 



Melons — Bugs— Coal-Tar. 



Among the most effective applications that 

 I have ever known to keep bugs off of vines 

 is tar-water. Stir coal-tar in a vessel of 

 water, let it stand over night till the water is 

 scented and colored with the coal-tar ; then, 

 morning, noon, and evening, or as often as 

 convenient, go and sprinkle the vines and 

 hill with the liquid ; it will both keep the bugs 

 away and make the plants grow more vigor- 

 ously, being a good stimulant to such plants. 

 Sprinkling the ground freely over the hill will 

 almost wholly kill or keep away the cut- 

 worms and grubs. Very freely applied it 

 does much to kill off the potato beetle, which 

 is so destructive in some localities. 



Insect Powder. 



Wm. Saunders, of London, Ontario, well 

 known for his horticultural experience, as 

 well as distinguished as the editor of the 

 Canadian Entomologist, linds tlie Dalmatian 

 Insect powder, made from Pyrethrum cinera- 

 riffifolium, an excellent insectitnde. He says: 



"House files are very sensitive to the effects 

 of these powders. A few puffs of the dust 

 from an msect gun, blown into the air of a 

 room with the doors closed, the discharges 

 directed toward tliose parts where files are 

 congregated, will stupefy and kill them with- 

 in a very short time. The powder is some- 

 what pungeut, and to breathe an atmosphere 

 charged with it will frequently cause a slight 

 sneezing, but beyond this the operator need 

 not anticipate any annoyance. Frequently 

 during the past summer, when flies have been 

 troublesome, we have pretty thoroughly 

 charged the air in our dining-room and 

 kitchen at night, dossing the doors, and in 

 the morning found all. or nearly all the flies 

 lying dead on the floor. A few minutes after 

 its use they begin to drop on th. ir backs, and 

 after a very short time die; if a room be 

 closed for half an hour after using the powder, 

 few, if any will escape." 



He finds it as good against Aphides and 

 other plant lice. Much superior in its results 

 to tobacco smoke. 



OUR LOCAL CROPS. 



As we go to press our farmers have about 

 finished gathering their hay, wheat and rye 

 crops; and the present indications are that 

 they have been unusually bountiful — consider- 

 ably more than a fair average. Of course 

 there will be some exceptions to the general \ 

 result, influenced by local causes, both favor- 

 able and unfavorable. 



The oats crop is also promising, and some 

 very "tall oats" is reported in various locali- 

 ties. Perhaps no season has passed for a 

 long time in which a more vigorous cereal 

 growth has occurred. 



The late rains have also had a stimulating 

 effect upon the corn, potato, and tobacco 

 crops, although in some localities great in- 

 juries from noxious insects have been re- 

 ported, and especially by the notorious cut 

 worm. 



The term "cutworm" covers a large num- 

 ber of species, and many varieties, all of 

 which are "maliciously" destructive to vege- 

 tation — cutting oft' much more than they can 

 possibly devour. This season we have many 

 complaints against them, as being severe 

 upon the young tobacco plants, often necessi- 

 tating two or three different plantings. The 

 tobacco growers cannot go far wrong in 

 concluding that this enemy to their cherished 

 plant has "come to stay." It has in fact 

 always been here, but nothing furnishes it 

 such a luscious food as tobacco, and therefore 

 it must be classed with "consumers." If 

 this plant had no enemies at all, it would 

 soon become a mere drug, and no sale could 

 be found for all of it. The cutworm will be 

 the great regiUator of the quantity, of th& 

 quality, and also of the price. Like the 

 "Colorado Potato Beetle," means must be 

 found for its destruction, and this will in- 

 volve a perpetual labor. It can never be said 

 that "they are now .extinguished," for per- 

 haps when least expected, they will be most 

 abundant. Fortunately for themselves, but 

 unfortunately for the tobacco grower, they 

 can and do thrive on other plants than the to- 

 bacco. When they attack this plant they are 

 already well grown, and nearly mature, and 



