266 How THE FARM PAYS. 



with fine dry air-slaked lime, fine soot or wood ashes, or to dust the 

 rows with the strong smelling superphosphate of lime that is made 

 with " sludge acid " or the refuse acid from petroleum refineries. 



THE PEA AND BEAN WEEVILS. 



The former of these beetles has been long with us; the latter is a 

 new arrival, but is fast becoming very destructive, especially to Lima 

 beans. Some of these beans have as many as eight beetles in them, 

 while three or four is a common number. The pea weevil is too well 

 known to need any remark. The only safeguard is to avoid sowing 

 the insects with the seed. Only pure, free seed should be sown. If 

 this could be done by general consent and determination these pests, 

 would soon disappear. 



THE CORN SILK WORM. 



Market farmers who make a special crop of sweet corn have been, 

 much pestered of late years with a caterpillar, or rather two of them, 

 which begin to devour the silk of the ears, and, following it into the 

 husk, consume the soft grain just as it becomes ready for market, in 

 its- green state. One or two inches of the tips of the ears is thus 

 damaged, so as to render the ears unsalable. The remedy is not 

 apparent. All that we can do here is to call attention to it, so that 

 our readers may devise some methods to prevent the damage. Dust- 

 ing the silk with fine air-slaked lime has been found to keep off the 

 insects, and probably destroys the eggs as soon as laid, or drives away 

 the parent moths. 



THE TOBACCO AND TOMATO WORM. 



This worm is a troublesome pest to the tobacco grower, and also 

 preys upon tomato plants. It is a long, stout, green worm, having 

 yellow angular bands on each side. Another species has white bands 

 edged with blue. The parents are large moths of the varieties 

 known as sphinx or hawk moths, and have long tongues, usually 

 curled up in the manner of a watch spring, with which they penetrate 

 to the bottom of the calyx of the flowers, upon whose nectar they feed. 

 These moths feed upon the common "Jirnson" weed (Datura stra- 

 monium), and tobacco growers have rid their fields of the pests by 

 putting a few drops of solution of cobalt in the blossoms of this weed, 

 grown for the purpose among the crop. As it is not always easy to 



