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Flea Beetles. 

 Flea beetles of several kinds are often present in destructive 

 abundance on various plants early in spring. They feed on the 

 tissues, making little holes, and when disturbed take sudden leaps 

 which make it difficult to capture them. The young of these in- 

 sects are stem and leaf miners, but rarely do sufficient damage to 

 require treatment. For the beetles themselves, spraying the plants 

 attacked, with Paris green, Arsenate of lead or any of the stomach 

 poisons is usually entirely effective, though as various plant 

 diseases often begin at the holes made by these insects it is gen- 

 erally better to use Bordeaux mixture with a little of the poison 

 added, as Bordeaux mixture appears to be successful against flea 

 beetles as well as being a fungicide. 



Cut Worms. 



Under the name "'cut worms " are included the caterpillars of a 

 large number of kinds of moths, which hide in the ground during 

 the daytime and feed at night. 



In cases where these pests are known to be abundant in sodland 

 which is to be cultivated, it is advisable to plow quite early in 

 the fall, and apply the potash which is to be used at this time, 

 Kainit being strongly recommended by some writers as probably 

 the best form of fertilizer to use for this purpose, as it is objection- 

 able to the insects. 



Cut worms can also be destroyed by the use of traps. To pre- 

 pare these, spray a small piece of clover or any juicy plant with 

 one of the stomach poisons (one pound of the poison to fifty gal- 

 lons of water) and then mow it close and spread this poisoned 

 food in little heaps here and there over the field which should be 

 ready for planting. The cut worms finding nothing else to feed 

 on will eat this poisoned food and a large proportion will be 

 destroyed. 



Later in the season if cut worms appear, after the crop is up, 

 protection from their ravages may be secured by mixing one pound 

 of Paris green with fifty pounds of bran. When these are thor- 

 oughly mixed add water and a little molasses till the whole is 

 about like dough. A tablespoonful at the base of each plant is 

 more attractive to the cut worm than the plant itself, and ten 

 pounds should be sufficient to protect about an acre of potatoes or 

 other crop planted in that way. Care, however, should be taken, 

 that fowls and other animals likely to feed on this poisoned food 

 be kept away from it while it is exposed. 



This method should also be successful where cut worms are 

 troublesome in greenhouses. 



