218 



THE VINE CROPS 



offensive to their sense of smell is usually more effective than a 

 poison. Various materials have been recommended, and, in the 

 case of a severe attack, two or three different materials are often 

 used consecutively. A very satisfactory treatment consists in 

 spraying the plants repeatedly with dilute Bordeaux mixture. 

 Usually four ounces of Paris green are added to each fifty gallons 

 of the Bordeaux, for the purpose of poisoning any beetles that 

 refuse to leave the plants. The first application should be made as 



soon as the plants appear above 

 ground, whether any beetles are 

 present or not. It is far easier to 

 keep the beetles off the plants 

 than to drive them away after 

 they have once become estab- 

 lished. To effectively protect 

 the plants it may be necessary to 

 spray them every three or four 

 days for a period of three or four 

 weeks. 

 \ I Another method of controlling 



/ ^^^i^^l^^.i ..-A^^. the beetles is to dust the plants 



with land plaster, sifted ashes or 

 other fine powder, to which a small 

 quantity of turpentine or crude 

 carbolic acid has been added. 

 Three or four tablespoonfuls of 

 the liquid are thoroughly mixed 

 with a half-peck of the powder 

 in a pail. The bottom of an old 

 tin can is punched full of holes 

 with a shingle nail, and the can 

 tacked to a piece of lath about 

 three feet long. This can is filled 

 with the prepared powder, and a person walking across the field 

 dusts two rows at a time by shaking the can slightly over each 

 hill. It is unnecessary and unwise to place a large quantity of 

 the powder on the plants, for excessive quantities, especially if 

 air-slaked lime is used, may cause serious injury. Light applica- 

 tions, repeated at frequent intervals, are preferable. 



When the plants are grown in a hotbed, the beetles often do 

 not find them: but in case of a threatened attack, the bed can be 



Fig. 120. — Striped cucumber beetle: a 

 adult beetle; 6, egg; c, larva; (/, pupa. 



