142 transactions of the american institute. 



Deterioration of Sorghum. 



He also asks: "Will sorghum seed deteriorate by long continued plant- 

 ing without changing the seed ?" That portion of the sorghum family 

 known as Chinese sugar cane, or sorgo, will deteriorate if grown anywhere 

 near broom corn or other members of the family by hybridization, so that 

 the stalks will be as innocent of sweet sap as a mullein stalk. It requires 

 the greatest care to keep the sugar cane seed pure. The true sugar cane, 

 arundo saccharifera, never seeds in the United States, and therefore does 

 not hybridize and deteriorate. The Chinese and African sugar cane that 

 we grow at the north, is very subject to deterioration and great disap- 

 pointment in the product. The growing of broom corn near it must be 

 rigidly prohibited. 



Cause of Rust and Mildew. 



Mr. William Tucker, Madison county, Illinois, thinks the whole secret of 

 rust and mildew is excessive moisture. He says : " All rust in wheat, all 

 rot in grapes, all splitting of fruit on the tree, all mildew upon living vege- 

 tables, results from a superabundance of moisture, received from the earth 

 through their roots, and the leaves, and the stems, and the fruit, all of 

 which absorb moisture from the atmosphere." Perhaps this theory may be 

 doubted by some people who have seen serious cases of mildew in a very 

 dry season. Mr. Tucker thinksfthat high culture has rendered fruits d«li- 

 cate and liable to disease. In regard to the disease of grape vines, he states 

 something that needs further confirmation. He says: "It is known that grapes 

 grown upon vines lying upon the earth are not so subject to rot or mildew 

 as grapes grown upon vines supported in the air. Why is this ? Simply 

 because the fruit lying on or near the earth draws moisture from the 

 ground, and being protected by weeds and the foliage of the vine, moisture 

 is not rapidly exhaled or evaporated from the fruit. The fruit thus kept 

 fully expanded absorbs but little additional moisture in damp weather, aud 

 as there are no rapid contractions or expansions, the consequent strain 

 upon it is not sufficient to rupture it." 



Name of an Insect. 



Mr. R. H. Arnold, Honeoye, New York, asks the club " to give the name 

 of the little insect that sings at eve upon the trees. It is a green insect, 

 about one inch and one-quarter long, and at the extremity of the wings 

 about three-eighths of an inch wide ; has grasshopper legs ; wings are 

 semi-transparent, with crosslines ; sings on warm evenings with a loud, 

 sharp voice, all singing in one tone, but on cool, frosty nights, its voice is 

 mellowed down and becomes very soft and sweet, and different ones take 

 different tones. Its song is produced by the wings." The specific name 

 of the insect in question we cannot give, but it is of the order of orthoptera, 

 of the same family as the katydid, and not injurious to farmers unless the 

 noise is annoying. 



Squash Vine Borers. 



Mr. R. S. Williams, Gastoron, Fremont county, says that he effectually 

 cures the ravages of the borer of squash vines by examining them care- 



