THE ILLI:N^0IS E^HJMEH. 



325 



''Sit-fast is niorclj a name for an obstinate 

 and callous galled sore, which has repeated- 

 ly been rubbed hy tlie saddle, and has be- 

 come leathery, and disinclined to heal. If 

 time can be allowed, there is nothing like a 

 small quantity of blistering ointment rubbed 

 on; or the application of a small piece of a 

 fused potassa; or even the nitrate of silver 

 in substance, or blue-stone; all which will 

 produce a new action in the part, and if fol- 

 lowed by rest from the saddle, will generally 

 effect a cure. 



Flesh Wounds. — The following, on the 

 treatment of ordinary flesh wounds, is from 

 Dadd's Modern Horse Doctor : 



Incised wounds are those inflicted by sharp 

 instruments. On the human body they 

 often heal without any subsequent inflamma- 

 tion beyond what nature sets up in the resto- 

 rative process, but the difficulty with the 

 horse is, that we cannot always keep the 

 parts in contact, and therefore it is not so 

 easy to unite them. * * * * 

 If the wound is Been immediately after inflic- 

 tion, and there seems to be the least proba- 

 bility of healing by first intention we place a 

 twitch on the horse's nose, and examine the 

 part. If there be found neither dirt nor 

 foreign body of the kind, the blood had not 

 better be washed off, for this is the "best ma- 

 terial in the world. The edges are then to 

 be brought together by interrupted sutures, 

 taking care not to include the hair between 

 the edges of the wound, for that would effec- 

 tually prevent the union. Nothing more is 

 needed but to secure the animal so that he 

 cannot get at it. If he is to be kept in the 

 stable, without exercise for any length of 

 time, he had better be put on half diet. 



Contused wounds are generally occasioned 

 by hooks, or some blunt bodv connected with 

 the harness or vehicle. They generally 

 leave a gaping wound with bruised edges. — 

 We have only to remember that nature pos- 

 sesses the power of repairing injuries of this 

 kind — of filling up the parts and covering 

 them with new skin, and all we have to do 

 is, to attend to the general health of the 

 animal, and keep the wound in a healthy 

 conditicm. Our usual application is the 

 compound tincture of Myrrh. If the part 

 assume an unhealthy aspect, a charcoal poul- 

 tice will rectify that. If such cannot be 

 appliedj owing to the situation of the wound 

 dress it with pyroligneous acid. — Herbert's 

 Hints to Horsc-Keejicrs. 



• «a> 



For tlio Tlliuois Farmer. 



THE SaUASH BUG. 



MuRPUvsBDRo, Jackson Co., Aug. 2. 



Kind reader, although too late to be of 

 service to you this season, yet if you do as I 

 hope you do, viz : preserve all your agricul- 

 tural papers, what I write now to you may 

 be of service to you next season. 



Before we begin to tell anything about 

 the operations of this too familiar acquaint- 

 ance, let us take his daguerreotype that all 

 may know him. 



lie varies in length from five eighths to 

 seven eighths ofan inch, and is about one 

 fourth of an inch broad; like all other true 

 insects has six feet, and two antennal or 

 horns; his horns are four jointed; joints 

 nearly C(jual in length; first joint, next the 

 head somewhat enlarged and bowed, tlie 



last joint a little the shortest and also a 

 little enlarged; the whole lenirth of the horn 

 is about half the length of the insect. From 

 the front part of his head protrudes a snout 

 that lies, when not in use, close along the 

 under side of his body and reaches a little be- 

 yond his middle legs; by turning up this 

 snout or beak and looking at the under side 

 you will see it is composed of four joints, the 

 first joint next the head, being the largest 

 and the same length as the second, the third 

 joint the shortest, Over the first joint 

 reaching nearly the middle ot the second is 

 a narrow tapering lip that protects the hair- 

 like instruments that woi'k inside of this 

 beak or snout, and by means of which the 

 insect punctures vegetables and sucks out 

 their juices. The feet are three jointed, the 

 middle joint being very small, the last joiiit 

 is furnished with two hooks. The head is 

 quite small, being about one fifth as broad as 

 the body; it is about as long as it is broad, 

 has two black and three yellowish stripes on 

 top. Has two dark eyes, situated one on 

 each edge of the head about the middle; 

 back of the eyes on top of the head in the 

 edge of each black stripe may be seen a little 

 round smooth pimple — these are eyelets or 

 ocelli. Going back from the head, the next 

 piece is called the thorax, tliis widens in the 

 shape of a triangle, having its back part ele- 

 vated and rounded; it is of a yellowish color 

 but so thickly punctured with dusky spots 

 as to give it a mottled dubky appearance, the 

 lateral edges are bordered with a yellow stripe. 

 Behind this we fiud a regular triangular 

 piece in the centre of the back, hardly half 

 as wide as the piece in front, this piece is a 

 little darker that the preceding; and Ls call- 

 ed the scutel or scutellum. On each side 

 of the scutel and reaching beyond it, is a 

 semicircular piece of similar appearance to 

 the thorax and scutel; but by raising this 

 with a pin we find it is part of the wing, the 

 latter half of which is much thinner, of a 

 dusky color appearing black when they lie 

 lapped over each other. This part of the 

 wing is called the membrane and has a num- 

 ber of nerves or veins runniu"; lengthwise 

 across it. If we pull aside these wings, we 

 shall fiud beneath them two other very thin 

 transparent wings, of a purple color, deeper 

 toward the tips and fading next their inser- 

 tion. These wings lie in the hollow or scoop- 

 ed portion of the abdomen, which has its 

 sides sharp and elevated, while in the mid- 

 dle it is hollow or boat-shaped, being keeled 

 beneath. The edges of the abdomen are 

 marked with alternate yellow and dusky 

 stripes. The whole underside of the insect 

 is ofan ochre yellow, dotted over with dusky 

 spots. 



Now I think we have his picture so exact 

 tliat we will know him, especially when I 

 add that if handled roughly he gives out a 

 strong odor similar to that of a pear, only too 

 strong to be pleasant. 



About the latter part of June or as soon 

 as squash vines begin to run they make their 

 appearance, housing themselves on the un- 

 derside of the Ici-vves, where they make love 

 to each othsr, and having completed their 

 courtship, pair. 8oon after this the female 

 deposits on tlie leaves a number of greenish- 

 yellow eggs, these are generally laid during 

 the night, in patches on the underside of the 



leaves, to which they are fastened by a gum- 

 my substance. These eggs are about the 

 shape of well-raised biscuits, and a little 

 longer than clover seed. 



These eggs soon hatch, producing pale 

 ash colored insects, shorter and more round- 

 ed in proportion than the perfect insect — 

 with large antennae. 



As soon as they are hatched they begin 

 their attack upon the vine, inserting their 

 beak into it and sucking out the juices, thus 

 causing it to languish and finally die. At 

 this time they live in communities, which 

 causes their attack to be more injurious; leaf 

 after leaif fading and wrinkling from the loss 

 of sap or moisture. And as pair after pair 

 of the parent insects from time to time de- 

 posit their eggs upon the same plant, the in- 

 jury is thus lengthened out until the work of 

 destruction is complete. When they have 

 obtained their full size and eomjjleted their 

 transformation from the little wingless bug 

 to the perfect insects and have finished their 

 work for the season, which is generally about 

 October, they retire to places of concealment 

 beneath logs, under fences, &c., where they 

 house up for the winter. 



The best remedy that I know of to prevent 

 the injury occasioned by these bugs is to 

 kill them at the time they are pairing and 

 before they deposit their eggs. Watch the 

 vines carefully late of an evening, and early 

 in the morning, and as soon as you find any 

 knock them off the vine or pick them off and 

 kill them. If you wait until the young ones 

 have made their appearance your vines will 

 be likely to die for you can do but little to 

 drive them away, and it is hardly possible to 

 kill them. But if you have been so unfortu- 

 nate a.s to wait until this late hour get some 

 unslacked lime, sift some of the finest out 

 of it, and in the morning while the dew is 

 on the plants sprinkle this dry lime over 

 them, if it kills the vines, it will do no more 

 than the bugs will do, and some times it will 

 save them; if this does not succeed you may 

 next try a decoction of aloes; and if this 

 fails cut up your vines and burn them. 



The scientific name of this insect is Cor- 

 eus tn'sfis, (De. Geer,) it has received va- 

 rious names from different authors — thus by 

 Gmelin it was named c.moestus,hy Fabricius 

 c. RuQ'ator,hjSaj C ordinatus. It belongs 

 to the order IIkmitera. 



There is another bug very similar in ap- 

 pearance to this and much the same size; 

 but it is a little lighter color, the hind thighs 

 somewhat enlarged and bowed, and the ab- 

 domen is flatter and not so much keeled be- 

 low as the one we have been describing. 



C. Thomas. 



Sowing Grass Seed on Bnckwhcat Ground. 



Eilitor Farmer: — I noticed in the last 

 Fanner the inquiry whether it would an- 

 swer to sow timothy on buckwheat ground ? 

 I have often done this with success. When 

 the buckwheat is cut, it leaves the ground in 

 first rate order, clean and light. Then sow 

 your seed. If the crop was cut with a sythe 

 or cradle, or reaper, you are left a guide to 

 sow the grass seed. You need not harrow 

 after the seed is sown. 



I can recommend this plan — having often 



tried it. 



W 



-FF. 



