r: POTATOES;; 173 



patches, it is -very handy to use the lead in powder 

 form, or the bug death. 



A convenient way is to take a tin, like a cocoa 

 or baking powder tin, which holds about a pound, 

 and punch holes in the bottom, making a big salt 

 shaker out of it. It takes only a few moments to 

 cover a long row of potatoes with this, shaking a 

 little of the powder over each plant. 



Lice on Potatoes. — Frequently lice appear in 

 the hot days of midsummer and threaten the 

 potato crop. Fortunately these little creatures 

 seldom do great harm after all, and it often 

 happens that just as they seem most dangerous, 

 they disappear almost in a day. 



A lady came in great anxiety to a gardener. 



" Oh, dear ! First the lice attacked my potatoes, 

 and now little spotted red bugs are on the vines. 

 What shall I do .? " 



"Just give those little red bugs my address, 

 madam," he said. "They are lady bugs, after 

 •the lice, not the potatoes. They will be welcome 

 here." 



Protection from Blight. — Beside the bugs, there 

 4s_ the early and late blight to look out for in growing 

 jjpt-atoes. This blight comes from a tiny spore, 

 which lodges in the foliage and, under favorable 

 conditions, increases, with great rapidity, floating 

 from plant to plant, and often destroying a large 

 patch in a . short time. The . whole plant becomes 



