7^ MELON CULTURE 



so scattering hills of these may be planted as early 

 as possible, so that they will have attained a fairly 

 good growth before the beetles make their appear- 

 ance. After they have accumulated in large num- 

 bers on these hills the whole thing may be sprayed 

 with kerosene oil. Occasional plants left in the 

 field until late in the season, after everything else 

 has been cleared away and burned, will give oppor- 

 tunity for the beetles to hibernate under them, when 

 they may be soaked in kerosene and burned. Stim- 

 ulating the plants to make an early and vigorous 

 growth by the use of commercial fertilizers will 



' often aid the plants in overcoming the insect 

 attacks. 



The Twelve-Spotted Cucumber Beetle (Diabrot- 

 ica 12-punctata). — This species is almost as com- 

 mon as its striped relative, and during some seasons 

 it is nearly as troublesome to melons and its allied 

 plants. It is somewhat larger than the other, more 

 oval in shape and instead of striped markings, this 

 one has 12 black spots on the wing covers. This 

 insect feeds in the same way as the other, only it 

 has a somewhat larger variety of food plants, which 

 makes it somewhat less troublesome to the melon. 

 There are two broods in a season, the beetles hiber- 

 nating in the adult stage. 



Remedies. — The same remedies apply here as were 

 recommended for the previous species, but clean cul- 

 ture should be emphasized. 



/The Melon Aphis (Aphis Gossypii, Glov.).— This 

 is perhaps the most difficult melon insect to manage 

 during the seasons which are favorable to its devel- 

 opment. It has a great variety of food plants, in- 

 cluding many of our common weeds, as well as the 



