DESTRUCTION OF VERMIN. 



93 



Distance 



No. of 



Distance 



No. of 



apart. 



Plants. 



apart. 



Plants. 



1 foot 



43,560 



10 feet 



435 



Ik " 



19,360 



11 



360 



2 feet 



10,890 



12 « 



302 



2k " 



6,969 



13 '* 



257 



3 " 



4,840 



14 



222 



Sk « 



3,556 



15 " 



193 



4 " 



2,722 



16 " 



170 



41 " 



2,232 



17 " 



150 



5 



1,742 



18 " 



134 



6 " 



1,210 



19 " 



122 



7 " 



8S9 



20 " 



108 



8 



680 



25 



69 



9 * 



537 



30 



49 



Destruction of Vermin. — Insects are mucli more 

 destructive to tlie vegetable kingdom in warm climates. 

 These minute destroyers attack almost every cultivated 

 plant, of wliick no portion escapes their ravages. One 

 devours its tender leaf as it issues from the ground, an- 

 other preys upon the root and the plant perishes ; another 

 burrows into the stem, boring it in every direction until it 

 is broken off by the wind. The caterpillar preys upon 

 the leaves when it gets more mature, while the black 

 grub cuts off the young plant just as it is shooting into 

 growth. Some feed upon the flowers, while others devour 

 the matured fruit or seed. But though we cannot entirely 

 check, we can materially diminish their ravages. 



During autumn, let the garden be sown with salt at the 

 rate of six or eight bushels per acre and many insects will 

 disappear. Even arsenic has been proposed to be min- 

 gled with the manure and incorporated with it in the soil 

 at the rate of some fifty pounds to an ordinary garden, 

 but this is a substance too dangerous. " In the cold 

 freezing weather of winter let the soil be frequently turned 

 over and exposed to frost, the oftener the better. 



