PEAS AND POTATOES 



87 



the sprays for lice mentioned in Chapter V will kill 

 them. The following two methods, however, have 

 been used with better success: i. On a very hot day 

 the lice may be brushed from the vines into the paths 

 and covered with the cultivator, says S. A. Johnson. 

 This method does not work well where the ground is 

 lumpy, for the lice crawl out and back upon the 

 plants, unless the dirt is sufficiently firm to smother 

 them. 2. They may be brushed into pans which are 

 dragged between the rows. To do this, have galva- 

 nized iron pans made about six feet long, eighteen 

 inches wide and six inches deep. Put a thin layer of 

 kerosene in the bottom. Drag the pan between the 

 rows while two boys brush the vines toward the pan. 

 There should be sufficient oil in the pan to insure the 

 wetting of all the lice, and it should be cleaned and 

 the oil renewed whenever necessary. (A. D. Taylor, 

 Massachusetts, writes that he has had best success 

 by dusting the vines when wet with dew with dry 

 hardwood ashes.) 



Weevils are more or less troublesome to both 

 peas and beans. 'Tis said that late plantings are not 

 so likely to be infested by weevils. This insect eats 

 out the heart of the seed, and is hatched from eggs 

 that are laid on the green pod while it is growing 

 on the vine. There is no means known to prevent 

 the laying of the eggs or the entrance of the larvae 

 into the seed. The only direct means of fighting the 

 pest is to kill the larvae in the dry seed before plant- 

 ing, preferably with bisulphide of carbon. Put seed 

 in a close box, throw a cloth over the seed, pour the 

 liquid over this cloth, and put on the lid. Leave un- 

 disturbed for forty-eight hours. Be careful not to 

 inhale the vapor or bring a lighted lamp near it, as 

 it is poisonous and explosive. Use about one ounce 



