August, 1890. 
151 
OWCHRRD 
GARDEN 
than in early spring and it should be re- 
membered, too, that seeds sown in mid- 
summer must be covered deeper than in 
spring. And planting the seed deeply defies 
drought, produces larger yields, and lengili- 
ens the bearing season. From four to six 
inches is not too deep to plant peas, beans 
and corn on good soil. Radishes, to be ten- 
der, require quick growth and a good deal of 
moisture; to have a successful crop for fall 
trade or home use one should select the 
richest soil, of a moist nature, thoroughly 
pulverized and fertilized with the most 
thoroughly rotted manure. After sowing 
the seed it is best to run a roller over the 
ground and the seed will germinate better. 
There are few crops that will respond as 
readily to thorough and frequent cultivation 
as late cabbage. Work the soil thoroughly 
until the cabbage is pretty well headed; it 
hastens the heading process, thus lesssening 
the time for the cabbage worm ravages, 
and causes a larger and firmer head. — T hos. 
D. Baird, Kentucky. 
Timely HinlB. 
Onion seed may be sown this month and 
will make considerable growth before win- 
ter sets in. They should then be covered 
lightly with salt hay, leaves or similar ma- 
terial and will furnish fine early onions next 
spring. 
It is not too late to make plantings of cu- 
cumbers, peas, beans, and sweet corn for 
autumn use but early and quickly maturing 
varietier should be selected and the soil 
made rich and loose. 
Endive should be set out this month and 
kept well worked to induce a quick growth. 
Allow no weeds to go to seed anywhere 
and avoid having idle ground. If there is 
nothing special to be plained, sow all va- 
cant spots with turnips or with rye. The 
latter will come in handy for the chickens 
during the winter and will make a good 
coat of manure to turn under in the spring. 
A strong solution of tobacco wattr will 
generally destroy the aphides on the roots 
of trees and plants if applied in sufficient 
quality, and will alsodrive away the striped 
bug from melon and cucumber vines. It 
should be sprinkled copiously all over the 
lines and repeated quite often. It will not 
injure the plant but, on the contrary, is a 
good fertilizer. Tobacco dust is also an ex- 
cellent repellent for this purpose. Prof. Mas- 
sey has used bone meal against the striped 
bug with much success and recommends it 
strongly. It should be dusted over the vines. 
It is said that a strong infusion of the 
leaves and berries of the Pride of India or 
China Tree ( Melia Azedarach), applied with 
a watering pot will effectually destroy cab- 
bage worms without injury to the cabbage. 
This tree is not hardy north of Virginia but 
is quite common at the South. 
Strawberry Insect*. 
There is no other crop for the small fruit 
grower that can be made to yield as large a 
per cent, profit as the strawberry. This 
succulent fruit is greatly in demand and 
always commands a fair price. There are 
many insects that tend to lessen the yield 
by injuring the foliage or destroying the 
fruit. Among those that defoliate the 
plants is the 
STRAWBERRY SAW FLY Or SLUG, 
Emptiutus maculattut, Norton. 
This insect belongs to the order known as 
hynenopetra — membrane wings — or four- 
winged 11 ies. To this order belong our ants, 
bees and wasps. While most insects be- 
longing to this order are beneficial in some 
way, either commercially or by destroying 
other insect foes; there is one family that 
does a great deal of damage and injury. 
To this family, Tenthredmidce , belong the 
currant slug, the pear slug and the straw- 
berry slug or saw’ fly. 
The larvae of this family may be known 
by the number of legs, which vary from 
eighteen to twenty-two, while true cater- 
pillars have only sixteen. The females of 
this family have the last three segments of 
the abdomen modified into a saw which is 
admirably adapted to 
its purpose. With this 
saw which is fur- 
nished with very fine 
teeth they cut or saw 
Fig. 291. a small groove into 
the leaf-stalk or veins of the leaf into 
which the eggs are inserted. 
The strawberry saw fly (Fig. 291) appears 
about the first of May and may be seen cling- 
ing to the leaves and stems of the plants. 
They are only active during the warmer 
parts of the day, while during the morning 
and evening they are sluggish and ristupon 
the ground or leaves of the plants. They 
are of a dull black color and about the size 
of a common house fly. The abdomen has 
a row of whitish spots upon each side, 
hence the name inaculntus. The wings are 
very much like those of a bee except that 
they are furnished with a greater number of 
small cross veins or nervures. After pair- 
ing the female deposits her eggs in a groove 
cut for the purpose in the leaf-stalk. 
The eggs are said by Prof. Riley to be 
“ white, opaque and three hundredths of an 
inch long.” As the egg matures it absorbs 
moisture from the plant which causes the 
leaf-stalk to swell. The eggs soon hatch 
and as soon as the larva; appear they begin 
to destroy the foliage by eating holes in the 
leaves. At first the holes are so small that 
they do not attract attention, but as the 
larvae become older the leaves are badly 
eaten. 
The larvae (Fig. 292) when mature are 
about three-fourths of an inch long. They 
are of a dirty or yello wish-grec n color with a 
darker green band or line extending from 
the head to the tail. The head is curiously 
marked and will enable any one to readily 
distinguish tnis insect. “ It is of a decidedly 
yellowish color with usually a dark brown 
spot above, one nearly the same size at the 
upper front and two rather smaller ones at 
each side joined by a brown line, the ante- 
rior spot being lower down than the other. 
In certain specimens these two are blended 
and there is but a triangular spot on the 
top of the head, while the depth of shading 
on the body is also 
variable. The un- 
der parts of the lar- Fig. 292. 
vae are of a pale yellowish color and of a 
translucent nature ’’(Norton.) 
Although this insect is seldom absent 
from the strawberry field it practically does 
but little damage as it seldom occurs in 
sufficient numbers to make any perceptible 
impression upon the plants. Prof. Forbes, 
of Illinois, says “that it is removed from 
the first rank of strawberry insects by the 
fact that is evidently especially subject to 
some undiscovered check upon its multi- 
plication which prevents its appearance in 
undue numbers except at comparatively 
rare intervals. It seldom if ever appears 
in undue numbers two years in succession.” 
When not feeding the larvae cling to the 
underside of the leaves coiled in a spiral, 
the tail occupying the center. If alarmed 
by a slight jar or otherwise disturbed they 
immediately fall to the ground. 
Towards the end of June, when the larvae 
have attained their full growth, they burrow 
into the ground where they form a cocoon 
from the small particles of earth. The in- 
side of this is made smooth by a gummy 
substance secreted by the larva. The pupa 
is of a dingy greenish- white color. About 
the middle of July the mature insects emerge 
and are again seen on the wing. Soon after 
the eggs for the second brood are deposited. 
During the month of August the larvas of 
the second brood are actively at work and 
will often destroy the usefulness of the 
foliage. After completing their larval 
growth they again burrow into the ground 
where they remain as larvae until early the 
following spring where they pupate and 
transform into the four-winged saw fly 
within a few days. 
The natural enemies of this insect in all 
its forms are comparatively few. Chickens 
and birds devour them greedily. Wasps 
have been seen to capture them and de- 
stroy them. There have been no insect 
parasites reared from them yet. Still there 
must be something that checks their pro- 
gress else they would in a comparatively 
short time defoliate the strawberry fields 
and do serious injury to the crop. 
As an artificial remedy, there can be no 
doubt but that for the first brood, a solution 
of white hellebore, one teaspoonful to an 
ordinary pailful of water, would effectually 
destroy all the larval. Perhaps many fruit 
growers would hesitate to apply this to a 
