1878.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
267 
Frink, Westerly, R. I.; H. E. Whitney, Monticello, 
Sullivan Co., N. Y.; Geo. M. Taylor, Riverside, Bur¬ 
lington Co., N. J. ; Cyrene Griffis, Montrose, Susque¬ 
hanna Co., Penn.; J. A. Boston, Newburyport, Mass., 
and John B. Baker, Concord, Merrimac Co., N. H. 
ANSWERS TO PUZZLES IN THE APRIL NUMBER. 
Alphabetical QuEr.iES.-l. V inverted makes a caret 
(carrot). 2. Pea and tea (P and T). 3. B (bee). 4. D (you). 
5. B. C, and K (be, see, are). 6. J (jay). 7. I (eye). S. G 
(gee). 9. D (dee). 10. Y (why). 11. IV (double you). 12. 
Q (cue). 13. Red C (sea). 14. X specked (expect). 15. 
Dutch S (duchess). 10. Bar on S. 17. L (ell). 
Charade.— C—A—P-Cap. 
Numerical Enigma.— Learning is to the studious, riches 
to the careful, power to the boll, and heaven to the virtuous. 
Cross-word.— Constantinople. 
Alphabetical Arithmetic.— 314)SG9501 (2769. 
Key— Palmerston. 
Pi.—Black lead does not contain a single particle of lead, 
but is composed of carbon and iron. 
Drop-letter Puzzle:—N ever cut out a piece of a news¬ 
paper till you have looked on the other side. 
Transpositions.— 1. Teach, cheat. 2. Rome, more. 3. 
Broad, board. 4. Desert, rested. 5. Peach, cheap. 
Square Word. 
Concealed Fish. 
HEAVEN 
ERMINE 
AMAZED 
VIZARD 
E N E R V E 
N E D D E R 
Forward. 
1. Dace. 2. Sole. 3. Ling. 
4. Rudd. 5. Tench. 
Backward. 
1. Dab. 2. Shad. 3. Diodon. 
4. Goby. 5. Gar. 
Correspondents will save time, if they will address 
their letters (to Aunt Sue) to Rowayton, Fairfield Co., 
Conn., from July to December of this year. But please 
remember that Aunt Sue is not Orange Judd Co.; the 
latter must be addressed at 245 Broadway, N. Y. City. 
-- 
The Young' UI5ci - oscoi»ist' > s Clul». 
A share of last month’s talk was given to an account of 
a common insect parasite upon chickens, and it was there 
stated that those animals that fed upon other animals, 
and those plants that fed upon the juices of other plants, 
were termed parasites , and we may add that those having 
this manner of. living, are called 
Parasitic Animals and Plants. 
Not only do the higher animals afford homes for insect 
and other parasites, but insects themselves are preyed 
upon by other insects, a matter no doubt of much dis¬ 
ci mfort to the insects thus visited, but one of real im¬ 
portance to us, who are obliged to look upon some in¬ 
sects as our enemies—as we shall presently see. A re¬ 
markable instance of an insect being troubled by para¬ 
sites, was brought me a short time ago by a gentleman 
living in Westchester Co., not far from New York City. 
He brought specimens of the Colorado Potato-Beetle— 
now generally known as the “Potato Bug”—so com¬ 
pletely covered by small creatures, that the beetle itself 
could not be seen ; it was even more thickly covered than 
the beetle at a, figure 1, which shows both of the natural 
size. The little creature is 
A Parasitic Mite, 
which might be called the “Potato-Beetle Mite,” were it 
not found on other beetles also. I think that I have al¬ 
ready told you that mites differed from the true insects, 
among other points, in having the body all in one piece. 
This mite was first described by Prof. Riley, who gave it 
the scientific name of TJropoda Americana , there being 
other species in Europe. The name TJropoda is from 
Greek words meaning tail and foot, on account of a 
peculiar tail-like arrangement by which this attaches 
itself to the beetle. The engraving is from Mr. Riley’s 
work on “ Potato Pests ” ; h gives the mite enormously 
magnified, showing its underside. To hold fast to the 
beetle, the mite has a pair of remarkable organs, which, 
when not in use, lie just under the skin, between the 
legs, as shown by the lines in 6, but when in use, they 
are extended as in c, reaching out beyond the head; 
each has a minute claw at the end, more plainly seen at 
d. We now come to the “tail-foot” part, from which 
the creature is named. In Europe this was long sup¬ 
posed to be a kind of silk, to enable the mite to hold fast 
with, but Mr. Riley has discovered that the thread is the 
dried excrement of the mite, made to serve as a sort of 
anchor; the thread of this is shown at e. As you may sup¬ 
pose, so many parasites as at a, all feeding upon it, soon 
Put an Pud to tlie Beetle, 
and this brings us to a very interesting thing concerning 
injurious insects. Scarcely one of you, who live in the 
country, at least in the Middle and Northern States, but 
has seen the Colorado Beetle, or “Potato Bug,” and 
those who live elsewhere have heard much about it; 
how rapidly it ate up the potato vines, and if the insects 
were allowed to have their own way, we should be 
obliged to go without potatoes. To get potatoes at all, 
in many parts of the country, the farmer is obliged to 
poison the beetles. But when an insect increases in 
large numbers, its natural enemies increase also, and 
though most people look upon birds to keep insects in 
check, these probably do but little as compared with 
Their Insect Enemies, 
which attack and feed upon them in one form or another, 
whether in the egg, the larva, the pupa, or perfect state. 
Besides a spider and the mite here described, there are 
known to be over two dozen true insects that prey upon the 
potato-beetle. This beetle, being so de¬ 
structive, has been watched more close¬ 
ly than others, but it is found to be 
the case that, whenever an injurious 
insect gets to be very abundant, its 
insect enemies increase rapidly also. 
Now is not this a wonderful arrange¬ 
ment of things ? By growing millions 
of acres of potatoes, we allow of the 
increase of an insect that, when it only 
had certain wild plants to eat, gave 
no trouble, but with this food provid¬ 
ed for it, it multiplied so as to threat¬ 
en to stop potato culture; but other 
insects come to our help in dozens, 
and if we conld afford to wait, the evil 
might in time be cured without the 
use of poison. As it is, we are great¬ 
ly aided by other insects. Does not 
this look as if some Great Mind really 
directed these matters?... Though I 
have said so much about parasites, 
Fig. 2. TOMATO- I must just mention another, a dozen 
WORM. or more being sent every season as a 
great wonder. Figure 2 shows what a great many of 
you must have seen ; a 
Tomato “Worm,” or Caterpillar, 
is a great, green, unpleasant-looking, but harmless crea¬ 
ture to all but plants, and those it eats heartily. These 
caterpillars are frequently seen almost covered with 
white things, which most persons take for eggs. They 
are really little cocoons. When the caterpillar was 
young, a very tiny fly stung it and dropped in her eggs ; 
these eggs hatched, and numerous little caterpillars or 
maggots, lived inside the big one ; when they reached 
their full size, they ate their way out, and spun these lit¬ 
tle nests, and went to rest. If you find a “worm” thus 
loaded, place some of these cocoons under a glass, and 
you will no doubt be able to see and examine the perfect 
little fly. It is very small, and you might not notice it 
unlesson the watch for it_Last month I promised to 
say something 
About Mounting Objects. 
In March last, I described one method of mounting seeds 
and other opaque objects, and will now try to answer 
those who have inquired about transparent objects, or 
those seen by transmitted light, and as our microscope 
ness. These must be used for high powers, but to mount 
objects for our Microscope, while it will be neater and 
better for those who can afford it to have this thin glass, 
you had better begin with the very thinnest you can find, 
and practice at first with that. You will also need some 
Canada Balsam, 
which those of you who live where there are Balsam Fir 
trees, will know all about, and that it is found in blisters 
in the bark of these trees, and is easily collected by cut¬ 
ting these swellings, and squeezing out the lioney-like 
liquid into a spoon. Most of you will have to get it of 
the druggists; an ounce in a wide-mouthed vial will last 
a long time. Canada Balsam is a natural mixture of a 
clear resin with oil of turpentine, and when exposed, the 
turpentine will evaporate and leave the solid resin. If 
left exposed, it will, after a time, become very thick and 
finally solid. If the vial is stopped by a cork, it will be 
apt to cement the cork in firmly, and it will be well if 
you can find some kind of a tin box, to go over the 
mouth of the bottle like a cap. 
Other Articles tliat may be Needed, 
are a small bottle of Oil (Spirits) of Turpentine : one of 
Alcohol; and one of Solution of Potash (Liquor Potassse 
of the druggist). Besides these, you will need small 
forceps, or tweezers, and mounted needles, already de¬ 
scribed in the sheet that goes with the microscope. A 
brick or piece of soapstone that you can warm on the 
stove, or in the oven, will also be needed, and it will be 
convenient to have a contrivance for holding the slides 
when hot; for this the spring clothes-pins will answer, 
arranged by cutting oft' one arm, as suggested by Prof. 
Phin, as shown in figure 3. After all this preparation, 
Fig. 1 . —POTATO-BEETLE PARASITE (TJropoda 
and our talks about it are for beginners, I can only give 
you the simplest methods, and you will find that these 
will require all the time and skill you will care to give, 
while the procuring of the materials will be more of an 
expense than some will care to go to. In the first place, 
you will need some 
Class Slides; 
these are sold at the instrument stores, and for micro¬ 
scopes of high power should be of the finest plate-glass; 
for your purpose, the clearest glass that you can find 
among the glazier’s scraps will answer, and you can get 
the glazier to cut them for you in pieces three inches by 
one, which is the usual size, though some prefer them 
inch. Then the objects must be covered with 
thinner glass ; for nice preparations, to be used with 
high powers, thin glass covers are made on purpose, 
varying from ’/so to '/iso °f an inch in thickness ; these 
are round or square, one half to one inch across, and cost 
from $1.25 to $3, or more, an ounce, according to thin. 
Fig. 3. —FOR MOUNTING OBJECTS. 
which looks more forbidding than it really is, let us 
proceed to 
Mount a Fly’s Wing. 
First clean your slide thoroughly, and put it on the 
warm brick or other contrivance for warming, until it is 
warm enough to make the balsam very thin ; drop on the 
center of the slide a single drop of the balsam, from a 
small glass or a wooden rod, which is to be kept in the 
vial for the purpose. If any air bubbles appear, re¬ 
move them by means of a needle. Then take the wing 
up by the forceps, and place it gently on the bal¬ 
sam, putting it on in such a man¬ 
ner that no air will get between 
it and the balsam ; drop on a very 
little more balsam, and then care¬ 
fully put on the cover, which has 
been warmed; the cover should be 
put on, one edge first, and gradu¬ 
ally let down upon the balsam 
so as to not inclose any air; press 
the cover down slightly, and put 
the slide away in a warm place, 
such as a shelf near the stove, 
until the balsam becomes quite 
hard. Some of the balsam will no 
doubt project beyond the cover up 
on the slide; when this gets hard, 
most of it can be easily scraped 
off, and the rest removed by a 
little turpentine on a cloth. Witt 
some objects it may be necessar) 
to hold the cover down with a 
clothes-pin clip while hardening. 
- Sometimes the wing or other ob- 
/C/ jeet will not take to the balsam 
readily, but leave air between 
the two; in this case the object is 
first soaked awhile in oil of turpentine, which usually 
removes the difficulty. 
Some Small Insects Entire, 
as well as the feet and other parts of large ones, are 
sometimes mounted in Canada Balsam, but first require 
soaking in the potash solution to make them more trans¬ 
parent ; they are then soaked in water to remove the pot¬ 
ash, then in strong alcohol to take out the water, then in 
turpentine to get rid of the alcohol, and finally they are 
ready to go into the balsam. When the object is mount¬ 
ed, the slide may be covered on one side, or both, with 
colored paper, leaving circular openings over the object, 
and the label written on this, or the glass may be left 
uncovered, and a small paper label attached with gum 
tragacanth, or paste.—Much in the way of mounting must 
be learned by practice; those who wish to know of other 
methods, should have some work on the subject. One 
of the best works, at a moderate price, is Prof. John 
filin’s “How to Use the Microscope.” Price 75 cents. 
Americana.) 
