234 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[J UHE, 
ished from below, ran far away from the poorly fed 
neighbors.—As to the figures, the rows were 34 
feet apart, and the hills 3 feet distant in the rows, 
say 4,000 hills on an acre, and 4,000 pints of manure 
is about 621 bushels, or two large wagon loads. 
Anybody can reckon the difference between six 
large, well-filled ears of corn on each hill, and less 
than three per hill, and the cost of the manure 
as compared with the total value of the final crop. 
The plowing, and the seed, and the hoeing, amount 
to the same in each case. All I have to say is, that 
every corn-hill planted on my farm this year will 
have at least a pint of manure in it.” 
KsS”liating liens. 
It is a serious drawback upon the profits of the 
poultry yard when the hens eat the eggs, and this 
is generally brought on in their confinement in sum¬ 
mer, to which most villagers and some farmers 
have to resort. This seldom occurs in flocks that 
have their liberty. In this case, as in many another, 
an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 
The craving for animal food is met by the great 
numbers of insects in the summer. With a sup¬ 
ply of grain the flock at liberty gathers enough 
animal food. If cut off from it, it must be supplied 
in their confinement. The maximum production of 
eggs cannot be kept up without it. One of the 
cheapest and most effectual sources for those 
who keep a cow is skimmed milk. All kinds of 
poultry become very fond of this, and with green 
food and grain will do fairly well in a large yard. 
Other sources of supply are butcher’s offal, fish 
offal, and chandler’s greaves. Hens finding other 
animal food respect their own eggs. In obstinate 
cases the only effectual cure is the hatchet. 
What can he Sown in .Snnc. 
Those who have a time of “ making garden ” in 
early spring, and doing up the sowing all at once, 
do not get the greatest good from their gardens. 
There are many vegetables of which the season 
can be greatly prolonged by making successive 
sowings. A striking example of this is Sweet 
Corn, which, by judicious sowings may be had 
every day until frost stops its growth. In many 
localities, the most thoroughly tropical plants, 
such as Lima Beans, Okra, and the Melons, do bet¬ 
ter if put in now than if sown earlier. For suc¬ 
cession, after the first sowing, put in Bush Beans, 
Beets (allowing plenty to be used as beet greens), 
Cucumbers, and other pickle plants. Carrots, 
Kohl Rabi, and Salsify, are among those that may 
still be sown and make a crop before frost arrives. 
I'liCMinbei’s— JI<'lons—Sqiii^lics 
DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS—REMEDIES. 
Every one with much gardening experience 
knows that to succeed with any of the Gourd 
Family (which includes Cucumbers, Melons of all 
kinds, and Squashes, early and late), there must be 
a constant fight with the insects which especially 
attack these plants. One of the best known of 
these is the “Striped-bug,” or properly “Striped- 
beetle” (Diabrotica vittata), (fig. 1.) Gardeners 
have learned that by far the best treatment of 
young cucumber and melon plants is to place over 
each hill a frame of boards, 12 oi¬ 
ls inches square, 6 or 8 inches 
high, the top of which is covered 
with milliuet, mosquito-net, or 
some similar fabric.’ These .boxes 
shelter the young plants from cold 
winds, and their slight covering 
will prevent injury from a chilly 
night, and even from a slight frost; 
besides this, the^ keep off the Striped-bug until 
the plant outgrows the frame, and is large enough 
to not be seriously injured by its attacks. After 
awhile the Striped-bugs diminish in numbers, and 
the cultivator congratulates himself that all will 
now be well; but here and there his vines soon 
begin to wilt, and perhaps die. If he carefully 
takes up the wilting vine and examines the root, 
he may find the reason for its flagging ; numerous 
Fig. 1. STRIPED 
CUCUMBER 
BEETLE. 
worms (fig. 2), nearly half an inch long, about as 
thick as a good-sized pin, whitish, with a blackish- 
brown head, feeding at the root. This, which does 
so much dam¬ 
age at the roots, 
is the grub state 
or larva of the 
same Striped- 
beetle, so de¬ 
structive to the 
topsof thevines. 
When the bee¬ 
tles disappear¬ 
ed,they had pro¬ 
vided for an¬ 
other brood by 
laying eggs near 
the surface of 
the ground, 
from which 
come these 
“worms ” at the 
root. The grubs 
BACK VIEW. 
SIDE VIEW. 
Fig. 2.— LARVA—MAGNIFIED. 
complete their growth in about a month, form 
a chrysalis in the ground, aud after two weeks 
come out as perfect beetles to continue their 
mischief, it will be seen that the destruction 
of every Striped-beetle by hand-picking or by any 
other means, will be a great gain, not only as re¬ 
gards the injury that it may do as a beetle, but in 
preventing the underground work of its progeny. 
A relative of this common Striped-bug, but with 
its marks in spots instead of stripes, is found in 
some localities, and it is equally destructive. 
In some Western and Southern States, great 
damage has been caused by what Prof. Riley calls 
the “Pickle Worm.” This is the caterpillar or 
larva of a handsome moth (fig. 3,) (Phacellura niti- 
dalis). Its yellowish-brown wings have an iris- 
purple reflection, and the iron wings have an 
irregular, semi-transparent, dull golden-yellow- 
spot. The larva (fig. 4,) is yellowish-white, tinged 
more or less with green, and has numerous shiny, 
slightly elevated spots, each of which bears a fine 
hair. Its length is 
about half an inch. 
These bore holes in 
the young cucum¬ 
bers aud melons, 
often causing them 
to rot. Several are 
often found in one 
cucumber. As they 
have been some¬ 
times found in cu¬ 
cumbers after they have been pickled, the 
name Pickle Worm has been given to the 
larva. Thus far, this destructive insect has only 
been found in a few localities. The vines should 
be carefully watched, and all infested fruits cut at 
once and fed to the pigs or destroyed, in order to 
prevent a second brood.—Very destructive to 
Squashes and Pumpkins, and occasionally to other 
vines of the family, is the “Squash-bug”—in this 
case properly called “bug,” as it is not a beetle, 
but belongs to the true bugs, as the Bed-bug, 
Chinch-bug, and other unpleasant insects. This 
Squash-bug (fig. 5) called formerly Coreus tristis, 
but the later works give it as Anasa tristis. It is a 
little over half an inch long, of a rusty-black color 
3.— MOTH OF PICKLE WORM. 
Fig. 4.— LARVA OF PICKLE WORM. 
above, and dirty-yellow beneath; it gives off, 
when disturbed, an odor that lias been described as 
like that of “an over-ripe pear.” We never met 
with a pear so “over-ripe” as to have this odor, 
which is one so sickening that few persons will 
care to test it more than once. These insects pass 
the winter hidden in crevices, in fences, and other 
places of shelter, and near the end of June, or 
early in July, they make their way to the squash 
vines, where they mate They are quiet during the 
day, remaining on the ground or on the stems of 
the vines, but at night they are busy in gluing 
their brownish eggs in little patches to the under¬ 
side of the leaves. The eggs soon hatch, and the 
young insects, paler in color and more rounded in 
shape than the old ones, stay together for awhile 
upon the same leaf; but as they change their skins 
and grow larger, they scatter upon the leaves of 
the vine, which they puncture, and from which 
they draw the sap, soon causing them to wither 
and die. In September and October, they reach 
their full size, and then seek a place in which they 
may pass the winter in safety. There is scarcely 
any destructive insect with which hand-picking at 
the right time is so effective as this, and it is not 
difficult to keep them in con¬ 
trol if properly attended to. 
When they first appear, the 
vines are small, and the parent 
insects may be found upon 
them or on the ground close 
by, aud are easily caught. 
Next the eggs should be look¬ 
ed for, and being in patches 
are easily crushed by the 
thumb and finger; if the 
eggs escape, the young will 
be found in clusters for awhile, and they are 
then very readily destroyed. If proper care be 
taken, there is no reason why any should escape. 
It is very important that every cultivator should 
understand the habits of destructive insects. 
There is a time in the life of most of these pests, 
when they may be most effectively destroyed, and 
in many cases, hand-picking is the best remedy. 
Fig. 5. 
SQUASH-BUG. 
Priniing in June. 
We have tried pruning in almost all' months of 
the year, and on the whole prefer June. This being 
about the busiest mouth of the year, there is usu¬ 
ally little time for pruning, and so the favorite time 
is early in spring, and many of our old orchards, in 
their rotting limbs and decayed trunks, bear testi¬ 
mony to the mischief wrought by the ill-timed u$e 
of the saw and axe. Small limbs, an inch in diam¬ 
eter or less, can be taken off at any time with com¬ 
parative safety. But the thorough pruning called 
for in a long-neglected orchard is best done in the 
early summer. The sap is absorbed by the rapid 
formation of wood and leaves ; the wood laid bare 
in pruning large limbs soon becomes seared, the 
healing process around the edges of the wound be¬ 
gins immediately, aud in a few years the wound will 
be completely covered with new wood and bark. 
There is no chance for decay 4s when large limbs 
are removed in the early spring. There is far too 
little pruning done in the farm orchard. A dead 
limb should not be suffered upon the fruit tree. Good 
pruning leaves no stubs, but cuts close to the trunk 
or branch to which the pruned limb is attached. 
Mow 4o Cwel Iffigfs Price-, lor 
The much-quoted saying of Daniel W ebster re¬ 
garding the legal profession: “There is always 
room at the top,” applies also to fruit selling. No 
matter how abundant the supply of any fruit, or 
how much the market may be “glutted” with 
strawberries, peaches, pears, or apples, while com¬ 
mon fruit will be of slow sale at any price, that 
which is a little larger, finer, or better colored, will 
always sell and at good prices. In cities there are 
many wealthy persons who do not care for the 
price if they can get what they want. We saw re¬ 
cently a basket of hot-house grapes that had been 
sold for $5 per lb., and at the same store forced 
peaches were sold at $1 each. Of course these are 
extreme prices, but they prove that there is a mar¬ 
ket for the fine and unseasonable. We mention 
them to show that “ there is always room at the 
top.” The fruit grower who produces the best is 
not only sure of a sale, but at prices far above 
those for common fruit. How can the best fruit 
be grown ? will be asked. If the grower of cab¬ 
bages should try to take a crop from the same soil 
