1895 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
569 
very ripe, cut with a self-rake reaper, load right on 
the wagon, and stack in the barn. 1 don’t think, if 
cut perfectly dry, that it will heat enough to hurt 
the seed. 
As to the stubble after cutting, it was as dead as 
any wheat stubble with the exception of a chance 
plant. At present writing, there is such a mat of 
young volunteer clover over the field, that it feels 
like-a carpet, as does another field which I simply 
pastured. A. R. 
Owensboro, Ky._ 
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The “ Old Fashioned ” Potato Bug. 
0. H., Selin's Grove , Pa.—There is a black bug here, about an 
inch long, which has a shell over each of its wings. Lengthwise 
on each shell, are two or three white, or, rather, gray stripes. 
They travel in large numbers, attack the potato, take a number 
of rows and follow them to the end and eat all the leaves and 
leave nothing but the stems. When they get to the end of the 
rows, they disappear ; no matter how many more rows there are 
in the patch, they are not touched by them. If a potato stalk on 
which they are is shaken, they let themselves drop to the ground, 
and run to get away—Paris-green does not affect them. What 
are they, and what is the remedy for them ? 
AN8WKRKD BY M. V. 8LINGKRLANP. 
One of these interesting potato destroyers is shown 
natural size (and nearly natural coloring ; the light 
stripes are dark yellow and the head is lighter) at j in 
Fig. 180. It is a member of a curious family of beetles 
known as the Blister beetles, so called because they 
are used for making blister-plasters. The dried and 
pulverized bodies of the beetles are made into a paste, 
which, when applied to the skin, produces a blister. 
The species most commonly used for this purpose, 
occurs in Europe, and is the well-known “ Spanish- 
fly ” of druggists ; our American species also have the 
same blistering property, but do not seem to occur in 
sufficient numbers to have yet induced any one to at¬ 
tempt their use as a commercial article. The Blister 
beetle under consideration is known as the Striped 
Blister beetle (Epicanta vittata). It was described 
more than a century ago, and is now very generally 
distributed throughout the United States, but rarely 
occurs in destructive numbers north of Pennsylvania. 
The beetle has been recognized as a potato pest in the 
South and West for many years, but its outbreaks are 
usually of local occurrence, and they do not appear as 
regularly as the Colorado beetle. 
The transformations which Blister beetles undergo 
are remarkable ; they not only undergo wonderful 
changes in form, but they pass through a greater 
number of changes than do most insects. It fortu¬ 
nately happens that the species has been carefully 
studied by Dr. Riley, who has made some interesting 
illustrations of the different stages of the insect. 
Some of these illustrations are reproduced in Fig. 180, 
and L shall briefly discuss the life story of the insect. 
One mother beetle may lay from 400 to 500 eggs— b, 
Fig. 180 ; these she deposits in masses of about 130 in 
holes which she excavates in the ground, and after¬ 
wards carefully covers with earth. In about 10 days, 
there hatches from each egg an active, long-legged 
larva c, which runs about on the ground searching for 
food. You never could guess what toothsome article 
of diet this first larva, as it is called, must have. 
Nothing but grasshopper eggs will satisfy it! Many 
of the little creatures doubtless never find any of these 
eggs, but they have been known to survive for a fort¬ 
night without food. Grasshopper eggs, as some may 
know, are laid in large masses in deep, narrow holes 
in the ground. At / is shown one of the larvge at work 
in a nest of eggs a. Should more than one larva 
happen to get into the same egg mass, a deadly con¬ 
flict sooner or later ensues, until one alone remains 
the victorious possessor. After about two grasshopper 
eggs have been sucked, a period of rest ensues, during 
which the larva sheds its skin and appears as quite a 
different creature, shown at d. This is known as the 
second larva ; it usually lies curled up when feeding 
as shown at e. This larva continues to feed upon the 
eggs for about a week, when it sheds its skin and 
appears nearly like y. After anothers week’s feeding, 
it sheds its skin again, and the last stage of the second 
larva appears as at y. This grub-like creature revels 
in the juicy eggs another week, usually destroying all 
but a few of them, then burrows away into the soil a 
short distance, and changes to a curious pupa-like 
object, shown from the side and from above at h. 
The insect has the power of remaining in this curious, 
pupa-like condition for a long time, sometimes a year 
or more ; but generally passes only the winter thus. 
In the spring, the skin bursts from this pupa-like 
object, and the third larva appears; it very closely 
resembles the last stage of the second larva shown at 
g. This third larva burrows about in the ground, eat¬ 
ing little, if any, and in a few days chauges to a true 
pupa, shown from the side and from below at i. In 
about a week, this true pupa develops into the perfect 
insect, the beetle, at j. Due can hardly conceive that 
such a commonplace looking beetle had passed 
through such a complicated and interesting series of 
changes. Yet this is but a fair sample of the wonder¬ 
ful stories these, to many, insignificant creatures— 
the insects—have to tell to those who care to spend 
some time with them. 
A word as to the economic side of the question. As 
the insect is injurious to crops only in its beetle state, 
and is decidedly beneficial as a grasshopper-egg 
destroyer, the question at once arises, Shall we pro¬ 
tect the beetles in hopes that the grasshopper crop 
may be thus lessened ? It is a noteworthy fact that 
the beetles are more numerous the next season after 
a grasshopper year ; but it is doubtful whether in the 
East, these Blister beetles play any noticeable part in 
the reduction of the grasshopper crop. 1 am sure, if I 
saw my potato vines disappearing as the correspon¬ 
dent describes, I would not hesitate a moment to 
institute some means to destroy the beetles. But how 
can they be destroyed ? As C. H. states, Paris-green 
is not as effective as it is on the Colorado beetle. It 
will kill them, but acts slowly. Probably no other 
insecticide would be more effectual. But the peculiar 
habit of feeding on certain rows as described by C. II., 
suggests a practical method. Why not knock them 
off into pans of kerosene as we used to the Colorado 
beetle when it first came East? With only a few rows 
to work on, one could easily check them in this way, 
it seems to me. It is a curious habit the beetles seem 
to have in Pennsylvania of confining themselves to 
certain rows. I find no similar observation recorded 
and I cannot explain this habit ; I wonder if varying 
the length of the rows would affect them any ! When 
they get to the ends of the rows, they doubtless dis¬ 
appear to places where their instinct tells them there 
are grasshopper eggs near by. 
A Bug That Frightens Hens. 
F. P., Napa, Cal. —I send a bus found in a potato patch ; some 
were about 254 inches long. Hundreds were found in this special 
patch of Early Rose, and where found the potatoes in the 
hill were eaten more or less ; always the largest potatoes were 
gouged out in preference to the smaller ones. There is not one- 
half sack of marketable potatoes from this one-half acre patch. 
I may mention that I never found more than one bug in a hill. 
When I finished, I started the cultivator ar.d turned in the poul¬ 
try, but the bugs showed tight, and the hens would not go near 
them. In the part where I first started to dig up the potatoes, the 
bugs had entirely vanished when I reached them with the cultiva¬ 
tor. although there must have been plenty of them left after we 
took out the potatoes. How can I destroy the bugs before they do 
so much damage ? We are troubled with the effects of poison oak 
or ivy. How can we stop the terrible itching which nearly drives 
a person mad, especially during this hot and dusty weather ? 
Ans.—T he insect sent is one of the giants among 
the cricket family. It is commonly known as a Sand- 
cricket. I find but very little published information 
regarding these curious insects. They are fierce- 
looking creatures that live under stones in loose soil, 
from which they are often turned up by the plow in 
spring. They are supposed to be more or less carniv¬ 
orous, varying their vegetable diet with insects 
which they capture during their ramblings at night. 
They cannot jump like ordinary crickets, but creep 
about. I do not know that these Sand-crickets have 
heretofore attained economic importance, thus no 
suggestions have been made to prevent their ravages. 
I doubt whether anything could be applied to the soil 
on so large a scale, that would affect them in any 
way. I do not wonder that the hens did not relish 
such fierce, ungainly creatures. 1 can suggest noth¬ 
ing but following the plow in spring, and killing all 
that can be found then, and continue this hand-war¬ 
fare whenever the insects are found during the season. 
A friend, who is very susceptible to poison oak or 
ivy. and who has suffered terribly from it, tells me 
that the best thing he has found is the Tincture of 
Grindelia. Dilute it with about three parts of water 
and bathe the affected parts. It should be applied as 
soon as the irritation is felt, and before the charac¬ 
teristic pustules appear. Applied at this time, it will 
prevent the formation of the pustules, and soon che^k 
the irritation. But if not applied until the pustules 
appear, it will only prevent the formation of new 
pustules, and thus check the spreading of the affec¬ 
tion to other parts ; the pustules that are already 
formed, will simply take their course without spread¬ 
ing. The diluted tincture should be applied to the 
affected parts as often as two or three times every 
hour. m. v. s. 
Fertilizer for Florida Pineapples. 
W. II. McN., Potsdam, Fla— How much potash, phosphoric acid 
and nitrogen does the average ton of Canada unleached ashes 
contain? What chemicals, and in what amounts, would approach 
nearest to ashes, and how could they best be combined ? I notice 
that on spots where brush and log heaps are burned and the 
ashes spread around, the best pineapples are always found- 
Plants are frequently two and three times as large as those grow¬ 
ing where no ashes are spread. I do not think that cotton-seed 
meal and tobacco dust are much of a fertilizer for pines, and that 
750 pounds to the acre is too little to insure a profitable crop. 
Many used this combination this year because it is cheap. I am 
perfectly satisfied that pineapples do not get, in cotton-seed meal 
and tobacco dust, a sufficient amount of potash. The formula I 
am ordered to use is, tobacco dust, 250 pounds; cotton-seed meal, 
500 pounds; total, 750 pounds. This is for one acre. The above 
appears to me to be too deficient in potash to insure strong, 
healthy growing plants and a paying crop. 
Ans. —An average ton of Canada unleaehed wood 
ashes contains 40 pounds of phosphoric acid and 110 
pounds of potash, with from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds of 
lime. There is never any nitrogen in ashes, because 
the heat in burning the wood, drives off all of that 
substance in the form of a gas. A very fair substitute 
for wood ashes could be made from 800 pounds of 
unslaked lime, 225 pounds of sulphate of potash, and 
150 pounds of fine bone low in nitrogen. There is no 
reason, however, why any Southern man should ever 
buy Canada ashes. The cotton-hull ashes from the 
mills where the hulls are used for fuel, contain over 
20 per cent of potash, and seven of phosphoric acid. 
You ought to be able to get them from some local 
mill, and thus secure needed potash at a very reason¬ 
able price. Cotton-seed meal averages seven per cent 
nitrogen, three of phosphoric acid and two of potash. 
Tobacco dust contains three per cent nitrogen, six of 
potash and one of phosphoric acid. The mixture of 
cotton-seed meal and tobacco dust contains too much 
nitrogen and too little potash and phosphoric acid. 
According to the analysis, the 750 pounds contain 
about 35 pounds each of nitrogen and potash, and 13 
of phosphoric acid. We believe that it would pay you 
to add, at least, 500 pounds of cotton-hull ashes to the 
750-pound mixture. We shall be pleased to hare the 
views of other pineapple growers. 
A City Editor on “Cutworms." 
J. A. M., Flagstaff , Ariz. —Iinclose a clipping from a newspaper. 
The editor may be right, though I am very positive that he is mis¬ 
taken. What does The R. N.-Y. think or know about it? “The 
agricultural experiment station at Morgantown, W. Va., an¬ 
nounces that it has made a study of cutworms under glass 
cases, and found that they turned into grasshoppers. The cut¬ 
worms were very numerous on account of the scarcity, for two 
years, of quails and turkeys, and the station warned the farmers 
of that region that they would have to contend with a grasshop¬ 
per pest this season.” 
Ans. —That is about as near to the real facts as 
some of the city men get. It’s a good illustration of 
the value of the agricultural science prepared by the 
men who investigate with a paste pot and a pair of 
shears. The authorities at the West Virginia Station 
send us the following version of the affair : “It is, 
indeed, amusing how a mistake on the part of the 
editor of one of our daily papers, can go the rounds. 
The way it all happened was, that on account of the 
cutworms being so numerous in West Virginia this 
spring, we got out a leaflet giving remedies, etc., 
and among other things, said that never in any in¬ 
stance do cutworms turn to grasshoppers, as many 
farmers hold. The editor, not reading it carefully, 
mixed it ail up, and we are now in every mail getting 
our blessing.” 
Cultivating Field Beans and Burdocks. 
0. II. W., Wyoming, N. Y. —I have a field of beans just coming 
into blossom on stony ground, soil light clay loam and very dry. 
We have had no rain for six weeks, and the surface is dry 
although well cultivated, and free from weeds. Will some bean 
grower advise about cultivating them when in such a condition of 
growth ? Some say, never work among beans when in bloom. 
How can I get rid of burdocks, and how long will the seed lie in 
the ground and then grow? After it grows, how long before it 
will seed again? I notice that it will not go to seed the first year 
it comes up. Will it seed the second or third ? If cut off under 
the ground below the crown the first year, will it sprout up again? 
I find that it will not if so cut when the stalk is in blossom. 
Ans— 1 do not feel like giving advice on this ques¬ 
tion, for the soil is so different from mine that what 
might be good policy with me, inignt not prove so 
good with O. H. W. But I think if the soil were well 
cultivated, very fine and mellow on the surface, I 
would not cultivate j use while they were in bloom. 
If the condition of the soil did not suit me, and I 
could ma^e it right with a cultivator, 1 would use it, 
even though the beans were in bloom. 1 think that 
the only injury to beans by cultivating while in bloom 
is from knocking off the blossoms. Instead of a 
drought, 1 can report plenty of rain. A very severe 
storm packed the ground and washed and guttered 
my bean field, so that I cultivated again as soon as 
dry enough, although the beaus were in bloom and so 
large that the ground was nearly covered with the 
vines. 
I know of no way to destroy burdocks in fence corn¬ 
ers, orchards, or any place where one cannot plow, or 
for any reason does not wish to; but to dig them with 
a light pick, cutting below the crown. I do not know 
how long seed will lie in the ground, but would sup¬ 
pose that seed simply dropped on the surface from the 
parent plant, would sprout the following year, if ever. 
The burdock is a biennial plant ; that is. it requires 
two years from seed to produce seed. The first year, 
it is a small, inconspicuous plant; but it is gathering 
force for the secoud season, when it branches out in 
all its ugliness, it can be destroyed the first year, as 
well as the second, if it is only cut off deep enough ; 
but the first year’s growth is liable to escape notice, 
the plant being small, so that two or three years 
thorough work is needed to be rid of them. Three or 
four years ago, my hog yard was covered with them ; 
there must have been thousands of them. To-day I 
looked for docks and found just two. K. c. G. 
