1896 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
to enable them quickly to get beyond or outgrow cut¬ 
worm injuries. Applications of any kind to the 
plants are not often successful. Probably the method 
most often practiced in gardens, and which cannot 
fail to be effective when faithfully carried out, is 
hand-picking with lanterns at night or digging them 
out from around the base of the infested plants dur¬ 
ing the day. Bushels of cutworms have been gath¬ 
ered in this way, and with profit. When from some 
cause, success does not attend the use of the poisoned 
baits, discussed next, hand-picking is the only other 
method yet recommended which can be relied upon to 
check cutworm depredation. 
By far the best methods yet devised for killing cut¬ 
worms in any situation, are the poisoned baits ; hand¬ 
picking is usually unnecessary where they are thor¬ 
oughly used. Poisoned bunches of clover or weeds 
have been thoroughly tested, even by the wagon-load 
over large areas, and nearly all have reported them 
very effective ; lamb’s quarters, pepper-grass, and 
mullein are among the weeds especially attractive to 
cutworms. On small areas, the making of the baits 
is done by hand (the bunches being dipped in a strong 
Paris-green mixture, one pound to 50 or 100 gallons 
of water); but they have been prepared on a large 
scale by spraying the plants in the field, cutting them 
with a scythe or machine, and pitching them from 
wagons in small bunches wherever desired. Distrib¬ 
uted a few feet apart between rows of garden plants 
at nightfall, they have attracted and killed enough 
cutworms often to save a large proportion of the crop; 
if the bunches can be covered with a shingle, they 
will keep fresh much longer. The fresher the baits, 
and the more thoroughly the baiting is done, the 
more cutworms one can destroy. Many of the worms 
will often be found dead or dying beneath the baits, 
and they will have been their own sextons, and have 
attended to their own burial in many cases. 
However, it may sometimes happen that a sufficient 
quantity of such green, succulent plants cannot be 
obtained early enough in the season in some localities. 
In this case, and I am not sure but in all cases, a 
poisoned bran mash can be used to the best advan¬ 
tage. It is easily made and applied at any time, is 
not expensive, and thus far the results show that it is 
a very attractive and effective bait. It is made by 
thoroughly mixing sufficient Paris-green with dry 
bran to give it a distinct greenish tinge (a pound to 
25 or more of the bran, or two or three pounds of the 
cheaper white arsenic may be used); then add enough 
water to form a masli sufficiently soft to be dipped 
out with a spoon without dripping. A tablespoonful 
can be quickly dropped around the base of each cab¬ 
bage or tomato plant, small amounts easily scattered 
along the rows of onions, turnips, etc., or a little 
dropped on a hill of corn, cucumbers, etc. The worms 
seem to be attracted to this mash, and feed upon it 
greedily. J. A.’s testimony, given in Thk R. N.-Y. for 
June 27, 1896, page 434, should be read in this connec¬ 
tion. The best time to apply these poisoned baits is 
two or three days before any plants have come up or 
been set out in a garden. If the ground has been 
properly prepared, the worms will have had little to 
eat for several days, and they will thus seize the first 
opportunity to appease their hunger upon the baits, 
and wholesale destruction will result. Always apply 
the baits at this time wherever cutworms are expected. 
But it is usually not too late to save a crop after the 
pests have made their presence known by cutting off 
some of the plants. Act promptly, and use the baits 
freely. Keep all domestic stock out of the way of the 
baits. I do not believe that the soaking of corn in 
any solution before planting, will have any deterrent 
effect on any cutworm which may choose for a part 
of his menu the shoots growing from such soaked seed. 
Where a short rotation of crops is practiced, cut¬ 
worms rarely do serious damage in the corn field. The 
methods I can suggest by which they may be killed 
in such locations, are digging them out by hand, and 
by the use of the poisoned baits of clover, weeds, or 
the bran mash. A spoonful of the poisoned mash on 
each hill would, doubtless, soon furnish a deadly meal 
for most of the worms in or near the hill. Hand¬ 
picking has been practiced in corn fields of many 
acres, with success and profit. It is not such a tre¬ 
mendous job as it seems K one only goes at it sys¬ 
tematically. 
To any one who may be further interested in the 
subject of cutworms, especially in those that climb 
trees for their food, I shall be glad to send a copy of 
Bulletin 104 of the Cornell Agricultural Experiment 
Station, in which these destructive pests are discussed 
in detail with many illustrations. 
There are, in Canada, probably, at least 50 different 
species or kinds of owlet-moths, whose caterpillars 
are cutworms ; one cannot, therefore, specify any one 
of these as the cutworm. Furthermore, usually in an 
outbreak of cutworms, there are two or more species 
at work. Fig. 156 illustrates some of the most com¬ 
mon kinds of cutworms and the parent moths. As I 
have stated above, there is no practicable method of 
combating these insects in the moth stage. Torches, 
bonfires, lanterns, and the like would attract and kill 
but a very small percentage of them, and these mostly 
males. We know definitely but very little about the 
egg-laying habits of cutworm moths. The eggs of 
some kinds are laid on the leaves of fruit and forest 
trees; one kind, has been found on a currant leaf, 
while a very common species lays its eggs on the 
trunk or twigs of fruit trees ; others are said to ovi¬ 
posit upon grasses and, occasionally, on stones. Some 
are laid in midsummer ; one kind may winter over as 
an egg, while others lay their eggs in the spring. 
Cutworms have many enemies, both predaceous and 
parasitic, which often do good service as natural 
checks to their increase. Several birds, toads, spider's 
and mites, and several insects like ground beetles, 
wasps, ants, and the spined soldier-bug, wage inces¬ 
sant warfare against cutworms. They also have 
many parasitic foes among the ichneumons and 
tachina flies. 
Clover and Chinch Bugs. 
W. M. E., Amherst , Va .—I have a creek bottom which I could 
irrigate; it is now in tobacco, I wish to get it in Alfalfa. Will it 
do to sow in August at the last working of the tobacco, or in 
September after it is cut? How would it do to mix Crimson 
clover with it to help check the weeds in spring ? Or would Red 
clover be better? Will Chinch bugs eat clover? They have 
destroyed the wheat crop in this section, and have attacked the 
oats and corn. We plowed wheat and bugs under for fertilizers; 
the bugs ought to be good for that. 
Ans —I would not advise W. M E. to sow Alfalfa on 
his land until next spring, when the ground should be 
thoroughly prepared and the seed sown as soon as all 
danger from frost has passed. It would be a good 
plan to sow Crimson clover seed at the rate of 15 
pounds per acre on the land as soon as the tobacco is 
cut. The seed should be lightly covered by harrow¬ 
ing the land immediately after sowing. The growth 
of Crimson clover would make a good covering for 
the land during the winter, and produce a valuable 
crop of green material for turning under before sow¬ 
ing the Alfalfa seed. I know of one field of Alfalfa 
in this State which was seeded in the spring of 1895, 
from which four cuttings of the hay were secured 
during the same season. The Chinch bug does not 
feed upon clover; it confines its attacks to the eereals 
such as wheat, corn and Timothy, m. h. beckwitu. 
Chicks Die in the Shell. 
Reader , Tompkins County , N. F—What is the cause of chicks 
dying in the shell when full grown, instead of breaking out? 
Ours do so this year, under liens, and in the incubator. Turkeys 
die the same. What is the trouble when they break through, and 
the sticky fluid dries them fast to the shell, and also smothers 
them ? The substance is as sticky as mucilage. 
Ans. —There are many causes, and it happens when 
hens are used as well as inoubators. The fact that 
some of the chicks hatch shows that the fault is with 
the eggs. Eggs differ, and those used for incubation 
are from almost as many different parents as there 
are eggs ; hence they are from immature pullets, fat 
heDS, debilitated hens, inbred fowls, etc. Turkeys, 
especially, are inbred. When a hen “steals” her 
nest, the fact that she “ steals ” it is proof that she is 
at liberty, and if one egg hatches, all usually hatch ; 
but when we place eggs under a hen, we take all sorts 
and without knowing anything of them. The sticky 
fluid shows lack of heat. For instance, a hen having 
eggs with strong chicks, is assisted by the animal heat 
of the eggs, the temperature being kept well up, fre¬ 
quently driving her off the nest. If but two or three 
eggs are fertile, she sits closely, and not having the 
assistance of a whole clutch of fertile eggs, with their 
animal heat (or containing weak chicks), she fails to 
have sufficient warmth, and the chicks die. There 
are strong chicks and weak ones, only the strongest 
surviving, and the “ first cause ” is the parents of the 
chicks. As long as we use eggs without knowing any¬ 
thing of them, except the fact that they are eggs, 
there will be losses, both before and after hatching. 
P. H. JACOBS. 
A Swarm of Business Bees. 
C. T. S., Wilmore, Pa .—A few weeks ago, I noticed a great many 
bees flying over a dry, sunny bank in an orchard. An examina¬ 
tion showed that a space eight feet wide and fourteen feet long, 
was honeycombed with holes. The bees were working on apple 
blossoms and carrying pollen. The holes were about seven 
inches deep, with a cell at the bottom containing a ball of pollen 
the size of a pea, and a small egg. The bees looked very much 
like honey bees, but were smaller, darker, and stingless. Hun¬ 
dreds of them were flying over the bank, and they made as much 
noise as several hives of honey bees. What are they, and what 
is their life history ? Are they injurious or beneficial ? 
Ans. —The bees were so badly crushed when they 
reached me that it is impossible to say whether they 
were a species of Andrena or Anthophora ; both of 
these genera have members that burrow in the ground 
as C. T. S. describes. There are many species of 
these small, wild bees that make these perpendicular 
tunnels in which they store up pollen for their young, 
which hatch from eggs laid near by ; some species 
make side cells off from the main tunnel. Warm, 
sandy spots are favorite places for these insects to 
work in. None of these ground-burrowing bees is 
481 
injurious so far as I know; and they must be decid¬ 
edly beneficial where they work on fruit blossoms. 
Of course, the females take away some pollen to use 
as food for their young ; but as they flit from one 
flower to another, and work around among the fer¬ 
tilizing organs, they are very efficient pollenizers for 
the fruit grower. The little busybodies are astir early 
in the spring and both sexes visit the blossoms. 
It is said that the males are the aristocrats, and do 
the idling of the family, though, in some cases, they 
aid the female in the work of building the nest. Yet 
even though the males simply disport themselves 
among the flowers, and feed upon the nectar contained 
in them, they are evem of more advantage as pollen¬ 
izers, for, like their more industrious mates, their 
clothing is made up of compound hairs that hold, and 
becomes, without any effort on their part, covered 
with, pollen grains ; and these grains are not carried 
to the nest for food, but are distributed in other 
flowers, thus insuring the fruitfulness of the bloom. 
Thus such a busy lot of little creatures as C. T. S. has 
in his orchard, are nearly as beneficial as so many 
honey bees—the greatest pollenizers we have. M. v. s. 
What h a “ Complete Fertilizer” ? 
W. C., South Euclid, 0 .—I have a bed of strawberries set last 
spring ; tlie ground was manured with stable manure before 
being plowed. Having read that nitrate of soda and powdered 
phosphate of lime make a complete fertilizer, I would like to know 
whether that is so, when to apply them, and how much of each to 
the acre. 
Ans. —We suppose that thei “ powdered phosphate 
of lime” is the ground phosphate rock of South Caro¬ 
lina. This, with nitrate of soda, does not make a 
“ complete fertilizer.” The statement you have read 
is-, probably, from A. H. Ward, who has argued for 
some years that soda will take the place of potash in 
our fertilizers, and thus save the cost of the latter 
substance. Mr. Ward’s assertions are not supported 
by experience, or the opinions of our leading scien¬ 
tists. In some cases, soda seems to have increased 
certain crops ; but the best evidence goes to show 
that, in these cases, the soda acted like lime—to 
“ sweeten” the soil and thus enable the plants to 
grow in it to better advantage. Unless your soil is 
rich in potash, you will make a mistake to use nitro¬ 
gen and phosphoric acid alone. The “ powdered 
phosphate of lime” will be practically useless on 
strawberries, as it is not readily available. We would 
use wood ashes or ground bone and muriate of 
potash. A “ complete” fertilizer must contain nitro¬ 
gen, potash and phosphoric acid—all thi-ee. 
Preserving Okra ; Cheap Evaporator. 
“ Sperno," Lyndon, Ky .—When is the best time to cut okra pods 
for keeping for winter use ? What is the best method of saving 
them ? 
Ans. —Okra pods should be cut when about fully 
grown, but while yet tender. They may be canned 
in small cans, and be kept for winter use, or be sliced 
and dried in a small evaporator or with care about 
the stove, or in a shallow box covered with glass and 
set in the summer sun. The last arrangement, with 
a little cross ventilation, is ap admirable way to dry 
many things of which we have but little at one time 
to care for. A handy case may be made about eight 
inches deep with a smooth bottom, insect tight, with 
one or more ventilating slot holes made just above 
the bottom at the south end and corresponding 
openings near the top at the north end, all cov¬ 
ered with fine wire cloth. Berries may be prepared 
and set in here, and dried with very little trouble. 
Apple leather may be made from sweet apples, cher¬ 
ries may be seeded, cooked down, sweetened A little 
and partially dried in this way, to preserve them for 
winter use, and the child that will not steal these 
things is no kin to Adam. j. A. mckkk. 
Are Seedlings of Budded Peaches Hardy ? 
J. L. //., Sparta, Pa.—Will seedlings of budded peaches be any 
hardier in fruit bud, than their parents ? Or, in other words, will 
trees raised from the seed of budded trees, have a natural ten¬ 
dency to become hardier in fruit bud ? 
Ans. —Seedlings of nearly all varieties of peaches 
vary greatly. There are a few strains, such as those 
of the Smock, Heath Cling, and Indian, or Spanish 
types, that come rather true from seed, but even these 
cannot be depended upon to be exactly like their 
parents in character of tree or fruit. The notion pre¬ 
vails that the poorer the quality of the fruit on a 
peach tree, the hardier the bud ; but while there may 
be some truth in this, there are so many notable 
exceptions that we cannot accept it as a fixed law. 
My experience with thousands of seedlings leads me 
to say no to the query. h. k. v. d. 
Something About Endive. 
F. E. L., Jeffersonville, Juki. —1. Is endive an annual ? 2. How 
much frost will it stand compared with other vegetables? 3. 
How should it be stored for winter ? 
Ans. —1. Yes. 2. It depends upon the vegetables 
with which it is compared—perhaps about as much 
as cabbage. 3. Take up carefully at the approach of 
winter, with a ball of earth to each plant. Pack close 
together in a cold frame or in the cellar. Keep dry 
and give plenty of air or the plant will rot. 
