1907. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
359 
FIGHTING SQUASH INSECTS. 
Record Given of Practical Experience. 
For several years I have been fighting squash insects, 
and incidentally raising a few squashes. Besides get¬ 
ting the filling for a few pies, I also acquired some 
knowledge of these insects. In 1900 I planted Bush 
Scalloped and Marblehead squashes, and the season 
being favorable the bugs did not. bother much, so I 
had a good yield. In 1901 I planted seed of seven 
SQUASH FLOWER READY FOR REES. Fid. 101. 
kinds of squashes for trial, but of all these only the 
Fordhook matured fruit. The seed rotted in the 
ground, necessitating much replanting, and many of 
the plants that did come up were eaten off in short 
order by the striped bugs. By July 15 I had several 
thrifty hills, but the effects of the dry weather began 
to tell on the vines, and the borers finished the work 
>of destruction. All varieties except the Fordhook were 
put out of business in about a week’s time. As the 
Fordhooks were putting up a plucky fight, I 
tried to help them by cutting out the borers; 
but I could accomplish but little good when 
15 to 30 borers were at work in one vine. 
I sent a few borers to our experiment sta¬ 
tion for identification, and asked for a pre¬ 
ventive remedy. F. M. Webster gave me a 
description of the parent moth, and told me 
that there was no preventive. The remedies 
he gave were to cut the borers out, to cover 
the vines near the roots, and to crush the 
eggs before they hatch into borers. That 
was about August 20, too late for 1901 crop. 
I began to read and study about the mat¬ 
ter, and decided to fight the borers to a 
standstill in 1902. About June 15, 1902, I 
wrote to the station again, inquiring when 
the borer moth makes its appearance in 
southern Ohio. W. J. Green replied that the 
date of their appearance was somewhere 
from the middle to the last of July. How¬ 
ever, I found later that they make their ap¬ 
pearance here as early as July 1, and con¬ 
tinue active for three or four weeks. Begin¬ 
ning with July 1, and every other day up to 
August 1, I applied either a solution of salt¬ 
peter or kerosene emulsion to the roots and 
first few joints of the vines. I also caught and killed 
several moths, and as a result I had very little damage 
to the protected vines, while some unprotected Bush 
Fordhook vines planted as a trap crop were nearly 
eaten up, but not before 1 made use of the fruit, when 
the infested vines were gathered and burned. 
The other insects also were numerous, and 1 tried 
everything of which I might hear or read. While ex¬ 
perimenting I burned up lots of fine plants with Paris- 
green, Bordeaux Mixture, soot, ashes, etc. However. I 
found that heavy applications of common dust applied 
when the plants were wet with dew or rain would 
A HUBBARD SQUASH. Fig. 102. 
keep the striped bugs away, and, what was just as im¬ 
portant, not scorch the leaves. The stink-bugs I hand¬ 
picked in the early morning, and as I went along bent 
double smashing bugs, I had visions of squash pies 
for the following Winter, but all my imagination could 
not enable me to forget the odor of those bugs! That 
Fall I gathered lots of Boston Marrows, Hubbards and 
Fordhooks. The Marrows were not very good, so in 
1903 I planted Hubbards, Fordhooks and a few Cocoa- 
nuts. The Hubbards were none too good, but T thought 
I was improving them by selection, and perhaps 1 was. 
In 1904 I planted the same squashes, but also had a few 
hills of the Delicious. After a comparison I decided 
to plant only the Delicious and b'ordhook in 1905. In 
1905 I did not have a trap crop of Bush Fordhooks, 
and as the weather was warm and showery the bugs 
ate up the plants faster than 1 could plant the seed or 
the plants get through the ground. What plants the 
bugs did not kill I managed to burn up with tobacco 
and sulphur, or some other mixture supposedly harm¬ 
less. After wasting about a half gallon of seed I saw 
I had made a mistake in not having a trap crop of 
bush squashes to divide up the insect attacks. The 
bush squashes being thrifty and rank growers are not 
much damaged by insects, which prefer them to the 
finer squashes when the latter are well covered with 
dust or plaster. I lost no time in planting several hills 
of bush squashes, and after they came up I lost very 
few of the other squashes from insect damage, blit I 
lost several hills from the effects of too rich manure 
in the soil and the use of too strong insecticides. I 
protected 12 hills with wire screen protectors, and 
these and a few late replants were all I had left beside 
the bush squashes. My squash patch presented a very 
sorry appearance, but favorable July weather soon 
changed things. The vines ran about all over the gar¬ 
den and I gathered a good crop. The year 1906 was 
very similar to 1905 as to season, but I had ail early 
trap crop of bush squashes, and so saved most of the 
replanting. In short, my plan is to plant a trap crop 
of the Bush Fordhook squash about May 1, then in 
three or four weeks I plant the Fordhook and Deli¬ 
cious squashes, which do not intercross, and these are 
dusted with common dust every morning until out of 
danger. The stink-bugs arc caught by putting shingles 
or chips near the hills and killing the bugs collected 
on the underside, while dormant early in the morning. 
Between July 1 and July 25 I spray the roots and nearby 
portions of the vines every three or four days with 
kerosene emulsion. However, the trap crop of bush 
squashes gets about all the borers, but is not pre¬ 
vented from ripening fruit. About August 1 or when 
the other Fordhook vines begin to set fruit, the bush 
squashes, which will cross with the other Fordhook, 
are all pulled up and burned or put in the compost 
heap. 
The above method is the only way I have been able 
to raise squashes and cucumbers in the garden, though 
I raise squashes by the wagonload in the cornfields 
with no bother other than planting the seed and har¬ 
vesting the crop. Since 1902 I have had but little 
injury from the borers, and have usually been able 
to control the other insects so they do not prevent me 
from growing cucurbits in. the garden, but it requires 
lots of study and attention to details if you wish to pre¬ 
vent a few little bugs from getting ahead of you. 
Though the squash crop is not important to me, yet 
I felt that I could not give up, but must keep on till 
I could raise squashes in spite of the bugs and borers. 
Ohio. W. E. DUCKWALL, 
TURKEYS AND THEIR RAISING. 
Notes from California. 
Very few persons are successful in raising turkeys; 
this is perhaps largely due to their native tendency to 
roost where night overtakes them. The turkey is a 
great forager, and the average farmer who begins to 
raise them will probably calculate upon the returns from 
the young turkeys as almost clear gain, but if he fails 
to adopt the method of careful husbandry the young 
turkeys sometimes disappear just about time to send 
them to market for the holidavs. A very cheap roost¬ 
ing place can be constructed of woven wire netting, 
with waterproof paper roof, where they can be housed 
at night, but in order to be able to get them to come 
home to roost a part of the anticipated profits must be 
invested in feed, a little of which must be distributed 
near their roosting place each day regularly about 
four or five o’clock in the afternoon. If this is done 
the habit of coming home will soon be formed, and 
they can then easily be driven into their roosting place. 
Their natural roaming tendencies arc modified more or 
less by the manner of caring for them. 
Some attention should be paid in selecting stock from 
which to begin turkey raising. The Bronze variety is 
A MARBLEHEAD SQUASH. Fig. 164. 
very desirable for the market, because of its large size 
and sweet flavor, but it is a hard bird to raise because 
of its wild roaming disposition. They almost always 
hide their nest, and will perhaps not be seen for a 
month or two at hatching season. White Hollands are 
more domesticated and sometimes make their nests 
about the barn and outbuildings like chickens. They 
arc good layers, often laying as many as a hundred eggs 
each. This variety has many good qualities, but they 
are perhaps a little harder to raise than some 
other breeds. The Rhode Island Reds are a 
beautiful bird, and combine many good quali¬ 
ties, but never become quite so completely 
domesticated as the White Holland. All 
turkeys arc peculiar about their nests; wher¬ 
ever they decide to make them they must 
be left. If it is desired that turkeys lay 
their eggs in a civilized style, then prepare 
attractive places in barrels or brush heaps. 
When sitting they should be taken off their 
nests once or twice a week and fed, and 
when the young turkeys are first hatched 
care should be taken to see that they get 
food, as they sometimes die before learning 
to eat. If hatched by incubator, then put a 
few young chicks with them to teach them 
to eat. The male sometimes kills the young, 
too, and even the mother will kill her own 
young if taken away from her after hatch¬ 
ing. The feathers of the White Holland and 
of most other varieties bring a good price 
when properly graded. Some may not know 
that turkeys and chickens do not agree very 
well together, and sometimes become so 
quarrelsome that they cannot be kept profit¬ 
ably on the same premises. Ducks and tur¬ 
keys get along together much better than chickens and 
turkeys. M. u H. 
California. 
R. N.-Y.—Our White turkeys spent the Winter in a 
house with the hens. They were not out for weeks 
at a time, and there was no trouble. 
SCALE ON FRUIT; DIPPING TREES. 
As to whether the San Jose scale is spread by infect¬ 
ed fruit, from what I have seen of it here I believe it 
was introduced on California oranges. In almost every 
case it has appeared 1 first on trees near houses where 
orange and lemon peels have been thrown out. I 
asked our fruit inspector about it, and he said that was 
his opinion also. It seems a pity that in so many cases 
so few facts are given in respect to experiences. Take 
A YOUNG BOSTON MARROW. Fig. 165. 
dipping trees before planting. We are not told whether 
in the case where trees failed to grow after being 
dipped the lime, salt and sulphur mixture was used 
full strength and hot, or reduced in strength and 
cool, while one would naturally think that it would be 
reduced in strength and used much colder than where 
it is sprayed. s. r. W. 
Oregon. 
FORDHOOK AND DEUCIOUS SQUASHES. Fig. 163. 
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