330 
March 11, 
POTATO FLEA-BEETLE. 
It appears to be a law of nature, if 
nature can be said to be governed by any 
law, where men become specialists in the 
growing of a few particular crops and 
grow these intensively, that some disease 
or insect pest must become a constant 
menace to the crop. That is, the growing 
of a crop on a large scale continuously 
every year and frequently throughout the 
entire growing season usually furnishes 
conditions for the greatest increase and 
highest development for some particular 
pest of that crop. This is 'especially true 
of the potato flea-beetle, an insect which 
under natural conditions feeds and breeds 
on various weeds which grow around mar¬ 
gins of fields and along roadsides. Prob¬ 
ably there is no section along the At¬ 
lantic sea-board where this little, insig¬ 
nificant beetle has developed into such a 
pest as on Long Island, where both early 
and late potatoes are grown, or where if 
only late potatoes are grown they are 
planted early. 
The adult beetles hibernate principally 
in hedge-rows and wood-lots, or even in 
the ground in open fields where there is 
rubbish of any sort to furnish a partial 
protection. They usually leave their Win¬ 
ter quarters about the same time as does 
the potato “bug,” showing up first on the 
south or sunny side of hedges and woods. 
Unlike the potato beetle, if potatoes are 
not up, instead of starving they are able 
to subsist on various weeds which start 
early or even on clovers. They are experts 
on the wing, and can fly long distances. 
As the potatoes show above ground this 
pest congregates where the soil is the 
lightest, usually these spots are the high¬ 
est and driest. The beetles gather here 
apparently, not bcause the potatoes come 
up on these spots first, out because they 
are warm and dry. Here the beetles can 
feed and pair during the middle of the 
day, and at night crawl into the loose 
soil. 
From the fact that the beetles come 
from protected spots first while those 
which have wintered in more exposed situ¬ 
ations issue later, we frequently see the 
old beetles feeding from the middle of 
May to July first. Generally they are most 
numerous from June 1-10. When feeding 
the fiia-beetle bites a hole through the skin 
or dermis of a leaf and eats out the green 
tissues within the same. The injury from 
this method of feeding is not as noticeable 
early in the season, when injured leaves 
are rapidly replaced by new ones, as when 
the new brood appears in July and feeds 
principally on the top leaves. At that 
time the tubers are fast making and fre¬ 
quently a drought period is on, as a re¬ 
sult the injured leaves dry up rapidly 
and a potato field soon looks as if the 
tops had been scorched by fire. 
Soon after the beetles commence feeding 
in the Spring the females deposit eggs on 
and in the soil around the plants. The 
grub or larva that hatches from the egg 
resembles a miniature wireworm, differing 
only in that the head is the same color 
as that of the wireworm, while the body 
is white. The larva; feed on the roots, un¬ 
derground stems, and the tubers of the 
potato. When feeding on the tubers they 
burrow directly into the same at right 
angles to the surface. When full grown 
the larva? are only about one-fourth inch 
in length, and this is the usual depth of 
the hole they eat into the tuber. The 
tuber always endeavors to heal where the 
larva; bore into it, the result being the 
formation of a corky tube or “sliver” in 
the flesh of the potato. These “slivers” 
always show when the potatoes are peeled, 
when boiled with the jackets on the “sliv¬ 
ers” pull out as the skin is removed. 
Under ordinary conditions this is the only 
noticeable injury to the tubers; but if the 
“slivers” are formed at the right stage 
in the development of the tuber, or under 
certain weather conditions, the tubers not 
only form the “sliver” but also a corky 
wart over the hole where the grub feed. 
The result is what are called “pimply 
potatoes.” When the latter condition oc¬ 
curs the buyer "sits up and takes notice.” 
Frequently these “pimply”* potatoes do not 
mature, hence do not cook well, so pota¬ 
toes showing “pimples” must go at a loss 
with the scabby stock. When full grown 
the larva; leave the tubers and form small 
earthen cells, within which they change 
from a grub to a pupa and then to the 
adult beetle. The major portion of the 
new brood (in this section there is only 
one brood each year) comes out of the 
ground about July 10, feed ravenously for 
a few days, then scatter, and feed miscel- 
laneouslv until time to crawl away for 
the Winter. As only the beetles are seen 
working on the tops of the potato, also 
tomato, one is apt to think this the only 
damage they do. In sections where early 
potatoes are grown only the injury done 
by the old beetles in the .Spring is very 
marked, as the vines of the early potato 
are often nearly mature when the new 
brood of beetles issues from the ground 
and the injury is less noticeable, or they 
feed less on such vines and soon migrate 
to other plants. They are more often 
found feeding on the underside of the 
leaves than on top, although at times 
they prefer to be in the sun and feed 
from the upper surface of the leaves. 
They usually avoid feeding on dirty 
leaves; as a result one will often see vines 
adjoining a dusty road quite free of the 
pest, but close examination will often 
show them at work on the lower pro¬ 
tected leaves and branches. Dusting the 
plants with hydrated lime, road dust or 
tobacco dust will often drive them from 
the top leaves and give temporary relief. 
Thorough and frequent spraying with 
Bordeaux Mixture gives better results than 
any of the above substances, but if the 
beetles cannot find unprotected plants 
nearbv they soon return to the treated 
plants and feed from the underside of the 
leaves, and on parts of the plant that 
have not been reached by the spray. 
As a result of these habits we have a 
potato .pest that is not only difficult to 
control, but one that is injuring potato 
tops soon after they come through the 
ground; again in July, when there is not 
onlv considerable heat but often a dry 
period and hot winds. In the interval be- 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
tween the two periods of attack on the above other farms around this neighbor- 
foliage they are feeding on the tubers as hood to more than make the difference, 
larva; and causing two types of injury. Where I had been farming I paid $125 privi- 
The question arises, why not poison them lege for house, barn, pasture, etc., and 
with arsenate of lead or Paris green? divided all crops in half on the farm, which 
Their habit of feeding without eating any is a very good way to farm, but is bet- 
or very little of the dermis of a leaf ter for landlord than tenant. There are 
makes poisoning impossible. I have ex- two classes of tenants and landlords in 
amined fields where all sorts of poisons this r al 't of the State satisfied and dis¬ 
have been used, never finding but few satisfied. There are more dissatisfied than 
dead beetles, which probably died a nat- otherwise. The dissatisfied landlord does 
ural death. I have seen large numbers not improve his farm, and, therefore, loses 
of the beetles fall from the vines when a good tenant and takes a poor one, which, 
sprayed with soap solutions, with kero- in turn, is a dissatisfied tenant, and after 
sene emulsion, and with dilute “soluble one year's work moves again to something 
oil.” The two latter substances injured no better. The satisfied class generally re- 
the potato vines, but when the beetles main for a term of years on one farm, or 
were gathered and placed on paper in the until able to buy a home of their own. Here 
sun they soon recovered and flew away, are about the correct figures of a cash- 
fit is a difficult matter to smother “hard- rented farm which is the most popular way 
shelled” beetles.) I have used sticky of renting in this locality: 
shields worked on the same principal as 200 acreg at $5 ^ acre ..$1,000.00 
those used for leaf-hoppers on giapes. Al- «p wo hundred acres, at $5 per 
though quantities of the beetles were . $1 000 00 
caught, they appeared to be just as thick T men'for 5 months','at $20 per ’ 
on the plants shortly after the shield had month 200 00 
passed as they were before With im- Harvesting crops,’75 acres’corn,'35 
gSTbe ol some^valueT'but^the WgSt «•» 40 «*» ' 32 “°° 
SSUf XrS'iff one* time° win h make'"the .^■ 525 00 
use of a beetle catcher expensive, as it Seventy-five acres corn, 40 bushels 
would be necessary to keep the same per acre, at 40 cents per bushel. $1,200.00 
going for a period of 10 days or two Thirty-five acres wheat, 15 bushels 
weeks. Thus far thorough spraying with per acre, at 90 cents per bushel 472.50 
Bordeaux Mixture appears to be the most Forty acres hay, 1 1-2 tons per 
satisfactory deterrent to keep them from acre, at $10 per ton. 600.00 
doing the most damage to the essential --- 
part of the plant, viz., the growing top. Total .$2,272.50 
At the same time it is often necessary to This i oavos a pro fit of $747.50 and 50 
use this mixture as a fungicide in many acres f or pasture, truck, etc., which is an 
sections; hence growers do not feel the avcrage of the farms in this locality. This 
expense of treatment as they would If yields the landlord $252.50 more than the 
used for the flea-beetle alone. In case of tenant . The same farm I have rented last 
tomatoes it is not a difficult task to keep ac . follows- 
them thoroughly sprayed in beds and , _ . __ , m 
flats. When lifted for transplanting they §} x J y '5 ve , acres , P® s tuie to tenant. ., -oO.OO 
can be dipped into the Bordeaux Mixture Sixty-four acres coin, •>M 
and all parts so thoroughly covered the bushels; l-~ to landlord, at 40 
flea-beetle will not disturb them until they cents . iuu.ou 
have recovered from the shock of trans- Forty-three acres wheat, 
plant'ng and commenced to grow. bushels; 1-2 to landloid, at JG 
® ' ' _' ' Twenty-eight acres meadow, 56 
tons; 1-2 to landlord, at $12.50. 350.00 
Tenant System in Ohio. - 
,, . , Total received by landlord.. .$1,661.76 
S«* e «Vr „ Tenant's expenses were as follows^ ^ 
!&£SS i! SAS'irr.' « V.q:q» 
200 acres, finely improved and well drained, . .__ t7 - n 
paying $6.50 per acre rent. Any good Total expense .. 0 
farmer could be satisfied with this farm un- Total value of his share of crop, $1,- 
less it be from the standpoint of high rent, 411.76; leaving a profit of $661.76. 
but the landlord keeps it in repair enough London, Ohio. C. o. T. 
When you write advertisers mention The 
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“a square deal.” See guarantee page 20. 
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v 
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