ee-4 
WHAT KATY DID. 
Will you tell me what the enclosed in¬ 
sects are? j. j. ji. 
La Fayette, Ind. 
The interesting eggs on the branch 
mentioned in the foregoing letter were 
those of one of the katydids. The katy¬ 
dids are members of the grasshopper fam¬ 
ily, and are most interesting insects from 
many points of view. All of the katydids 
are noisy insects, especially during the 
night. The true katydid begins its shrill 
rasping song as soon as the sun disap¬ 
pears behind the western horizon, and 
keeps it up until day breaks in the east. 
The singing is at its height in August, 
and the song has been translated as 
“Katy did, Katy did; she did. she 
didn’t.” In this case it is the husband 
of Katy that makes most of the noise, 
for it is the males that do the singing. 
Whatever Katy is alternately accused 
and acquitted of doing we shall never 
know. Katy, herself, feebly but regularly 
answers her husband's querulous song 
with a single, spirited “chirp” which 
probably constitutes a scoff and a denial 
of the allegations. 
The katydid that laid the eggs on the 
branch in Fig. 238 is known as the larger 
angular-winged katydid (Microcentrum 
laurifolium). The eggs are laid in the 
Fall, after which the insect succumbs to 
the vicissitudes of her strenuous life and 
Katy id’s Eggs Ox Branch. Fig. 238. 
dies. Each egg is slate-colored, oval in 
shape and rather large, being shown 
about natural size in the figure. The in¬ 
sect first roughens the branch by biting 
off the bark with her jaws, and then 
deposits the eggs in two rows, glueing 
each egg fast. Each egg overlaps the one 
just above by about one-quarter of its 
length, and the eggs of the second row 
are deposited alternately with those of 
the first row. These eggs rest on the 
branch all Winter, subject to the varia¬ 
tions of the weather conditions, and with¬ 
standing them successfully. About May 
they hatch, and the young katydids live 
for the most part upon bits of the leaves 
that they bite off and chew. In about 
two months they become full-grown and 
then their songs begin. The singing, 
however, of this angular-winged katydid 
is different from that of the true katy¬ 
did, for it is simply a repetition from 
eight to 20 times of a sound like the 
syllable “tic.” Apparently these katy¬ 
dids do not become abundant enough to 
cause any serious injury. At least the 
writer has never known them to injure 
trees to any extent. Probably they could 
be killed by spraying the trees upon 
which they occur with arsenate of lead. 
GLENN W. HERRICK. 
“You are the only member of the class 
that is not prepared on the subject of 
Moths.” said the nature teacher, sternly. 
“Did you get a book at the library as 
I told you to do?” “Yes, Miss Burton,” 
replied the boy, “I found a book about 
moths but I couldn’t make much out of 
it.” “What was the name of the book?” 
“Hints for Young Moth-ers.”—Winnipeg 
i'tlK: rukal 
VETCH AS A MANURIAL PLANT. 
Part II. 
Inoculation For Vetch. —Although 
Hairy vetch can be grown on practically 
any well-drained type of soil in New York 
State, its success depends largely upon the 
presence of nitrifying bacteria in suffi¬ 
cient quantities on the roots. If Hairy 
vetch is to be grown for the first time on 
the farm, it is a matter of prime im¬ 
portance with the farmer to iuoculate the 
soil with the proper germs to promote the 
growth of bacteria on the roots of the 
plants, and thus obtain the full nitrogen¬ 
ous value of the crop. There are two 
principal methods of securing this inocu¬ 
lation. The most successful one, and the 
one generally used in the East, is to use 
soil from a field that has already been 
producing a thrifty crop of vetch for the 
last few years. If this method is to be 
followed, it is advisable to get the soil 
from as near at hand as possible for 
then the bacteria are acclimate to the 
local conditions. A loam or clayey soil 
is usually considered best for this pur¬ 
pose because it contains more organic 
matter and a corresponding greater 
amount of bacteria. Possibly the easiest 
way of applying this transported soil is 
to scatter it over the field at the rate 
of 250-350 pounds per acre, judgment 
being used as to the strength of the 
culture. When scattering in this way it 
should be harrowed in immediately, for 
if long exposed the strong sunlight will 
NEW-VOK icer 
kdl the germs. Another method some¬ 
times employed is to screen the soil, mix 
it with basic slag and vetch seed and then 
distribute it by means of a combination 
drill at the time of sowing. It should 
be noted however, that the acid form of 
phosphate will kill the bacteria when it 
comes in contact with them, and so if 
this form of phosphate is to be used it 
should be applied fully a week or even 
longer before inoculation. The United 
States Department of Agriculture at 
Washington has for distribution an arti¬ 
ficial vetch culture. The chief advantage 
of using this lies in the fact that fewer 
weed seeds are present than in the so- 
called natural cultures. In nearly every 
case, however, the results have not been 
as satisfactory as in the use of the in¬ 
oculated soil. 
A Practical Method.— One plan that 
every farmer could use to advantage 
might be something like this: Take a 
small plot of ground of approximately 
half an acre, fertilize it in accordance 
with the system in use upon the farm, 
harrow in about 150 pounds of inocu¬ 
lated soil, anti then sow it with 40-50 
pounds of Hairy vetch 0 eed and about a 
bushel of oats. Oats are perhaps the 
best crop to sow with the vetch, as ma¬ 
turing at a different time, the crops can 
he kept distinctive. In the first year 
there may be only partial inoculation, 
which is indicated by the healthy green 
Plants intermingled with the poorer yel¬ 
low ones that have not yet received 
April 
enough bacteria on the roots to Vinii ni¬ 
trogen nodules. The second seas m. how¬ 
ever, in nearly every instance w.ll show 
a complete inoculation, and an abund¬ 
ance of inoculated soil will be available 
to distribute over the fields where vetch 
is to be grown. It is a curious fact, too, 
that when a couple of quarts of vetch 
seed is sown with Winter oats for a num¬ 
ber of years, the soil gradually becomes 
inoculated. This is due to the fact that 
all vetch seed has clinging to it more 
or less of the nitrifying bacteria. This 
method is seldom used as if takes too 
long to get the best of results. 
Thus in the growing of vetch, one of 
the first points a farmer must consider 
is the proper inoculation of the soil. A 
small plot in which to prepare his own 
cultures, will not only give him a cheap 
source of nodule-forming bacteria, but 
will also give him a chance to investigate 
the soil, climatic, and other conditions 
necessary for the successful growth of 
his vetch. w. h. bullock. 
“My dog took first prize at the cat 
show.” “IIow was that?” “He took the 
cat.”—Columbia (University) Jester. 
“Maria.” said the mistress to a favor¬ 
ite colored maid, “when’s your birth¬ 
day?” “Ma burfday, missis? I ain’t got 
no burfday.” “Why. Maria, of course 
you have a birthday. Everybody has a 
brthday.” “I an’t got no burfdav," in¬ 
sisted the maid. “Never had no burf¬ 
day. I was bolin in de night.”—Now 
York Times. 
E. Frank Coe Fertilizers 
% 
1857 
THE BUSINESS FARMERS’ STANDARD 
FOR OVER FIFTY-FIVE YEARS 
1914 
RAISE CORN AT 12c A BUSHEL 
This is what Mr. L. S. White 
of Connecticut did in TheCoe- 
Mortimer $500.00 Corn 
Contest in 1911. 
You remember that the com¬ 
petition was for the most pro¬ 
fitable acre of corn raised 
in New England. 
You probably remember also that 
The Coe-Mortimer Company 
had nothing to do with the judging or 
with the awarding of the prize. This 
was all done by a disinterested com¬ 
mittee from the Massachusetts Corn Show, 
and the records were approved by The 
Director of The Connecticut Agricultural 
Experiment Station. 
E. FRANK COE FERTILIZERS will help 
you to equal this record. Perhaps you 
can Beat it. 
It cost Mr. White just $42.- 
50 to raise his corn. (Offi¬ 
cial figures.) 
The committee valued the 
7733.9 pounds of stover pro¬ 
duced at $8.00 per ton, 
amounting to $30.93. 
The difference between $42.- 
50 and $30.93 is $11.57; 
and this is what it cost Mr. White 
for the 97.9 bushels of shelled corn 
(12 9 o moisture) raised on his acre. 
(Official fig ures.) 
Figure it out for yourself: 97.9 
bushels of shelled corn cost $11.5 7—one 
bushel cost 1 l w cents; or in round numbers 
12 cents per bushel. 
If superior goods and superior service 
interest you, write to us promptly. 
$1,000.00 Prize Cup for Best Corn Raised in the United States. Won 
at the New York Land Show, 1911, by Mr. Wm. H. Dorin of Virginia, a 
user of Coe-Mortimer Fertilizers. 
THE COE-MORTIMER COMPANY 
\ 
51 CHAMBERS STREET 
NEW YORK CITY 
