FAMILIAR FARM ENEMIES 
279 
effectively treated with sprays. Solutions of very poison¬ 
ous chemicals are prepared and forced through a nozzle 
so that a mist is formed. This settles upon the branches 
of the trees, forming a covering which destroys the 
fungus. 
Peach and Pear trees may be almost completely rid 
of the common diseases by spraying with Bordeaux mix¬ 
ture just before and just after blossoming, or by applying 
lime sulphur mixture while the trees are dormant. Gar¬ 
den vegetables and herbaceous plants may best be 
treated by a system of rotation and by planting at times 
in the year when fungi are not so active. 
INSECTS 
The study of insects as the enemies of farm crops 
began about 1870 with the Potato beetle. It began to 
eat the leaves of potatoes and threatened to destroy all 
the white potatoes. Poisoning with Paris green began 
about that time. Some interesting things were found 
out about the life of the potato bug. The hard shelled, 
striped-backed bug is called the adult. It flies about, 
laying eggs, but does not eat the leaves. The eggs are 
found on the under side of potato leaves, looking like 
little orange colored sacks. A small red larva hatches 
from these eggs and begins to eat the leaves. If the 
supply of food is ample, the red slug or larva soon devel¬ 
ops into the hard shelled adult. 
The Cotton Boll Weevil is perhaps the most destruc¬ 
tive insect in the South. It lives upon the cotton plant 
entirely. The adult of the beetle is a hard shelled bug, 
with a light gray shell. Eggs are laid in May and June 
when the squares are formed on the cotton plants. These 
eggs hatch into a worm or larva which lives inside the 
boll. It eats the fiber, destroying the productiveness of 
