HIE BATTLE -
WITH THE BUGS
1 -Zix &E&T E- f>UW£LL
HKHE is as underworld not
ttuc-d by novelist or ptay
*ntM V« in It occur
str*nce and often subtle dr»
mi>» iA «rm»l ana d*-,:ruo
t*a Nor is it a boiwHs
oaderworld Ei ery evenhi;
after a but sunset !t foms
as orchestra abicfc sfcnlls
(MR ha j-rou«*» and fiacats
•*» r“*»*»g *rtn«bM.t And in alt the ucrld
•S'" “ no -orbestra ao welt paid To be sure
•* Uttlo in Ifar Mi’rr of attention. but in
• aya nw* MiaUattai R i* re«tr<M han-1
•oweff. far it b permitted to lory toil uj«>n
«bo «*l and the when*. the cabbage and the
nppio. aa tkn grow It t* allbued to oat the
joo*t> of the naliW and the grain dealer Cer
ta*a members if tin* shrilling tribe go fanbor
and liianand crmt.t na-i-oxt* in their (rood.
K«« ODafcd wKh mart tribute. they <-u't
i umax li«o* Tboir (nmanr ;nrk» aro male
■pun the ber* of ItoiV diiUnw Then from
•dace* abort- pororty force* aomoe and ba
Me* into filth and skkness. they take wins
•nd tbor boar fbotr death m—i ari into hormr
fair and clean—Unsoi shore tbo inmates ran
«“* concora themselves aith life* wretched
o*o» And an uiurt in bor inexorable circle
front which neither tbo ironiot tor tbo |«t
o«t can mcijo herself supplies tbo link a kith
brine* tbo rUM-rabk homo to tbo fair id'
But redone* R to a dollar* and coat*
*•»*!» abiob all of us understand. wkat mould
>o* say tbo mam# of this country n»t u«
oach yoar* Million* of dollars* More ia fact
than oor entire system at public school edu
msb*. from tbo kindergarten to tbo uaiv.-r
Mr!
Moreover slide sections in'oadod by na
l-r* *«■ tbo poudnetion of particular crops
ofoa aro rompeOrd to abandon ibm for no
«Rbor reason than insect infestation This is
especially true of bortiruRnre. Myriad, in
doed are tbo insect foe, that infest ve-etable#
and fruit. 1? oror tbo life of this underworld
U brought upon tbo stage as that of tbo barn
yard has boon it may well open with this
of tbo truck grume.*;
«rsi* atfc «fB U
pisam.
%*» Lb* farmer ha* ftm^l hltnaelf
tkte foe afcieh must be fourht
• Kb *a< iiixmton mysteries.
<3—y—i<r ha* appeased to I be maa
r€ «y«y Kfaaca «mi*« despises ia the
4a? of K»?en!j Mat rushes to consult * Leu
the aorM to *«tT.
Ik* Me t*B <us of a hat has been amo
pitshei by out bk with a nk-roseope His
to StejAe* A Forties and he to state
<rf litlmSi Hto chief mark la
tbto patotina to to aaacrmiaate "economic in
as tboae sUrt tositr the jcroainx
***** are called He to also bead of Use
state laboratory of natural history and pro
fesaar off ebtumoJay? to tbe I'niversity of ua
aeSe He has held these offices, Z% years,
abseb means that be bas sprat a <jaarter of
a ftrt-ai* tbe predareoas instincts of
ia occasional short
tbe renaito ii-al instinct* of state
JSatoaraDy be to oa tx.tima:e
terms ant a fast number of bags
Fee a practical knualedce of aa toseet. tbe
aM9ty to reracalae K to ail it* phases to a
mere besastoa Its dietary most be kaon.
a*a oaiy «h«* K prefer* toe afcat it likes nest
to** aa4 »har e arts eat to escape starvation;
teo« tbe aeaiber alerts its hcaiik. ita temper.
«* t*w a* todtiptrinc to » sabject to
If oa. boa may it be
*b» t to aell to kxtoa
r*«ard It. Whether tbe
of f aroaee* the instinct to protect or
Tbe fcuetert to kiO. For there zro bass so
kbflt iryaar i tostrf other bass that they
»« then, to their food oapplv. hatch
•to them and Int* ap their off
dtotos they leave to those
*V*t let ar trfl rwm aboot thr- 9skt
***** *» *» «**!«» kant. IV riuarfe
* a 4trt4>iaMMr «knr rrfl iMaMlna ar»
T******** Or F«r*»«* ctnicklcaH h!* mor
tar a ti ri «n ■ i i *.*w4rt-'*'f Hr «h *t»a* 1°
<k*t but to (on bat to bee Jtacr. The
CCJlfi Jp007 APHO A/*0 /r-i
ArrrnoA/rr A nr : Wfayed
fema/e, -Vfi Wtny/fji ferxG/n.
£$y cna Pupa of Apbii. and
Worker Ant: _
first plan was to pre
t- :;t the chinch with a
contagious <!isea~e It
had been ohseneJ that
it was subject to a
fuscous disease simi
lar to that of the com
mon house fir, which
b ft the dead covered
with a white mould.
Why cot spread it? It
was tried upon the
university fields and
the buss took it most
obligingly and died
most successfully. Be
fore it could be con
sidered more than an
experiment, however, it
was necessary to try
it on a larger scale.
u
White Grub in its
Four Stages : June Feet/e,
Fgg. Grub and Pur v
' v jitters were sent among the
farmers. asking for boxes of sound bugs.
T1-.-^ : jgs »rr? to be given the disease and
r> t jrr-»i with directions for spreading it. The
r» s'<*nse was surprisingly immediate Boxes
buss ;oi:r*-d into the express offices and
yet mare boxes of bugs Farmers from neigh
l*»ring stfes heard of the offer and they. too.
• bug fcanting. The express companies
worked overtime The assistants in the ento
mo - -t - office became mere undertakers for
■ a iwi The mouldy bugs were sent out on
• t - ir beneficent mission of destruction. Then
the results came in. They varied; they did.
in teed Some thought the entire entomolo
gist « office should be fitted out with a golden,
g rious halo as the rescuer of its country;
' *-j* ’* *•*»' thought a fools cap would fit the
case more exactly.
Bet although the disease project could not
be called a complete success, means were
f°wwd * hich make it possible to" raise grain
even ia the very worst of the chinch out
*.-Teaks. The harrier methods and sprays with
a kerosene emulsion will catch them every
•iae- Jus- after harvest the scarcity of food
in *he wb^at fields arouses in the chinch an
r ‘tire* to r grate. On foot it sets out to get
an at petite for corn This is the time to make
a r: t- iieween the infested field and the field
*fe* chinch desires to infest. This is done by
p -win* a backward furrow which is packed
» 'h a tight roller or by hand and has a line
'* ixr poured upon it from a can with a
tuiaKar spout Post boles are dug at intervals
of about twenty feet. By keeping the tar
~ * fr-sh his ohtnchsfcip cannot cross, but will
f *lk»w It to the posthole, into which he speed
- I- * ambles It then is merely pleasant recre
aiion for the farmer to travel out and pour
a weak solution of kerosene upon his accu
mulated enemies Kerosene is an excellent
death dealer for these pests. When they get
into the cornfields the farmers of Illinois sally
figik with an emulsion containing four per
cent, of kerosene and half as much whale oil
soap mixed by five minutes simple beating
t a stick. This is flirted by hand upon the
com la the cool of the day when the insects
feed n<*t thoroughly and when there Is less
dang-r of injury to the com. Sometimes a
single application does the work; when the
Infestation is very bad two and even three
may be required.
Now let us talk shout corn exclusively for
* while With that staple at its present price
and with the grave gentlemen who produce
*-a:-!oic* >« hens produce eggs—the louder
'■be cach ing, the smaller the statistic—assur
ing ns tba- -t is on its lofty perch to stay, it
seems that the farmer will have to cultivate
automobiles and bad habits as obesity cures
for his batk account. But. halt! Nature pro
vides sevemh There is the weather, more ex
asperatug ml with less regard for a poor
man's purse than
rich relatives on
a visit, there is
the fretful soil
which gets sour
like a colicky ba
by. and there
are sturdy, hun
gry insect foes.
Over two hun
dred of these at
tack corn, forty
capable of doing
notable damage.
It is in discov
ering the way to conquer a pair of these
precious rascals that Dr. Forties has made
his most valuable single contribution to sci
ence. They are the corn field ant and the
corn root-aphis or. as it is better known,
the corn root louse. For a long time they
were the particular scourge of the corn
grower who supposed that they operated each
on its own account. Through the research of
Dr. Forbes it is now known that one is help
less without the other. The resourceful and
industrious ant is entirely unable to extract
the coveted sap from the corn root, and the
stupid aphis would, if left to itself, starve in
the very presence of the corn. But the ant
can carry the aphis to the corn root and de
posit it thereupon; the aphis can extract the
sap and then exude it, thus passing it on to
the ant. Therefore it was not a problem of
exterminating two foes but of outwittiug the
clever little ant. Were it banished, the aphis
would soon disappear. The wretched little
soft-bodied hunk o' creation can do nothing
for itself except lay eggs and suck corn sap.
The ant gives it a home in its own burrows,
hatches its eggs for it. carrying them to the
warm surface if they are slow, bearing them
farther into the ground if they threaten to
hatch before Us food supply is ready. And
this protection extends through the aphis' life.
If. because of plowing or other inadvertence,
the ant finds its charges scattered, it will
cheerfully collect them and reconstruct its
home if that has been molested also. The ant
has nothing else to do and it is as active as
an outraged Puritan conscience. However,
methods of control have been found. The use
of the disk and crop rotation will exterminate
them. The root-aphis refuses entirely to oc
cupy ground planted to oats, so this crop is
of the greatest importance in clearing fields of
them. Also by disking two or three times
with a SO-lnch disk in spring, especially on a
sunny day when the ants are likely to hare
their charges near the surface, they will be
killed and scattered and their nests so broken
up that even the enthusiastic littie ant cannot
reconstruct the colony.
Another enemy of the corn that Hr. Forbes
has caught by cultivation is the bill bug. as
certain beetles are called because of their
long, hard snouts, which they poke into the
farmer's business to ruin it. This time the
cultivation must be with the plow instead of
the disk and in the autumn instead of spring
and in the fields of grass where the bill bugs
breed. These bugs are distinguished by a
belligerency which is only equaled by their
strength of claw. One variety appeared in
Illinois which locked so large to the harassed
farmers that it ww* christened "elephant bug.”
Chickens turned i*to the fields to feast upon
them fled in flapping, comical flight, unable to
relieve their terrified souls by a squawk, as
their bills were tightly held together bv the
Corn Bill-dugs, Grub of same and Corn
Plant J/lowing Gill-Bug Injury.
encircling claws of
»hat were meant to
be their banquets.
As for sprays, the
bugs throve upon
them. Dr. Forbes
h&<i his assistants
in the fields before
it was found that
plowing the infested
grass in the autumn
would practically do
away with the pest.
Of all the foes
which the agricultu
rist must fight, none
presents a more dif
ficult problem than
the white grub. For
one thing, there are
many species. Illi
nois has about thir
ty—differing in hab
its. but all endowed
with an original and
hard working brand
of natural cussed
ness. They attack
plants at the roots,
and it is not at all
uncommon to find
whole acres of grass
where the sod can
be rolled up like a carpet. to prei.wran.-v
devastate grass. but if the supply is scant, they
are aiding to ruin small strain, com. strawberry
plantations, woodlands, and. indeed, many other
situations. They are especially difficult to com
bat because the life history is hard to follow
from the first to the last stage. Only a sing.e
specimen has been bred from the egg to the
beetle and its life cycle occupied three years.
So far the best remedy has been found to
be in cropping, especially in planting the in
fested ground to clover. VYell-known enemies
of the white grub also are the festive porker,
which will dig a foot for a nice fat one. and
crows and crow blackbirds
Occasionally a farmer notices that a field
which has been brown from a grub ravage be
comes green and alive. He is inclined to think
it a clear case of the InrJ remembering the
righteous: as a matter of fact another insect
has appeared and is working out another set
of instincts This is the Tiphia. a member of
the solitary wasp family. It stings the grub
into submission and then glues to its thick hide
an egg which in a few days hatches into a
veritable vampire. It sucks from its host its
life juices, leaving the shell to crumble back
to earth.
Trees both those in natural forests and
those which have been planted, “noble and
helpless products of nature." to quote Hr.
Forbes, are often dragged to a slow and un
sightly death through Insect infestation. Have
you never late in May or in June noticed upoa
shade trees little wads of cotton? Each wad.
you will see. if you look, projects from a brown
cap. which is the female maple scale. It is a
native insect parasite of the soft maple. It wi'd
infest, besides the maple, the linden, bos elder,
elm and honey locust. These cotton wads are
the soft bed in which the careful female lays
her eggs, and each female can be relied upon
to deposit something like J.Wt' eggs in her own
particular little wad. Hr. Forbes found after
considerable experiment that a kerosene emul
sion was effective in disposing of these pests.
A Si* per cent, emulsion could be used its winter
if the roots of the trees were protected, and a
10 per cent. In summer. It is made by dissolv
ing one pound of common soap in one gwDoa
of water by boiling This is removed from the
fire and two gallons of kerosene poured in.
With a spray pump the mixture is then forced
hack into itself for about five minutes, when it
will look like a thick cream, and no longer sepa
rates on standing. Seventeen gallons of water
added to the three gallons thus prepared will
give a 10 per cent, solution. The cost will
he 4.3 cents a gallon and three or four gallons
will save a large tree from destruction.
Doubtless yon have noticed upon the apples
you brought home in a paper hag and those
that fell from your own cherished tree n cres
cent mark. This means that a busy little curculio
has bad its beak in yo«r apple before too and
has probably laid an egg at the sign of the
crescent curcullos. A spray compound of 1?S
ounces of acetate of lead and four ounces of
arsenate of soda to fifty gallons of water, if
used three or four times, will catch practically
all these orchard destroyers.
Among the Insects Injurious to health the
common houselly takes first rank. Dr. Ftorbes
has found that 75 per cent, of the common
houseflies breed in horse manure. As the reme
dies that wrtil kill the housefly maggots are too
dangerous to be used in stabler, except boiling
water, which is hardly practicable, the only
protection seems to be tn screening stabies
against f~.es as we do our houses and in careful
city sanitation
Would Surely Wear A Wig
ft erer <li4.1 would not hesitate to sub
stitute the lost growth with an appro
priate trig. I argued that it was not
only the correct thing to wear false
teeth, when necessary, but foolish not
to do ao. and by the same token false
: hair was as correct, and that the ;
%*§—• at scorn and ridicule should not
be pointed at one more than another,
m argument ihm| shod to me as
It did to several others of my ac
quaintances, and I think so yet. and
so do they. However, when I was about
forty my hair began to thin out little
by little, and so quietljr that 1 scarce
ly knew it was g<^ng. That Is the
one redeeming trait of baldness. It
comes to a man without any physical
pain,
• By the time I was fifty a wig would
have hidden considerable lack of hair;
but I did not get one. Somehow or
other I didn’t think I needed it. There
was net enough to comb, but the brush
could still get hold, and 1 used the 1
brush exclusively. New I am sixty
and my hair is still thinner, but not ;
thin enough yet for a wig. Of course,
if I were as bald as some of my friends
are I would not hesitate, but I am not.
Maybe at seventy I will feel the ne
cessity, and if I do, you may rest as
sured I will render nature all the assist
ance in my power. A wig is all right for
any one who needs it. and far be It
from me to Join the rabble that scoffs
at one, but why wear it unless one
actually needs It? I don't know why
wigs are held in such bad repute, for
they are not only useful but orna
mental, and as I said before I repeat
now, that when I need one I shall put
it on fearlessly and show the scoffers
that I am above such small preju
dioes.”
Proof Positive. v ] v t
Blox—Theorists are fools. .
Knox—Is that your theory.
Blox—Tea.
Knox—Then we will let It go at
that. _ _ — —
/
WAGON BED CONVERTED
INTO DIFFERENT USES
Agriculturist Hus Often Found It Hurdsblp to Be Obliged
to Buy or Build Number of Vehicles
Required on Form.
A convertible wagon bed which can
be changed Into la different kinds of '
bodies for different uses around a
farm, without adding to it or taking
from it a single piece, has been de
signed and is undoubtedly the moot
radical improvement made in farm
wagons for a decade, says Popular Me
chanics.
In a few minutes it can be trans
formed from a bay rack Into a wagon
for carrying live stock, and with equal
quickness It can be converted into a
vehicle for carrying a large number of
passengers who can be provided with i
In
a nl
The agriculturist has often found ft
a hardship to be obliged to buy or build
a number of wagons for the multifari
ous requirements Incident to the op
eration of a farm. The wagon that
could serve to carry boxes or crated
vegetables and berries to market
would not be of any use when haying
time came around. When it was neces
sary to carry calves or live stock, still
another wagon must be called Into
service.
While reapers, threshers, and other
farm implements have been continually
improved, the farm wagon has re
fn
P]
f
A Wagon Bed of Many Use*
comfortable seats along the sides for
picnicking, etc.
The remarkable versatility of the
new wagon bed Is secured by hinged
malleable iron pieces attached to the
sides. These support two folding sec
tions on each side. The strain which
is put upon these pieces when heavy
loads are placed on the wagon makes
It imperative that they should be ol
strong, dependable material.
] malned practically at a standstill. PeP
baps the fact that the automobile has
made such wonderful progress has
; served to overshadow the humble beast
: of burden and his reliable wagon. Old
Dobbin may be a second rater now,
but he will continue for some time to
S fill his particular sphere of endeavor
with a faithfulness which the me
‘ tor car cannot always be relied upon
i to give.
RIDDING FARM
OF GRASSHOPPER
Favorite Remedy, Recommended
By Colorado AfticnUoral
Colicse Is Arsenic
Bran Mash.
(By S. ARTHUR JOHXSOX. Colorado
Agricultural College. 1
In spite of the fact that a great
deal of work has been done by exper
lment stations on grasshoppers, ne
royal road to control has yet beer
found. Each attack has to be con
siddted on its own merits and relief
sought through the most promising
channel
One of the faTorlte remedies is ar
senic bran mash. This is made by
mixing one pound of white arsenic
with 25 pounds of bran. The ar
senic Is so near the color of the
flour In the bran that It Is not easy to
tell when the mixing Is well done. To
overcome this difficulty, the arsenic
may first be collected by adding a lit
tle dry paint.
After the bran and arsenic are wei!
mixed they should be moistened with
water. Put in Just enough to make
the panicles stick together. This
mixture should be scattered where
the grasshoppers are thickest. If
the Insects are Invading a garden or
potato patch, it is well to scatter the
bran mash about the borders. In
the fields of alfalfa or grain, the
bran should be scattered where the
grasshoppers congregate on ditch
banks and dry places. All the in
sects will not find and eat it. but many
will and often the crop can be fairly
well protected. The writer never
used this preparation against young
grasshoppers, but some tanners state
that the crops may be completely pro
tected by its use, while others
that they will not eat in
Of course, ft will not do to scatter
his substance where chickens will
be likely to pick it up. and none of
the mixture must be left where do
mestic animals are apt to get It or
be fed from the vessel.
Good Exercise.
There is no harm in pigs rooting If
they are in a field where rooting will
do no harm. Pigs can secure much
feed by rooting and the exercise will
do them good- Where troublesome
roots infest the soil they will often
eradicate them tf allowed to do so.
The fattening hog should not be al
lowed to root, as the exercise con
suraes too much feed and energy.
THE DRAINS IN CLAY SOIL
§§w m Jre'neJ toil
» umJraineJ Sci l
GE ” *w/ ueinsimeJ mIm iire ins «r« fSf fleet epertt Met*
A»'W «i«a Hep ere St feet ejert
The illustration shown herewith ts
from a bulletin of the Ontario De
partment of Apiculture and shows
how the water table of the soil de
pends on the location of drains. IT tn
a field that ts underdrained three feet
deep a number of holes are dug ft
would be obeerred after a be**? rain
that tn those nearest the drains no
water would remain. In the hole sit
uated half-war between the drains at
C would bold considerable water for
a few days.
tn a da? tn fairty good coodttlou tt
will be found that the slope of the
water table ts about l foot tn 35. in
loam 1 foot tn about 33. The illus
tration represents a day with
drains A and R 100 feet apart. Wells
are dug 13 a feel apart. At the end
of 1$ hours after a heavy rain the
water will stand about as indicated
by zig-aag lines, tn a gradient of about
1 tn 25. and hence trill be two feet
deeper in the centre well than at eith
er drain. Hence if the drains are
three feet deep there will be three
feet of drained soil over A and B. bat
only one foot at X. Capillarity and
poll resistance to water to* play an
important part in holding the water
highest half way between the drains,
and the gradient 1 tn 25 represents
their combined strength In day.
hence after this gradient ts reached
drainage becomes very, very slow, and
the water table stands tn this Irregu
lar shape until lowered by evaporation
from the soil and plants. But during
the months of April. May and some
times Juno, when the rains supply at
the surface all tha water Beaded for
evaporation. none is drawn from be.
low for this purpose, hence during
esrty months of growth the water
stands as indicated by the dotted line
AXR Consequently root development
i » *s*™?«red « X. as 1 hot of son
not enough. There are two way, tc
remedy the defect, either to dig a
and B deeper or else put a drain at C
way between.
Value of Birds.
A French naturalist asserts that a
the world were to become birdless le
Bine years’ time man could no longe*
inhabit ft. This seems a* Terr sweep
tag statement at first glance, bve
when we come to reflect upon tfc*
matter we find that ft is doubtless a
tree one. Insects and slugs would
multiply so fast, notwithstanding all
the sprays and poisons that could be
manufactured to annihilate them, that
they would destroy the orchards, fop
ests and crops. The land would b*
come one vast desert.
Farm Problems.
prob*ra or agriculture U
to show how a farm may be made to
pay a reasonable return on the iET '
mem and on the labor perform^ Tn
tafT"** U ^ weli known that 2
farm can be made to rav *
well, but throughout the lenc-H,
breadth of theatre ttJTK ^
fnl lack of knowledge * tae «1
* prod««« suc^
would throw thu n.r.« . . **
i nan Into d—peh. bualneag
