,r>-^ *
THE ENEMY OF  THE CEBEALS.
Methods of Destroying Them.
Extracts from the Entomological Record of
the Agricultural Department.
,  BY TOWNSEND GLOVER, EKTOMOIjOGIST.  •
The chinch-bug or Mormon louse of
• Walsh, Micropus (Rhyparochro-
tivus) devastator, is one of our
most destructive insects to wheat
and corn, iri some of the West-
tern States, and has done considerable damage to the crops. Tlie eggs,
to the number of about 500, are laid in
ground about June, on or among the roots
of plants, and the young larva?, which are
of a bright-red color, are said to remain
underground some time after they are
hatched, sucking the sap from the roots,
' and have been found in great abundance
at the depth of an inch or more. • The
full-grown insects measure about one-,
twelfth of an inch in length, and are of a
black color, with white wings, and may
be known by the white fore or upper
wings, contrasting with a black spot in
the middle of the edge of the wing.
According to Dr. Shimer, an entomologist who has devoted much time and labor in the special study of this insect, the
female occupies about twenty days in laying her eggs, which remain in the egg
state fifteen days. The first brood matures from mid-July to mid-August, and
the second brood hatches out lato in summer. Although only two generations are
usually produced in tho course of one
vear in Illinois and the more northern
States, yet farther south there may be
three broods. Some of the perfect insects
continue alive throughout the winter,
concealed under brush-heaps, logs, bark,
stones, moss, &c., and revive in the spring
to deposit their eggs in the earth. One
specimen was taken in Washington, buried in the ground at a depth of about one
inch and a half, in midwinter, and when
first taken up appeared stiff and lifeless,
but, after being placed in a warm room,
it soon revived, and was as lively as ever.
These insects in the larvie, pupae, and perfect states attack and destroy almost every description of garden-vegetables,
grain, maize, herds and other grasses,
wheat, oats, potatoes, and even injure
buds of the pear and other trees, prefer-
ing principally the most succulent parts,
as the buds and.terminal shoots, puncturing them with their beaks, sucking the
sap, and apparently poisoning the parts
attacked. In the. summer of 1865, according to Dr. Shimer, the progeny of the
broods of the preceding year were entirely swept off by an epidemic disease, which
was doubtless produced by deficient light
and electricity combined with the-exces-
sive humidity of the atmosphere.
This insect was named and described
by Say, in 1831, as from Indiana, and in
1854 did considerable injury in Missouri.
. In hot, dry seasons these insects are most
destructive, but heavy rains destroy them.
• In the single State of Illinois, Dr. Shimer
estimated tho damage done in 1864 to the
wheat and corn crops by the chinch-bug
at over $73,000,000: and to give some idea
of how these insects swarm in localities,
it has been stated that in Ogle county,
Illinois, as many as thirty or forty bushels a day were taken out of holes dug to
entrap them, and the process was repeated until only three or four bushels could
be shoveled out of the holes.
THE NORMAL STATE.
It is probable that the normal state of
this insect is to take wing in spring and
summer, during their love sesaon, but
at other times they appear unwilling 'to
use their wings at all; and it is said that
there are two varieties, one with long" and
the other with short wings. It is also
stated that this insect is found in Canada,
and was remarkable for having the wings
only half as long as the abdomen.
Chinch-bugs multiply much faster in dry
seasons, wet weather being unfavorable to
them.
THEIR DESTROYERS.
They are destroyed by several parasites,
among which are several species of lady-
bugs, (Coccindlidse.) The false chinch-
bug, an insect mentioned below, and
which, in outward appearance, very much
resembles the true chinch bug, is"said to
destroy them. The common'quail is
stated to eat numbers of them, and therefore those birds should be preserved as
much as possible, by wheat-grow- -^ 1
ers especia]ly*a8 the stomachs of
'gome shot in wheat-fields were
found to be filled with these destructive pests. Tlie pseudo or
false chinch-bug, or insidious flower-bug,
above mentioned, has frequently been
mistaken for the true chinch, as it resembles it somewhat in shape and size. It is
found upon the same flowers, and leaves,
but the larva; are of a bright orange color,
and not of a vivid, red, like those of the
true chinch; and the perfect insect is also
smaller, of a broader form, and marked
in a different manner. It is probably
highly beneficial, by feeding on other insects. Two European species, A. minutus
and memorum, have been well-known as
preying on plant-lice. The perfect insects
inhabit flowers, and the immature ones
wander about in search of plant-lice,
which they transfix with their sharp
beaks, and suck out the juices. Our native species (Anthocoris insidiousus) mast
probably also feeds on the true chinch
and the grape-leaf gall-louse, (Pemphigus
vitifolm.) This insect Ls extremely common in Maryland on the ox-eye daisy,
and not unfrequently upon the fruit of
raspberries and blackberriefl, and is one
of the insects which produce such a disagreeable chinehy taste when taken into
the mouth with the fruit,
MANY  REMEDIES
have been recommended or suggested for
the destruction of chinch-bugs, or to drive
them away; among the rest, lime is said
by some farmers to have been used with
good effect, when dusted over the plants
when the insects first appear. Other
fanners, however, assert that they have
used lime, and have derived no benefit
from it. Burning the ground before
plowing, or after the infested crops have
been recommended, and all the.
chaff and refuse remaining after
winnowing grain ought likewise to
to burnt. If small piles of refuse or trash
bo heaped up here and there in the fields,
and, after cold weather sets in and these
heaps are dry enough to bum, they are
fired on a chilly morning, all the insects
sheltering under them will bo burned and
destroyed, as the chinch-thugs are very apt
to take shelter under such heaps from the
inclemency of tho weather. From other
farmers we have received reports as to
tile efficacy of gas-lime in driving the insects away from growing crops, but they
say nothing about the benefit or injury
the plants themselves receive from much
an application.
SOME EXPERIENCE.
In a former report, Mr. Laughlin states
that although ho used lime with no effect
whatever, yet "tho application of salt to
only one aero of wheat, in the proportion
of one bushel to tho acre, drove all the
insects away, and saved the crop on that
single acre, while the rest of the ten acres
planted was destroyed by the chinch-
bugs." Salt, however, when applied too
freely, would bo verj- apt to injure the
plants themselves. Mr. Laughlin also
states that he was satisfied that if he had
sown lj bushels of rock-salt (not more)
to the acre, by the first of June, or ten to
fourteen days sooner, ho would have saved
his whole crop ; and, at the same time,
he recommends a spoonful of salt to be
put to each hill of maize. Somo farmers
at the West tried tho experiment of sowing Hungarian grass with wheat and other grains, and state that their crops have
been saved by the chinch-bugs preferring
the tender grass and leaving the grain
uninjured. Open trenches or ditches,
dug around the fields overrun with chinch-
bugs, have been highly recomended as
preventing the migrations of these insects
from an infested field to another uninfected field in the immediate vicinity.
Fried Potatoes.
A great deal of good material is wasted
for want of proper cooking. Food which
might have been made delicious with little trouble, often comes upon the table
coarse and almost uneatable. Of all the
vegetables which suffer from ignorant
handling, potatoes are the most ill-treated. Dav after day people are expected
to tat boiled potatoes, watery and half
done; baked potatoes; full of imperfections and also watery; mashed potatoes,
yellow and "soggy" and tasteless, and
"fried potatoes, cut thick, swimming in
grease, and as detestable to the eye as
they are abominable to a well-trained
palate.
The real Saratoga potatoes are easily
prepared, and are delicious for breakfast
or lunch. The first thing necessary for
their preparation is the purchase of a
small appliance of wood and steel, which
somewhat resembles a carpenter's plane.
This article is known to hardware dealers,
housekeepers, and grocers as a "potatoe-
cutter," a "dried beef-cutter," or "cabbage-
cutter," as it is used to cut all these
things. It costs only 60 cents, and very
easily and neatly shaves off thc raw potatoes in slices almost as thin as paper. A
handful of these slices Is thrown into
boiling lard, and as soon .as they are
nicely browned they are to be removed
with a skimmer, care being taken to drain
off every particle of the hot fat. They
should be salted immediately, and kept
in a hot dLsh by the fire nintil the right
quantity has been prepared for the meal.
The dish must not be covered, as that
would mako them fat soaked., Potatoes
cooked in • this way look as daintily as
they taste, and are very quickly made
readv with tho aid of the excellent little
"cutter."
CHRISTMAS GIFTS!
ThQ Holiday Trade!
NOTES FOR FARMERS' EYES.
Firms Seeking their Trade
 . . y
An "Indiana Farmer" correspondent tells
what he knows about their business, present and prospective. A run about the
city and vicinity.
Yes, Christmas, the gala day of the
world, is at hand, when Childhood's
dreamy fancies will weave joyous pictures
of Santa Claus and his toy-laden sleigh;
when Youth's quick pulses will thrill with
anticipations of gifts from lovers with the
simple but eloquent inscription, "Dec. 25,
1875;" when Manhood's heart will glow
with a strange, sweet peace, as the hour
draws near when home's sacred alter will
be again illumined by "Christinas Trees,'
and when Age's solemn hour will be in
Childhood's fairy realm again by remembrances from the children, young people
and grown folks.
But, preceding all this, stores, studios,
offices, manufactories and work-shops,
must be visited. To aid all readers of our
paper in finding those firms which seek
trade with the farmers, and, to inform
them of the progress of business in which
they are most interested, a Farmer correspondent asks thc reader to follow him
in a visit to places of interest to them.
To Clein a Rusty Plow.—Take a
quart of water and pour slowly into half
a pint of sulphuric acid. The mixture
will become quite warm from chemical
action, and this is the reason why the
acid should l>o poured slowly into the
water, rather than the water into the acid,
and let it remain on the iron till it evaporates. Thon wash it again. Tlie object
is to give the acid time to dissolvo the rust.
Then wash with water and you will see
where tho worst spots are. Apply somo
more acid and rub on those spots with a
brick. The acid and the scouring will
remove most of the rust. Then wash the
mould-board thoroughly with water to
remove all the acid, and rub it dry.
Brush it over with petroleum or other oil,
and let it lie till spring. When you go to
ploughing, take a bottle of the acid water
to the field with you and apply it every
bout to any spot of rust that may remain.
The acid and tlie scouring of the earth
will soon mako it perfectly bright and
smooth.' If all iron work be washed off
with petroleum as soon as we put our tools,
implements,'and machines aside for the
winter, it will keep them from rusting,
and save a great deal of trouble and
annoyance, to eay nothing of depreciation and loss.
Toilet Articles.
What is there more appropriate for a
holiday present than an elegent toilet set,
or a bottle of fragrant perfume. Of course
thousands of our readers will soon be
making their purchases of such things.
We take pleasure therefore in refering
to the Drug Store of E. A. Cobb, opposite
Bates and'Occidental Hotels, whero a
well selected stock of the above articles
may be found, and also of Brushes, Combs,
Pocket Books, Fancy Soaps, and everything else in the toilet line.
a Thresher, Wood Saw, Cider Mill, Fodder
and Straw Cutter, Slitting Saw, Grist Mill
and Root Cutter. Those machines are all
attached to one frame' wliich occupies a
space of only about 3x5 feet, and can be
converted from any one machine to another in about five minutes time. Here are
seven of the most useful machines used
by farmers, which, by this ingenious combination, can be bought for less than half
the price of an ordinary thresher.
Tlie Thresher, Wood-Saw and Grist Mill
require one horse to run them, while the
other four can be used by hand power.
Tlie Thresher's capacity is from 250 to 300
bushels per day ; the Wood Saw makes
from 3,000 to 4,000 revolutions per minute
ai.il will cut as fast as two men will handle cord-wood ; the Grist Mill grinds from
eight to twelve bushels per hour; the
Cider Mill Ls absolutely without a superior ; the Straw and Fodder Cutter Ls a
self-feeding machine and cuts with
strength and rapidity unequaled; the
Root Cutter—for slicing carrots, turnips,
etc., for cattle—shaves the roots into the
finest slices.
Tho machines are so wonderful and so
worthy that every farmer ought to send
for descriptive circulars, which gives cuts
and minute details. Address Centripetal
Power Co., or A. Tyner, State Purchasing
.\gent, 133 S. Meridian St.
laugh, should send for a copy as the following are the
Terms, one copy, $0.00
Two copies, $00.00
Don't fail to visit the "WHEN" clothing
house.
Value of Papers and Books.
Hamilton County, Ind., Dec. 6th.
Editors Indiana Farmer :—I wish to
have a little chat with the readers of the
Farmer. I want to ask, why is it that so
few take the leading papers of tho country ! Is it because of the cost, or stinginess ? If the former, let all consider for
a moment that it only costs 3J to 4 cents
per week per paper; and just think of
the information, besides, the company,
you have combined in a year. If people
would take more newspapers, and encourage their families to read more, there
would be a grand change in our community in a short time.
Farmers, keep your boys at homo; give
them more leisure and more useful books
and papers to read, and you will reap
twenty-fold reward in after years, and if
one of your boys or girls want to write,
don't scold them for wasting tho paper.
Encourage them.
A couple of dollars laid out for a good
newspaper, and it read carefully, pays the
largest per cent, of anything a man can
purchase, let him be rich or poor. How
often we find men who won't take a paper, and vet forever are borrowing.
J. H. A.
"WHEN!"
The Capital House.
A good hotel, at reasonable rates, is one
of thc very desirable things to be sought
for in these days of universal travel. The
above house, now verj- popular with all
farmers who have honored it with a call,
is really a desirable one to all who want
comfort, cleanliness, -light, airy rooms, an
abundance of well-cooked food, and, who
do not care, to pay for mere style, the
price being but two dollars por day. Our
Mr. Gerard, who boards there regularly,
when' in the city, speaks from personal
knowledge apd heartily recommends
farmers, when in the city, to stop at the
Capital House, 193 West Washington St.
Child Bro.'s Organs.
At the State Grange Purchasing -\gency
of Bro. A. Tyner, 133 S. MeridLan Street,
organs of the above firm were shown as,
which, for artistic finish and perfection of
tone are seldom excelled. The design is
new and as beautiful as need adern rhe
most elegantly furnished parlor. These
organs are now in the hands of Patrons in
all parts of the state and arc giving the
best of satisfaction. Not only has Bro.
Tyner sold thorn in all parts of our State,
but this firm have tho united support of
the follewing State Purchasing Agencies :
Bro.'s Hill of Ohio, Kniflier of Wisconsin,
Guthrie of Kentucky, and Chilson of
Michigan. Tlieir business in Iowa is very
large and indeed in all parts of the Union,
a shipment just having been made to Oregon. At tho last meetipg of Purchasing
Agents in this city this firm was endorsed
as the only one who had boldly sought
the trade of Granges, and hence the only
one that the Order should patronize.
This wide-awake firm have just completed
a large ahd very handsome factory and
ten dwelling houses east of thLs city which
they will occupy about- January the 1st.
The address of the firm, however, will
continue, until further notice, to be at
Dayton, Ohio. Patrons should remember
those who have honored them with special terms and see to it that they have the
patronage of tho Order.
Centripetal Power Company.
A call.was made at the office of this
Company, 133 South Meridian Street and
the merits of their new motive power
carefully examined. Tho "Farmer's Combination" is composed of seven of the
principal machines used on the farm, viz:
Tliis diminutive word Ls usually, according to the lexicographers, an adverb
of timo, but in this city it has a local and
specific meaning, the history of which
will not be without interest.
Some nine months ago, a shrewd looking down-eastcr called at the counting
rooms Of the city papers and contracted
for large space in a conspieious place, in
whioh he directed the editors to insert
the single and nigmatical word "When";
no more, no less and with no explanation,
as the shrewd dealer intended, every body
old and young were puzzling over the
mystery. About the 15th of that month
"March 20th, 1875" -was added to the
above word, on which date and immense
stock of Clothing and Mens' Furnishings
were opened at No. 5 Bates' Block, North
Pennsylvania Street. From that time,
every one in the city and for many miles
around, the store has been known as the
"When Clothing House," and this alone
gave the store not only a wide reputation
but and immense trade: For, curiosity
led persons to. the house and when once
there, they learned that the goods are all
direct from the companies own .manufactories, not a garment going through thc
hands of jobbers or middle-men,
which enable this house to sell direct to
the people at wholesale rates. Is it any
wonder that their trade equals that of
the oldest houses in the city?
Having said this much historically, we
now pass into the store, one of those elegant rooms in the new Bates Block, and
are astonished at the immense piles of
mens and boys clothing. Every passible
shade, size, style, grad and price are in
greatest profusion. In tho rear, clerks are
busy opening immense boxes of new
goods all of which are marked in plain
figures, enabling a boy to buy as cheaply
as a man. They have just finished making their annual holiday reduction on the
entire stock, which reduction puts their
goods below New York jobbing prices.
Such figures have rarely been put upon
goods in the west, and it is astonishing
what a splendid suit can be bought with a
small amount of money.
In underwear the stock Ls most unusual,
in amount,there being no less than twenty-
five different qualities of goods in thLs line
alone and which are offered at case prices.
Gloves, too, of one hundred varieties, they
are retailed at case prices. They have
prepared a fresh stock, specially for the
holiday trade, of scarfs, hosiery, neckwear,
cuffbuttons, studds, and linnen, and paper
collars and cuffs, indeed, everything in
gents' furnishings.
It Ls especially worthy of rememberance
that this firm manufacture, not only their
own goods, but own the mills where the
matcrial.is manufactured, which enables
them to sell at rates wholly beyond the
reach of competitors.
As a positive evidence of the immense
trade of the house, thoy are compelled to
enlarge their rooms, present quarters being too small, and in the spring the room
adjoining on thc north, No. 6 Bates' Block,
will be added, giving them the largest
space of any clothing house in the State.
Tlie firm are the publishers of the
"Indianapolis Illustrated Times," which is
an additional evidence of the enterprising
spirit of the proprietors.
It is brim full of interest, and, he who
would   have a   healthful,   side-splitting
A young man having preached for a
reverend doctor was anxious to get a word
of applause for his labor of love. The
grave doctor, however, did not introduce
the subject, and his younger brother was
obliged to bait the hook for him. "I
hope, sir, I did not weary your people by
the length of my sermon to-day?" "No,
sir, not at all nor by the depth either!"
The young man was silent.
That was an irreverent and ribald
youth, who, to his aged parent desiring to
retire from the retail trade and take a
Government position said: "You in the
post office! Nice old party you'd be in
the post office. What could you do in a
post office except to stand in the doorway
with your mouth open for folks to wet
postage stamps on your tongue?"
American Genius.    Moody & Sankey.
The great   revivalists, Messrs. Moody and
Sankey,  who   electrified,   staid old  England
witli tlieir eloquence and enthusiasm, are fair
samples of American genius.   Springing from
among tlie common people, tlieir sympathies
are alive to the wants of the whole people,
and herein lies the secret of tlieir great success.
Those who seek to be popular must study and
be familiar with the wants of the masses, and
prove loyal thereto.  To this fact we may trace
the grand success in business, as well as in religious undertakings, which many Americans
have achieved.    Striking illustrations of these
suggestions is that great establishment, located
at Iiuffalo, N. Y., and known as the "World's
Dispensary."—a most appropriate name, indeed, for that vast institution,  within whose
walls are manufactured remedies which are in
demand in even- quarter of the globe,  and at
which a corps of distinguished physicians and
surgeons, under the personal direction of Dr.
Pierce,   are constantly, administering to the
needs of thousands of sufferers everywhere,
and whose  success in the treatment  of  all
forms of chronic ailment has become so well
known that there is scarcely a hamlet in the
land in which his name is not  familiar.   Its
proprietor,   says  the   "Herald  and Torchlight," of Detroit, "isa mas of the people,
writes for them, and to them tenders his eminent professional services."   Like the great revivalists, his enthusiasm is multiplied by tbe
unparalleled success of his enterprise, as well
as by the efficacy of his remedies in curing
disease.   The people believe in him and his
remedies, because, as the New York Tribune
says: "he synathizes with them in all their
afflictions, efforts, and attainments."    Hence,
Dr. Pierce's Golden Medical Discovery is to-day
more largely employed as a blood and liver
medicine, and also as a cough remedy, than
any other remedial agent in the world.   His
Favorite Prescription, he does not reccommend
as a "cure all," as is often done by compounders of worthless, humbug nostrums, but for
all diseases and weaknesses peculiar to women
it has proved itself so much of a specific that
it now enjoys great popularity and universal
confidence.    Dr. Pierce's Pleasant Purgative
Pellets, "scarcely larger than mustard seed,"
have proved so agreeable and reliable as a cathartic that they are rapidly taking the place
of the large, nauseous pills heretofore so much
in usej while his Compound Extract of Smart-
Weed is a favorite remedy for Colic, Cramps,
Summer-complaint,    Diarrhoea,    Dysentery,
Cholera and Cholera Morbus, and also as a
liniment.   Of Dr. Sage's Catarrh Remedy, and
Pierce's Nasal Douche, little need be said, as
they are known everywhere as the greatest
specifics for Catarrh and "cold in the head,"
ever given to the public.   And besides this
large  measure  of success,  Dr. Pierce seems
likely to achieve as great renown as an author
as lie has as a physician.   His Common Sense
Medical Advise^, a book of 900 pages, wliich
he sells at the unparalleled low price of $1.50.
has already been sold to the extent of exhausting two editions amouting to forty thousand
copies.   The secret of Dr. Pierces success, as
well as that of the great revivalists, and scores
of other Americans, who by their genius have
advanced step by step from obcurity to affluence and distinction, consisting in treating the
people.jvith consideration, sympathy, candor,
and honesty.  "No man, who hopes to attain
either wealth or distinction, can afford to deal
unfairly with the world or be indifferent to
the wants and best interests of humanity.
Tested by Time, Foe Throat Diseases,
Colds and coughs, "Browms Bronchial Troches" have proved their efficacy by a test of
many years.
The Next President.—Our views on the
political issues of the day are well known, and
we now take occasion to say that we know of
no better remedy for coughs, colds and disorder of the throat and lungs than Hall's Balsam. It should form a staple in the family
medicine chest. It has been the standard remedy in the West for the last forty years. Price,
$1.00 per bottle.   Sold everywhere.