VOL. XXIV.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., OOT. 5,1889.
NO. 40
Wrlttin for tbe Indiana Farmer.
Gates.
BT JOHN M   STAHL.
Blessings be npon the man who invented
gates—properly made and hang; for a
gate that mnst be carried upright throngh
a mud-paddle, held upright while the vehicle passes throngh, and then be made secure with sundry rails and chunks, is almost as great a nuisanoe as a pair of bars,
and that is saying muoh. No other single
feature of tha farm tells so muoh of the
farmer as the gates, particularly when
there are none! When yon see the farm
well supplied with strong gates, pnt properly in place, yon will also see clean, well
tilled fields, good live stock and buildings,
and you may know that the possessor ls
an intelligent, prosperous and happy farmer, for he knows the importance of saving
time and labor, and that neatness, convenience and beauty have a real value.
The best time to put up gates is in the
fall, for then there is more - time for the
work than in the spring and summer; and
as the ground .has not an excess of moisture
the posts can be better set, and tho satisfaction to be yielded by a gate depends
very largely upon the setting of the post
to which it is swung. That post can not
well be too large, bnt quality is of moro
value than quantity. This post should be
of only very durable wood, thoroughly
seasoned. Bafore it is set, cut off aU the
«ap wood, -ii'is.aatfrom the p<vrfc that gee-*
into the ground; for the sap wood will
soon rot and then the hole wili be bigger
than the post and the post will get ont of
position, putting the gate in the same fix.
Set the post three feet deep and make the
hole of twice the diameter of the post-
Then tamp the earth well about the post, using a tamper not more than three inches in
diameter; and dzn't spare elbow grease.
If you can use day, fill the hole with it for
a foot from surface, bringing it up well
around the post and gently sloping from
the post. As clay is nearly impervious
to water, filling the hole ln this way will
keep muoh moisture from the post, just
below the surface of the ground, and it is
at this point that the post rots first and
most. The post against whioh the gate
shuts need not be so good or so well set
In fact a stout stake will answer.
It pays to paint gates, bnt it is more important to paint the parts that fit together
before they are put together, than to paint
the gate after it is set up. Especially
ahonld the tenons be painted—one coat be
allowed to dry, andaseoondcoatbeappliad
i ust before the tenons are put in the mortises. This painting should he dons whether or not the entire gate is painted after it
is put together.
A word as to bracing: Many braces do
not brace at all. The main brace should
run diagonally from the lower corner
hung to the post, to the upper corner
that shuts against the post or stake.
This brace shonld fit close against the
end posts of the gate and be bolted or
nailed to all the boards it crosses,
as well as to the end post. If it runs
in the other direction—from the upper
part of the hinged end to the lower part
of the latch end—it does not brace at all.
This one brace is all that is actually necessary, if it ls stout and is pnt on properly.
One thing more—make of gravel a gentle grade from the gate at eaoh side. On
the side over which the gate swings out,
the grade should extend out farther and
also back of the gate. If you make this
grade there will not be mud at the gate to
wade through when you open the gate or
to hasten the rotting of the posts. And
unless you make this grade there will be
mud at the gate, for the passage of animals
and vehicles will make a depression to collect water and will then mix water and
Mrth into a muddy mess.     	
Written for tne Indiana Farmer.
White Grubs.
BY PROP. F. M. WEBSTER. '
The wide spread and destructive ravages of these pests, throughout the State,
the present season has called forth such a
deluge of letters of inquiry, at the same
time disoloeing so mnch error in the general knowledge of the farmer as to their
origin and habits, that some statements
which will have a wider circulation
than individual letters, seems to be demanded.
The history of the depredations of these
pests is almost as old as that of agriculture itself, and in America their attacks
upon Indian corn extend . back to the
corn fields of the Aborigines.
John Josselyn, who styles himself "Gentleman, " made a voyage to Hew England
Fig. 1.
i 11638 and 1039, and another in 1663 when
he sojourned till 1671, wrote of an insect
depredator, clearly like those under consideration, as follows: "There is a bug
that lies in the earth and eateth the seed,
that is Bomewhat like the maggot, of a
white color w ith a red head, and is about
tio bigness of one's finger and an inch1 or
an inch and a half long."
William Wood who came to this country in 1629 and returned to England in
1633 gives us a glimpse of Indian agrioulture in the following: "Another work is
their planting of oorne, wherein they ex
oeede onr English husbandman, keeping
it so oleene with their clamme shell-hoes
as if lt were a garden rather than a oorne
field; not suffering a choaking weede to
advance his audacious head above their
infant oorne or an undermining worm to
spoil his spume."
White grubs, Fig 1 and Fig. 2 (1) and
(2), are the laiv-e of the several species of
May beetles or Jane bugs, Lachnosterna
Fig. 2 (3) and (4), of which there are about
81 diflerent kinds in America, north of
Mexico, and bf these some 27 may be
found   in  Indiana,  our  most oommon
Fig. 2.
species being L. fusca. Avery similar
appearing grub is fonnd tn stable manure, decaying straw, etc., but this Is not
known to bo injurious to growing vegetation, although the two are continually
being confused, and the presence of half
rotted manure, infested by this harmless
variety. The two grubs may be readily
distinguished by the destructive one having a lead coloren appearance only near
rent skin throughout the entire length of
the body.'
The eggs from which these destructive
grubs originate are deposited during Msy
and June, in both grass and clover lands
and in cultivated fields. According to
Dr. Riley, the young larva hatches in
about a month after the egg has been deposited, and lives in the ground in the
grub state,as a rule until the spring of the
third year. Therefore, the grubs whioh
this year have caused such wholesale destruction in meadows, pastures and corn
fields,wlll probably disappear next spring,
transforming first to papa, Fig. 3, and
shortly after to adult beetles, Fig. 2 (3)
and (4).
The first year, thes9 grubs are too small
to work mnch destruction, but during the
second summer they do most serious injury. The present season both grass lands
and corn fields have suffered, the destruction seemingly being as severe on old
lands as new.
REMEDIES.
This whole matter, so far as the farmers
of Indiana are concerned, can be summed
up in a single sentence. There is no practical remedy or preventive known. Substances there are, which will readily destroy them, but the time required and the
cost of application ls so great as to prevent
their use. Hand picking is resorted to in
countries where the cost of labor is slight,
bnt with ns it is impracticable. S *me
I ideaof the ncJ.gnitadsof the task of ridding
a a aid of grubs, by hand picking may be
obtained by the following statement, appearing in Insect Life for July, 1889. "We
do not know which to wonder at the most,
the industry of the women or the numbers in which the white grub (larva of the
European Meiolontha vulgaria] must have
ooourred in ihe soil, in the statement
mnde by M. Bt>iset and quoted in La Nature for the 18 ih of May, where it is stated that in a field of about one hectare
(2,471 acres) a single woman collected 759
pounds (344 kilograms) of these white
grubs or cockchafer lar v to in 15 days.
The actual number of grubs was estimated at 180,000."
While a rotation of crops doubtless has
a tendency to keep the nnmber of grubs
reduced, it is by no means reliable, as all
crops are damaged, and while there is
some prospect of relief being obtained by
plowing the ground very late ln the fall, yet
the experiment has never been tried in a
manner to give exact results.
For lawns, gardens and small areas,dlg-
glngout and destroying is probably, in
the long rnn, the cheapest and most
efli.ient remedial measure.
NATURAI, ENEMIES
In a most excellent work published by
Dr. J. A, Lint ner, State Entomologist of
New York, the following list is given of
the insects and animals which prey upon
the grubs; The skunk, racooon, fox, mole,
gopher, frog, crow, kingbird, robin, jay
and blackbird. The only Insect parasite
recorded Is a Hymenopter, Tiphia inornate,
one of the digger wasps. Fig. 4, a adult;
c larva; d cocoon.
Fig. 3.
the terminal end, while in the harmless
grubs, there is a lead colored line along
the back,  showing through the tranapa-
3
Fig. 4.
Of the efficiency of the skunk, any one
can observe for himself who will take
pains to observe the little circular holes in
the ground, where his skunkship has
been nosing about for hi. breakfast, or
noted the earth pawed away from the
roots of the infested hills of corn—yet the
farmer is his most bitter and unrelenting
enemy." The crow, who comes next in
order of usefulness, suffers in  the same
manner from the  hand of  those  whose
fields he has, in part at least, protected.
The last enemy of these white grubs,
which we shall mention is neither an insect nor an animal, bnt a plant, belong-
to the gronp of parasitic vagatablesknown
as fungi. Fig. 4, shows the plant growing
ont from beneath the head of the grub.
This enemy ot the grub has been known
for many years, and was figured ln The
American Journal of Sjience Vol. VIII,
1824, plate 4, by Jacob Cist, and accompanied by a notice on pp269 71, of the text
ot sarre volume. Mr. Crist, after speaking of the great abundance of white grubs
mentions the plant, and states that the
opinion prevails among farmers that the
grub worms turn to briars. He, himself,
accounts for the presence of the plant
growing from the body of the worm, as
being due to seed being taken internally,
and vegetating after the death of the grub.
It was not until 1867 that the true character of the fungus was known, when Mr.
D. B. Walsh demonstrated its usefulness.
To the agriculturist who cares little about
either the origin or ultimate destiny of
these white grabs, but whose chief Interest is to know howto iii hia fields of their
unwelcome presence, the foregoing will
ofl ar bat small comfort. But ln extenuation thereof, I can only say that the problem of the white grub is, to the entomologist, what consumption is to the medical
practitioner or original sin to the theolo-
gi**--.,     •      ■ """■•-..
Experiment Station, Lafayette.
 » ♦ » :—-
The TJee of Salt.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Vour correspondent S. C. F. finds insects, probably wire worms devouring the
roots of his oorn on drained marsh land,
and inquires if salt would destroy the
pest.
Salt Is certainly destructive to insect
life but the quantity sufnsient to destroy
insect life would also prove injurious to
the vegetation on the soil at tho time.
Suppose he plow the corn stubble so infested this fall and harrow In the salt, and
by wxt spring the soil will be in condition for any spesies of vegetation. How
much salt to apply to render the destruction of the lnseot a certainty will be determined best by capturing well developed
samples of the insects, and placing them
in pans or boxes surrounded by soil and
grade each insect with salt in different
strength. Sprinkle the soil with water so
the salt may dissolve, as if with rain. The
action of salt on insect life is instantaneous,
so.it the insect survive a tow hours after
coming in contact witb the salt the dose
of salt is not strong enough.
Salt could be applied with safety before
seeding land to any species of vegetation,
grain or vegetable, If copious rains intervene between applying the salt and seeding, for then the strength of the salt wonld
have passed away. But salt in the soil in
sutSslenoy to destroy insects wonld also
destroy vegetation in its formation in the
seed sprout as well as in mature age.
I have not much faith in salt as a fertil-
iz9r, but Bait certainly possesses tho virtue
of preventing rapid evaporation and in
condensing moisture and retaining it in
the soil, whioh ls beneficial only in periods
of drou th. G anerons quantities o f salt applied to the soil not fairly drained, and
followed by a season of excessive rainfall,
has a tendency to sonr the soil because of
the moisture retentive  properties of salt.
Fabmer.
Insane Hospital, Logansport.._
 ■  ■  ■ —
Waldo Hill, lightning-rod agantof F-irt
Wayne, was arrested for constructive lar-,
ceny having swindled Wm. Walkup, a
farmer of Parry Township, ont of ?133 by
the lightning-rod trick. HIU has grown
rioh from the profits of his bnsiness, but a
jury of farmers will probably out his career
short.