d hellebore is said to have been used with effect as a
means of destroying the pest. It should be dusted on and under the
foliage when the plant is wet with dew. Hellebore, however, is a
dangerous remedy on account of its poisonous qualities. A mixture of one
part salt, ten parts soap, and twenty parts water, applied to every part
of the plants with a syringe, is quite effectual. Several cannibal and
one parasitic insect are known to prey upon the larva of the Colorado
potato-bug, and the eggs in vast numbers are eaten by several species of
lady-birds and their larva.

GENERAL REMARKS ON INSECTS.

The time is not far distant when the American farmer will be obliged to
put forth greater efforts to destroy noxious insects than he has
hitherto. It is a well-known fact that noxious insects are increasing in
a rapid rate throughout every part of our land. The country is becoming
so "buggy" that eternal vigilance is the price of every thing produced
from the soil.

Close observers calculate that more fruits of various kinds and
varieties are annually destroyed or rendered worthless by insects than
are gathered and used by man. The cotton-worm, the wheat-midge, the
canker-worms, the potato-bugs, are each every year increasing in numbers
and destructiveness.

The "curculio" alone destroys millions of dollars' worth of fruit
annually.

It is a safe estimate, all things considered, that, if noxious insects
of all descriptions could at once be annihilated throughout our country,
and mildews of various classes be effectually held in check, the cost of
living to our people would, in-a short time, be reduced to one third of
its present amount. It is disheartening to see what a vast amount of
grains, fruits, and vegetables is annually eaten up by the larvae, or
appropriated by the perfect insects of various classes, merely for the
sake of propagating their abominable species. Yet, in view of all the
devastation, but feeble effort is made to abate the evil. Birds, many
species of which nature seemingly designed on purpose to keep insects in
check, are wantonly shot by lazy boys and indolent men, who range the
fields and forests, killing all, from the humming-bird to the crow.
Legislative enactments made expressly to protect the insectivorous
songsters are every day violated with impunity. One man plants an
orchard and does all he can to destroy noxious insects; another man near
him also has an orchard, but his orchard serves no