Enemies.,—Asparagus has only two import ant enemies, and when compared with other general crops, long cultivated, only a few less serious ones. Asparagus rust (Puccini° as paragi) has been known for about 100 years, and sometimes does serious damage. In a badly infested field the plants as a whole seem to be maturing very early, their deep green having been replaced by a tawny brown. The stems, examined closely, show a blistered and ruptured skin, beneath which are brown masses of spores or, in late autumn, almost black win ter spores. In the spring the ((cluster cue is the form observed. The most effective control is the resin-Bordeaux mixture, made by adding to each 48 gallons of standard Bordeaux mix ture two gallons of resin stock solution, made as follows: Heat five pounds of resin and one pint of fish-oil in a kettle until the resin is dis solved. If very hot, allow to cool somewhat. Then slowly stir in one pound of potash lye and heat again till the mixture becomes the color of amber, when five gallons of water must be added. If the potash be added while the resin is too hot, the mixture may ignite. This solution increases the adhesiveness of Bordeaux mixture. (See FUNGICIDE) . With the mixture 50 per cent greater yield has been obtained in unfavorable seasons, and 70 per cent in favorable. Growers cutting 800 bunches or more per acre find that thorough spraying each week for four, five or even more weeks pays well. For detailed account of this disease and specific methods of control, consult N. Y. Experiment Station Report (1901). The as paragus beetle (Crioceris asparagi), a Euro pean insect introduced about 1856, the only se riously injurious insect pest, is about one quarter of an inch long with black and_yellow or red wing-covers. It belongs to the Chryso
melidx. It appears as the adult in spring, and lays eggs on the shoots. In a few days grayish green grubs appear and gnaw the green parts of the plants. When full grown they burrow in the ground to pupate for a short time. The broods succeed each other at intervals of about a month, if the weather be favorable. Their natural enemies are lady-bird beetles and sol dier beetles. The popular remedies are the cor ralling of chickens, ducks and turkeys in the plantation; cutting all volunteer plants in waste places; cutting new shoots daily; allowing spindling shoots to remain in alternate rows for the insects to deposit their eggs upon and burn ing the shoots not less often than once a week; dusting with air-slaked lime or road dust while the dew is on brushing the grubs to the hot ground from the full grown plants, the middle of the day being chosen for this operation; spraying with arsenates, hellebore or other stomach poisons, etc. A case of fight early and fight late I The 12-spotted asparagus beetle (Crioceris about the same size as its relative just described, but orange red with black dots, has a similar life history, and may be controlled in the same way, but is not yet seriously troublesome, except in a few lo calities. Several plant bugs, moth larva, beetles and aphids also feed upon asparagus, but have not become serious pests. Consult Year-book United States Department of Agriculture (Washington 1896), and Bulletin No. 10 (1898). See I N secricuses.
For fuller details of asparagus culture con sult Heicamer, (Asparagus Culture) (1901) ; Bailey, (Standard of (1914). In the latter will also be found spe cific instruction for the cultivation of orna mental asparagus.