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Show J The Standard's U. A. C. Mvem j Articles of Interest to Farmers, Housekeepers and Others! Written for The Standard by Experts at Utah's Noted f j Agricultural College at Logan S i FARM CLEANLINESS AGAINST j INSECTS. i By GEORGE E. KING. I Assistant Entomologist Utah Experi j ment Station. Insect control has become an integral inte-gral part of practical farming, because no farmer desires to see his crops destroyed de-stroyed by a host of hungry insects. The question is no longer one of destroying de-stroying them, but ono of preventing their appearance. Control measures to bo a practical use must be unfailing, and readily applied. There is no universal uni-versal remedy to prevent all attacks 'from these foes, but a few simple and timely farming operations will be very helpful generally and of great value against the commoner insect pes's. Many insects spend the winter 'as immature or adult bugs. These crawl under the dead weeds which line fences and ditch banks. Early in the spring they emerge, lay eggs and multiply mul-tiply rapidly and become numerous enough to make their work tell on the crops. A little attention to the destruction destruc-tion of dead weeds now will deprive them of winter protection. During the past summer the fruit-tree fruit-tree bark-beetle has destroyed many of our valuable fruit trees. The worst infested orchards were those where piles of prunings and dying trees were allowed to remain This beetle prefers dying wood to breed in and is attracted attract-ed by unhealthy trees, but also attacks at-tacks healthy ones. As it passes the waiter as a "grub" in the bark it may readily be destroyed by burning tho wood. The stacks of fruit tree limbs, too often found on farms are also harbors har-bors for many other very injurious pests. Every effort directed to the destruction destruc-tion of weeds and trash is a direct stride toward insect control. During the summer weeds may be destroyed by cultivation, cutting, or by pasturing animals on them. Weeds find their nutriment in the ground; insects live on the weeds. Deprive the insects of food by keeping weeds down during the summer and clear away everything which may offer them shelter along fonces, ditches or about buildings and incic scciua iu uu no Dcuer or more profitable means of keeping weeds from fences and ditches than to plant grass or some other forage and arrange to pasture or regularly mow in such places. Often a neglected fence may produce enough feed for a cow during the summer if arrangements be made to picket her there. Fall pasturing of livestock in fields, yields good profits and utilizes plant growth which otherwise is ideal shelter shel-ter for insects in winter. .Make fuel of orchard primings and dying trees during the winter. Clear away ali old hay. straw, or manure and haul out to fertilize the land-Gather land-Gather up old boards, sticks, and everything ev-erything which may shelter Insects. Well kept farm surroundings discourage discour-age vermin and make life worth while. |