Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/370

* POTATO. 314 POTAWATAMI. COLOHADO POTATO BUCi AND ITS FEEDING LARVA. bushels of cooked potatoes (fed with corn meal) is equivalent to one bushel of corn. POTATO INSECTS. The piiutipal enemy of the common fieUl potato {Sohiiium tuberosum) of the United States is the famous -potato bu};.' or more exactly, the Colorado potato beetle {Doro- phora deceniiiJieata). This insect, originally con- fined to the Rocky Mountain region, where it fed upon the sand-bur (Solanum rostratum). readily attacked cultivated potatoes as soon as civilization advanced to its native region. In 1859 it had spread eastward and reached a point 100 miles west of Omalia: in 1801 it invaded Iowa ; in 1S04 and ISO.) it crossed the Missis- sippi, reaching Illi- nois both from northern Missouri and Iowa; in 1867 it had crossed Illinois into western Indiana, and in 1809 had spread across the State and had made its way into Ohio, appearing almost simultaneously in the northern and south- western portions: in .July, 1870, it invaded the Province of Ontario; in 1872 it reached western Xew York, and spread into Pennsylvania, and in 1873 had reached eastern Xew York and the Dis- trict of Columbia; in 1874 the Atlantic Seaboard was gained at several points in Connecticut. New Jersey, New Y'ork, Pennsylvania. Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Its southern sjjread was much more slow than in the North, and in 1871 it had not touched the extreme southern counties of Missouri. In fact, it was not until 1897 that it succeeded in establishing itself in portions of Mississippi and Georgia. Although accidentally introduced into Europe on several occasions, the species has not established itself outside of North America. The female beetles, which have overwintered beneath the surface of the ground or under any shelter, lay their eggs upon young potato plants as soon as they appear above ground, and will even work into the ground to feed upon the young leaves before these have fairly shown themselves. The dark-reddish larvse liatch in less than a week, and reach full growth in from two to three weeks, after which they enter the earth to pupate, becoming beetles about a month after the time of hatching. There are three or four generations each year. This insect is readily controlled by the application of Paris green or some other arsenical poison, either as a spray or dusted dry upon the plants. The po- tato bug is also destroyed by the potato-hug «nemy (Lebia grandis). See Colored Plate of IXSECTS. The potato crop is sometimes damaged by the so-called stalk-borer (Gortyna nkcla), an owlet moth which lays its eggs on the stalks not only of potato, but also of tomato and of certain orna- mental plants. The Jarva bores into the stalk and causes the plant to wilt. Tlie potato-stalk weevil (Tricltobaris triiiotatus) is very common in the Mississippi Valley. The bluish or ash- gray beetle deposits a single egg in a slit which she has made with her beak in the stalk of the potato. The larva bores into the heart of the stalk and proceeds downward toward the root, pupating within the stalk, issuing as an adult about the last of August. In both cases all wilt- ing vines should be pulled and burned. The tomato worm (Siiliiiijc o-maculata) also feeds occasionally upon potato, but is not an im- portant enemy of this crop. Potatoes sutler, however, sometimes severely, from the attacks of blister beetles, and a leaf-beetle called the three- lined potato beetle (Lema Irilineata) occasion- ally damages the leaves. The cucumber tlea- beetle [Hallica ciicunieris) also preys upon the leaves, as does one of the tortoise beetles. Consult: Riley, Potato Pests (New Y'ork, 1870) ; Smith, llainial of Economic Entomology (Philadelphia. 1890). POTATO ROT, SCAB, etc. See Potato, para- graph Potato Diseases. POTATO STONE. See Geodes. POTAWAT'AMI ( properly Potewatmik, fire- makers, in allusion to their traditional mak- ing of a separate council fire for themselves). A prominent Algonquian tribe formerly holding the lower end of Lake Michigan, extending south- ward to the Wabash River and westward into central Illinois. They were closely related to the Ojibwa and Ottawa (qq.v. ). When first known the Potawatami were settled about the mouth of Green Bay, Wis,, and were early, brought under the intluence of the Jesuit mission estal)lished at that point. They were then moving southward, and 30 years later had fixed them- selves at Chicago and on the Saint Joseph River, on former Jliami territory. After the conquest of the Illinois (q.v. ) about 1705 they took pos- session of a gieat part of Illinois as well as of Lower ilichigan. At the Greenville treaty of 1795 they notified the Miami that' they intended to move down the Wabash, which they soon afterwards did, in spite of the protests of the Miami, who claimed the whole region. By the year 1800 they were in possession of the whole territory around Lake ilichigan from Milwaukee River. Wis., to Grand River. Mich., with much of northern Indiana and Illinois. They took part with the French in all the colonial wars and were also active in the rising under Pontiac. They sided with England in the Revolution and. with the other tribes, continued the struggle until the Treaty of Cireenville in 1795. In the War of 1812 they again took up arms, under Tecumseh. on the English side, and later joined in the final treaty of peace in 1S15. Under the .systematic plan of removal soon after inau- gurated by the Government they sold their lands by successive treaties, so that by 1841 practically the whole tribe had been transported beyond the Mississippi. A large part of those residing in Indiana refused to leave their homes until driven out by military force. Some escaped to Canada and are now settled on Walpole Island, in Lake Saint Clair. Those who went west were settled, partly in Iowa and partly in Kansas, but in 1S46 both bodies were united on a reservation in southern Kansas. In 1808 a part of these. known as Citizen Potawatami. were again re- moved to Indian Territory. A considerable part of the tribe is still in Wisconsin and another small band known as Potawatami of Huron is in Lower Michigan, in addition to the small band on Walpole Island, Ontario. According to Morgan the Potawatami had 15 clans. The most reliable early estimates give them from 2500 to 3000 souls at thoir greatest strength. They now num- ber about 2500 in all. viz. Citizen Potawatami, Oklahoma, 1690; Prairie band, Kansas, 570;