CULTURE AND USES. 241 



leaves near the center, and cuts off much larger pieces of the leaf for camping-out 

 purposes. The best remedy for this pest is a lamp trap for the mature insect. Frogs 

 and dragon-flies will catch numbers of them. 



Nymphaeas are also subject to a fungous disease, a leaf spot which is easily dis- 

 cerned after a spell of warm humid weather. After such a spell of weather, followed 

 by bright sunshine, the leaves are scorched and crumpled up, and as a result, the plant 

 is sadly crippled by being denuded of its foliage ; new leaves are weak and smaller, 

 and so too are the flowers, if indeed there are any. This disease must be checked at 

 once or the plants will be severely set back, if not ruined. The only remedy is 

 Bordeaux mixture, or any of the various mixtures with sulphate of copper as the basis. 

 Use a fine spray, and dilute the mixture to half the strength recommended for most 

 plants. It is best to spray twice with a weak solution rather than to spray once with 

 too strong a solution and damage the foliage. 



Finally, the ravages of muskrats eating the rhizomes of hardy species 

 in winter must be mentioned. Three fine collections, in my small acquaint- 

 ance, have been seriously injured or destroyed in this way. Traps and 

 a bounty on hides are two practical aids to the gardener. But here, as in 

 so many cases all along life's journey, "eternal vigilance" is the price of 

 success. And the success, once it is attained, more than repays the labor 

 of love which it costs. 



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