DESTROYING INSECTS, 



569 



flowers, etc., a plentifal sprinkling of clean 

 Water over the foliage, eight or ten hours 

 after applying the tobacco water, will be 

 of service ; but it is not necessary for more 

 sturdy trees or plants. 



The rose slug — that very small, slimy 

 worm, — which makes its appearance about 

 the first of this month, on the under side of 

 the rose leaves, and frequently so devours 

 them as to wholly destroy the beauty of 

 the plant, may be effectually killed by syr- 

 inffinii- the under side of the leaves with 

 tobacco water in the evening. It should, 

 to be effectual, be done twice, — once at 

 the first appearance of the insect, while the 

 roses are yet in bud, and once a few days 

 afterward, so as to catch any second rein- 

 forcement that may have escaped the first 

 dose. 



Mr. Haggerston's mixture of whale-oil 

 soap and Avater, (two lbs. of the soap to fif- 

 teen gallons of water,) is also a well known 

 und equally efficacious remedy against the 

 rose slug, and a host of other small in- 

 sects. 



Just at this moment, too, the borer, which 

 ■attacks the trunks of the apple and other 

 fruit trees, as well as that which punctures 

 the ash, is flying about, depositing their 

 eggs in the bark of the trees. Lose no 

 time, therefore, in defending such trees as 

 are most precious, and most open to as- 

 -sault, by washing the trunks over with a 

 mixture of soft soap and strong tobacco 

 water, made just thin enough to be ap- 

 plied easily with a brush. 



Caterpillar nests must be taken off by 

 hand early in the morning, while the dew 

 is on them, and the insects at home, and 

 crushed under foot. A little timely atten- 

 tion with these pests will save a vast deal 

 of after trouble ; as the inhabitants of a 

 single nest, if left in quiet possession for a 

 fortnight, will have grown strong enough 



to attack a whole orchard, and carrj' it by 

 storm. 



If you find the insect army is fairly down 

 upon you, do not lose your temper, b\u 

 keep cool, and go quietly and regularly to 

 the attack. Devote half an hour or an 

 hour every morning regularly, and he will 

 soon be forced to yield to your systematic 

 warfare, especially if you give him a libe- 

 ral allowance of tobacco water, 



Posfsaipt. We find the following mode 

 of destroying the little green fly insect?, 

 given by Professor Lindley ; and, as it 

 is neater than tobacco water, it will no 

 doubt be patronised by many of our ama- 

 teur readers. : 



" Elsewhere will be found various re- 

 ceipts for the destruction of the aphides, 

 which are swarming in our gardens. The 

 efficacy of each receipt is vouched for by 

 its advocates, and, we doubt not, in all 

 cases truly. Tobacco water, tobacco dust, 

 soap-suds, and gas water, all have their 

 admirers. We patronize smelling salts. 



" We doubt not, however, that complaints 

 may, and will come, of the inability of all 

 these applications. People fancy that it is 

 enough to throw or trundle the fluid over 

 the infected bushes, once for all, and the 

 thing is done. They forget that no appli- 

 cation whatever can reach the insects that 

 lurk in the folds of the leaves ; that others 

 will be misspd even on the surface ; and 

 that these creatures multiply at a rate 

 somewhat greater than even the popula- 

 tion of London. Thousands and tens of 

 thousands may be destroyed to-night, and 

 to-morrow others fall into the rai.ks, and 

 recruit the legions. 



" One or two applicaiions of any sort 

 can be prodticlive of little relief. They 

 must be frequently repeated, and skilfully, 

 by sharp and qi/ick expulsions from a fine 

 rosed syringe. If thai is done, we gaaxaxi- 



