xu 



IRISH GARDENING 



Ihe lalU'r species. The female onion flv is paler than 

 the male, witli the eyes more widely separated and Ihe 

 abdomen pointed. .She lays her eggs in April and May 

 on the neek i>f the onion ov on the leaves just above the 

 surface o( Ihe sjround. The yonntf niaggots are hatched 

 about a wi*ck after the ej^'^s have been laid, and eat 

 their way between Ihe sheathing leaves and into the 

 bulb. In about a fortnight or three weeks after halch- 

 ing the m.iggot is fully grown, having atUiined a 

 length of S mm. ('5 inch). Like other maggots of its 

 family (.■\nIhom\'icl;e) and the muscoid flies generally', it 

 is soft arul while, with moulh hooks at Ihe tapering 

 head end for tearing up the fooil, and a pair' of spiracles 

 or air-holes, each with three slits, at the tail-end. The 

 spiracular area is surrounded wilh conical prominences 

 which differ from those in Ihe corresponding region of 

 Ihe cabbage maggot in the hindmost pair not being 

 bifid. The brown puparium is usually found in Ihe soil, 

 and from it the perfect flj- of the next generation 

 emerges in another fortnight. There are several 

 successive broods during the sinnmer .'ind autvunn, ;iik1 

 as the onions increase in size each may harbour a 

 number of maggots, which eat up the internal tissue and 

 render the entire bulb rotten and useless. They are 

 often found as late as November and December. In 

 these countries the pup.i is believed to be Ihe wintering 

 stage, but .Smith and Dickerson state that in the 

 United .Stales the insect hibernates as a perfect fly. 



Oi\ iiccount of Ihe burrowing habits of the maggots, 

 it is almost useless to apply insecticides to kill them. 

 Hadlv infested onions should be lifted and burned, and 

 Ihe cnllivalor must turn his attention to methods of 

 prevention. Earthing up the onion plants prevents Ihe 

 fly from laying her eggs. So do dressings of kainit 

 or watering with paraffin emulsion (three pints of paraffin, 

 Jib. of soft soap and a gallon of boiling water, wilh 

 seven or eight gallons of soft water subsequently added). 

 -According li> Ihe experiments of Smith and Dickerson 



the most efteclive dressing is a compound of carbolic 

 acid and lime. This is made bj' slaking three pints ot 

 lime with a gallon of water, and adding a tablespoonful 

 of crude carbolic acid The mixture nuist be watered 

 around Ihe plants, so as to form ;i crust extending over 

 the surface of the soil, and closing around the plant- 

 base.s. — Prof. G. H. (' .w.ve^it.r in KtoiioDiif Piuti'o/iiigs 

 oflhi K. 11. S. 



'J'he Dublin Autumn Show. 



.\oTi£.s .\XD Notions. 



WWW weather worries gelling worse, as Dublin's 

 autumn event approached, everybody .said there 

 would be nothing to show, and what everybody 

 says must be, of course, true, llatl it been only exhibi- 

 tors who s.'iitl it. that would i)e another stor}". \\"e 

 know them of old — "Blown down wilh wind : " "cut 

 up by frost ; ' "the best over;" "the best to come," 

 and a dozen lillle distractions to draw other dissem- 

 blers off the track, too wily to be drawn. But, what 

 everybody .says must be true, and to prove the rule, 

 everybody said so and truth prevailed (magna est 

 vei'itas) — in Ihe exception. *' How did they manage 

 it?" was the question asked by more th.in one inte- 

 rested visitor in looking at the gay Gladioli, Regal 

 Roses, bright border flowers, brilliant Kegonias, de- 

 lightful Dahlias, and all the things which go to make 

 an excellent autumn show. We do not know, but they 

 did. Your old exhibitor is prone to answer foolish 

 questions with .a supercilious smile and silent contempt. 

 .And. what a gathering— with half a mile, more or less, 

 of motor cars lining I he approach ! Even the very 

 turnstile, used to long rests in its clicking anatomy, 

 jibbed at the strain imposed b}' a long, bro.ad queue. 



SUTTON'S 

 BULBS . . 



. . Senil foi' a copy oi' . . 



Sutton's Bulb Catalogue for 1912 



Lonlaining Couqilctc Lists and full 

 ilescriptions of all the best varieties of 



Hyacinths, Tulips, Narcissi, &c. 



vosv rRi:i'. 



SUTTON (^y SONS 



The King's Seedsmen 

 READING 



THOMSON S 



CELEBRATED 



MANURES 



INDISPENSABLE IN THE GARDEN 



I86S 



1912 



SAFE, SURE AND LASTING 



1 hr result of of many year>' practical ( r[)crit-ncc 



Vine, Plant and vegetable Manure. - 1 cwt. 20 - : i c«t. 10/- ; 



; .^M. 6-; U 111*-. 3 6: J His.. 2,6; Tins, 2,6 1/- and 6ll. 

 Carri.igc p.lid on 1 cwt. anywlierc 



Special Top-dressing Manure. — 4 cwt., 20/-: lcwi.,11/-; 14 lbs' 



6- : 7 ll»-. 3 6 ; finb. 1 -. (Carriage paid on S cwt. anywhere 



Also Thomson's BOOK on the Vine. Thomson's Styptic 



SOLD BY NURSERYMEN S. SEEDSMEN EVERYWHERE 



w liif /or /•iimjiliMs. I'rice Lints, ttc, to Sole MnJcfie 



