422 



Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [10 July, 1919. 



THE AUSTRALIAN FLORA FROM AN ORNAMENTAL 



ASPECT 



By Edward E. Pescott, F.L.8., F.R.H.S., Pomologist. 



(Continued from page 364.) 



Pests of the Wattle. 



"Wattles, like all other garden plants, are frequently attacked by 

 pests, which cause the gardener some considerable trouble. Acacia 

 saligna, the Willow wattle, is very subject, along with others, to stem- 

 boring caterpillars. If the pest be discovered in time, the bore which 

 it has made in the tree should be searched out with a piece of copper 



Sunshine Watti 



wire and a ieyj drops of phenyle poured into the opening, which may 

 then be plugged up with clav. 'J'he s.awdiist-like excreta and gumming 

 will usually reveal the presence of the borers. If the tree has become 

 so badly infested that it cannot be satisfactorily treated, it should be 

 cut down, and quickly burned. 



A serious and increasing trouble, especially in areas where there 

 are many gardens, is the presence of gall-making insects. These pierce 

 the young flower buds, causing them to sAvell globularly, so that instead 

 of flowers, bunches of galls, larger than a green pea, develop. The 

 Cootamundra wattle (Acacia Baileyana) is especially subject to this 

 pest. When the galls appear they should be cut off and burned. It is 

 not sufficient to merely cut the galls away, for if allowed to remain on 



