CONTROL OF GARDEN DISEASES AND INSECTS. 



#• 



oots of 

 buying 



i 



Some of the worst garden troubles ure brought in on tl 

 plants and remain in the soil to attack the next crop. So 

 plants of any kind one shoidd be 

 sure that they are healthy and 

 free from insects. The roots 

 should be clean and fibrous, not 

 swollen or knotted. Southern 

 gardeners in particular should 

 be on the watch against root- 

 knot (fig. '2). Cabbage and 

 cauliflower plants should be in- 

 spected for clubroot (fig. 3), 

 and sAveet - potato plants for 

 black-rot (fig. 4). Irish pota- 

 toes should be treated for scab 

 before planting. 



CONTROL INSECTS THAT SPREAD 

 PLANT DISEASES. 



Many insects not only attack 

 the crops directly but also carry 

 plant diseases. Thus, the striped 

 cucumber beetle spreads the wilt 

 of cucumbers, squashes, melons, 

 and related plants; plant-lice 

 carry the cucumber mosaic; the 

 potato flea-beetle, the bacterial 

 wilt; and various other insects 

 occasionally carry spores from 

 diseased to healthy plants. 



AVOID WOUNDING PLANTS. 



In cultivating or working 

 around plants, avoid wounding 

 or breaking them. In pruning, 

 make a clean, close cut. In har- 

 vesting fruits and vegetables 

 that are to be stored, handle with 

 the greatest care to avoid bruis- 

 ing, as decay most frequently 

 begins where the natural protective covering is broken. Certain 

 insects, such as the potato tuber moth, also gain access at such points. 



Fig. 2. — Root-knot on lottuce. Similar 

 galls are formed l>y this pi'st on the roots 

 of nearly all vegetables. 



