44 ORNAMENTAL GARDENING 
they swell up and become knotted into unsightly shapes and the 
plant dies. It attacks plants in pots or boxes but is worst on 
those in the open ground. I know of no satisfactory remedy for 
it but heavy mulching for outdoor things is helpful, though it 
does not always prevent its ravages. One should closely watch 
his young plants and if they look sickly or are inclined to wilt 
it is best to dig down carefully and examine about the roots. 
If they show the knot dig the plants up and thoroughly wash 
all the dirt from them. It may be possible by severe trimming 
to cut away the injured part, after which put the plant into a 
small pot and in some cases it will come on. All trimmings 
should be destroyed. In case the roots are ruined it may be 
possible to make cuttings from the top of the plant. 
There is a borer, the larva of one of the night flying moths, 
which enters the growing ends of shoots of Erythrinas and some 
other things; it also works down the flower stems and wherever 
it attacks it bringsruin. The branches attempt to put out new 
growth, only to be attacked again, while the bloom stems that it 
works on shrivel and die. In some cases it prevents large trees 
from growing or blossoming. I do not know at what time of the 
year this moth is active but if at the proper time a light could be 
put inside a muslin enclosure covered with any sticky substance 
and the same set near the trees the moths would be caught. 
We have a twig girdler which is occasionally troublesome as it 
cuts off twigs and small limbs. It is a beetle and is very hard to 
control because it works singly and at night. The only remedy 
would be to keep trees and shrubs likely to be troubled with it 
continually sprayed with arsenical poison. 
Many palms are greatly disfigured and even injured by having 
the epidermis of their leaves eaten, the refuse being deposited 
along the surface. This is the work of a small Chrysomelid 
beetle which looks to the ordinary observer exactly like a blue 
ladybug. For several years I was deceived by this wretch, and 
as I knew that ladybugs were the horticulturist’s friends I was 
always careful not to injure these gentry; I even distributed them 
around, hoping that they might help me out. It is needless to 
say that now I am not even polite to them any more. The 
arsenical solutions would destroy them but they would disfigure 
