238 
THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 
Chrysanthemum—continued. 
they multiply very rapidly. Frequently they are present 
in incredible numbers, though the “‘green-flies” at any 
rate approximate so closely to their surroundings that 
they are not so readily seen as the “‘black-fly” (Aphis 
rumicis), which is also troublesome. Under glass, the 
new vaporising insecticides are the best remedies to 
employ: they are easily applied, and very effective and 
cheap. Before using any insecticide it will be well to 
remoye any of the Ladybirds and their larvz, the leech-like 
larvee of Hawk-fly (Syrphus), or even the gaily-apparelled, 
if gauzy-looking, Lace-wing Flies. They are the natural 
enemies of Aphides, and will consume vast numbers in a 
short time. Outdoors, a weak solution of carbolic soft-soap 
will be sufficient to cleanse the plants of “‘green-fly *’ and 
‘““black-fly,”” both of which species, as already stated, are 
at times troublesome. This will be rendered more effective 
if applied Inkewarm. 
Earwigs are most destructive at times to Chrysanthemum 
blossoms, and in a single night will disfigure the best of 
flowers, rendering them quite unfit for show. They should 
always be trapped with loosely-rolled tissue-paper, old 
dusters laid in the vicinity of the plants, or by means of an 
inyerted flower-pot half-filled with hay and stood upon the 
stakes. It may here be stated that Harwigs, though as a 
rule vegetarians and destructive to many plants, occasionally 
forsake such a diet for one of flesh, and then they even 
render the gardener service by devouring Aphides, Thrips, 
and other injurious pests. 
Occasionally the leaves of Chrysanthemums and closely- 
allied plants suffer from the attacks of that plague of 
the Margnuerite- grower, Phytomyza_ affinis. This fly 
deposits its eggs upon the foliage; the larve are in due 
time hatched out, and feed between the two surfaces. Their 
presence is revealed by a blister-like swelling and by white 
or light-coloured zigzag tracks over the leaves. Feeding 
as they do, the pests are difficult to eradicate by means of 
insecticides ; but, by way of prevention, the leayes of the 
plants may be sprayed with a weak emulsion of paraffin or 
with a quassia-chip solution; or fumigation will make 
the leaves distasteful to the perfect insect. The old- 
fashioned methold of squeezing the insects between finger 
and thumb has much to recommend it. Sometimes plants 
are so badly attacked that nothing short of removing and 
burning the infested leaves is of any use. 
Thrips are sometimes destructive to the shoots, but they 
may be destroyed by syringing them with the preparation 
suggested for Aphides on outside plants. 
Ants are injurious to the buds, and will penetrate them if 
but a beginning has been made, They should be trapped 
by means of pieces of sponge dipped into a sweet liquid or by 
some bones containing a little meat. In the latter case the 
insects should be brushed off into boiling water, while in 
the former the sponge should be dropped into a vessel of 
boiling water. 
Cockroaches of several kinds attack the blossoms, though 
on account of their night-feeding propensities they are 
seldom seen, and less often suspected. Heat, however, 
being absolutely necessary to the welfare of these insects, 
it is only where this is applied that Cockroaches are 
really troublesome. Phosphorus paste or the Ballinkin- 
rain Ant Destroyer may be employed in keeping down these 
insects. 
Woodlice, like the Cockroaches, will considerably damage 
the blossoms. As a rule, they are strong in numbers, and 
once thoronghly established, they are difficult to oust. 
Vegetable traps, in the form of sliced or hollow potato, may 
be tried; but usually flower-pots half filled with hay and 
tarned upon their sides are the most effective, as the 
Woodlice shelter there after their midnight revels, and may 
easily be shaken ont and destroyed. More effective still 
is the trap where the inside of the pot is smeared with 
a sugary mixture composed of treacle, foots-sugar, and 
beer. 
Slugs infest the Chrysanthemum, and take toll of the 
blossoms. They are nocturnal, and should be enticed with 
bran or brewers’ grains, and then collected and destroyed. 
Leather-jackets are the destructive larvee of the Crane- 
fly, or Daddy Long-legs. They abound in pastures and 
lands, and therefore they may be readily introduced with 
the potting-soil. They feed for a long time as larye, and 
would quickly destroy the roots of any Chrysanthemum. 
The soil should be carefully examined at potting- 
Chrysanthemum—continued. 
time, and if any of the insects are noticed they should be 
destroyed. 
Mildew, though not a formidable fungus disease like 
Leaf-Rust, described below, is undesirable, and has a 
debilitating effect upon its host-plant. The Mildew 
usually found upon Chrysanthemums is due to the presence 
of a specific fungus, Oidiwm chrysanthemi, a relative of 
that pest of the Vine, Oidiwm Tuckeri. Powdered sulphur, 
or better still, spraying with sulphide of potassium of the 
strength recommended for Leaf-Rust, will be found 
effectual, especially if combined with plenty of light and 
_air, and fluctuations of temperature are avoided. 
Leaf-Spot (Septoria chrysanthemi) is a disfiguring and 
weakening fungus disease characterised by dark brown 
spots on the foliage. They are at first small, but 
gradually increase in size, and the leaves fall. Spraying, as 
before recommended, is the remedy. 
The condition of the blossoms popularly described as 
“damping” is too well known. Frequently it is present 
with the Mildew attack above noted, the conditions of the 
atmosphere being favourable for the development of either. 
Chrysanthemums in foggy towns are more liable to the 
condition than those grown where fogs are comparatively 
light. An atmosphere surcharged with moisture is also 
fatal, and therefore a buoyant one should prevail, Another 
prolific source of ‘‘ damping” is due to the use, or rather to 
the abuse, of stimulants. 
CHRYSANTHEMUM LEAF-RUST (Puccinia 
hieracii). Within the last year or so growers of Chrysan- 
themums have suffered not a little from the ravages of this 
destructive Rust-fungus. In several cases, practically whole 
collections have been destroyed, and in a great many more 
the loss has been extremely heavy. The generic name at 
once singles the pest out as a near relative of the much- 
dreaded Hollyhock fungus, and the specific one suggests 
that it is not the Chrysanthemum alone that it affects, but 
the Hawkweeds, many of which are among the commonest 
wayside flowers. It is necessary—indeed, important—to 
know this, as it to a certain extent accounts for the trans- 
ference of the Rust by various agencies from weeds to 
cultivated plants. Nor are the Hawkweeds alone host- 
plants of the pest. Burdock, Knapweed, Thistle, and 
Groundsel are quite as commonly infested. 
The Rust is found occasionally on the upper-surface as 
well as upon the under-surface of the leaves, which after a 
time are found to be covered with a number of brownish 
spots of varying size. Sometimes such spots are separate, 
at others they coalesce, until practically the whole leaf is 
inyolved ; finally the leaf assumes a still more unhealthy 
hue—first yellow and then brown—and falls. Prior to this 
latter stage, however, the numberless spores which have 
formed have been distributed over an extended surface. 
Then it is that the parasite is readily carried by insect and 
other agencies into non-infected areas. In fact, a collection 
which, say a week or so before, presented a healthy appear- 
ance and without the slightest trace of fungus, could 
practically be ruined in that short time. First one plant, 
then another, become involved, and the collection goes 
from bad to worse. The actual time occupied by one of the 
spores in deyeloping, once it has found a congenial resting- 
place, varies, but from eight to ten days at most would 
probably cover it. 
Here it may be well to state that the first manifestations 
of the disease to the gardener are usually the formation of 
the now familiar Rust. Long ere this, however, the 
insidious pest has been working unseen on the leaf-tissues 
by means of mycelium. In fact, the “‘ Rust” is the outward 
and visible sign that one kind of fruit has been matared— 
that known as uredospores, or summer spores—and it is by 
means of this that the area of infestation is increased. 
This is where the value of spraying comes in, as it prevents 
such spores as fall, or are carried upon the foliage, from 
germinating. 
If spraying with a fungicide be not adopted, then later 
in the year (towards autumn) other spores are 
produced. These are named teleutospores. By means of 
these the plant-disease is usually carried over the winter, 
thongh in certain cases it may be continued by means of the 
summer spores. The grower would therefore be wise to 
burn such plants before they have arrived at the stage when 
the winter spores are formed. If this be not done the 
telentospores are dispersed in yarions ways, many falling 
