68 PROTECTION OF PLANTS, 1918-19 



worms are most effectively poisoned by the use of poison baits. Among common 

 injurious sucking insects are plant lice, scale insects, flies, lice, leaf bugs, and the 

 substances usually employed to kill them are tobacco extracts, soap solution 

 insect powder, lime sulphur, etc. 



There are, of course, many injurious insects about a farm that cannot be 

 treated by either of the ways mentioned above. White grubs and wireworms 

 which work in the soil are often troublesome where a rotation of crops is not 

 practised, and sometimes special methods must be employed to deal with insects 

 that cannot be sprayed or dusted. 



Common Fungous Diseases 



Much mystery surrounds the fungi and the diseases they produce. Fungi 

 are plants of a low order, having no leaves, stems, or roots. They feed on dead 

 or living organic matter and may be found everywhere. They differ much among 

 themselves in size and structure, but may be roughly classified economically into 

 moulds, blights, mildews, leaf and fruit spots, smuts, rusts, and mushrooms. 



The fungi feeding on living plants, such as mildews, spots, smuts, and rusts 

 cause enormous losses annually. Many of them can be controlled by spraying 

 with Bordeaux, but others like the wheat rust and smut cannot be controlled in 

 this way. 



Specimens of the various types should be preserved by the teacher in the 

 school collection and their differences pointed out frequently to the pupils. The 

 teacher should also prepare some Bordeaux mixture so that the pupils may be 

 able to make their own at home and apply it when necessary. Special attention 

 might be given to the treatment of potato scab, oat smut, apple scab. 



Common Weeds 



This province is badly over-run with weeds which reduce crop production 

 very appreciably. Several factors are responsible for the prevalence of weeds. 

 (1) the lack of proper rotation of crops; (2) the lack of care in cutting the weeds 

 before they ripen into seeds; and (3) poor cultivation of the land. 



The worst weeds are Couch Grass, Canada Thistle, Ox-eye Daisy, Wild 

 Carrot, Sow Thistle, Devil's Paint Brush, Mustard. Our school children should 

 know the common weeds and weed seeds, and the teacher has a good opportunity 

 of giving valuable practical lessons in the identification of the impurities that 

 occur in seed grain, clover and timothy, and the pupils will find the exercises 

 interesting. With this training the child may often be of service in selecting 

 seed grain free from weed and impurities at home. 



