186 THE CARNATION MANUAL. 



tough and hard, and feels between the finger and 

 thumb hke a piece of mre. They are most diffi- 

 cult subjects to deal Avith, feeding as they do near 

 the surface of the ground, but always concealed 

 under it. They eat a hole into the centre of the 

 Carnation stem immediately below the surface of 

 the ground, and eat downwards or upwards. The 

 cultivator has no idea what is taking place until 

 the plant begins to shrink or shrivel up ; and if 

 the stem is examined below the surface the depre- 

 dator may be caught in the act ; too late, indeed, 

 to save the plant, but in time to prevent the same 

 wireworm from doing any more mischief. Many 

 remedies have been given to destroy them, but it is 

 too late to apply them after the Carnations have 

 been planted out. I believe the best is to put on 

 a good coating of gas-Hme, fork it into the ground, 

 and let it lie fallow for a year, frequently stirring it 

 over with a fork or hoeing it deeply. If wireworms 

 show themselves in a bed of Carnations, place thick 

 slices of carrot on the end of pointed sticks ; bury 

 the slices two or three inches under ground and 

 examine them daily ; the wireworms will be found 

 feeding on the carrot slices and can be destroyed. 

 The potting soil for Carnations should be thor- 

 oughly examined before using it. The worms are 

 easily detected in it. 



Aphides, or " Green Fly," as they are termed, 

 belong to the order Ho&mo'ptera. The Carnation 



