.34 BOOK OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 



favours, and he can do either plant irreparable damage 

 in a single night. It feeds like the thrip on the points, 

 especially when the bud is forming. Some varieties 

 of Chrysanthemums it prefers to others. Niveus, that 

 grand late white, I have often seen badly disfigured. 



The best method of destroying this pest is to place 

 portions of broad bean stems at the base of the plant, or 

 better still, obtain some stems of the hogweed or cow 

 parsnip, cut them into lengths, leaving a joint at the 

 end of each, and place these at the base near the stem of 

 the plant, and fasten some to the stake supporting the 

 plant higher up, so that the insect may readily enter the 

 mouth of the tube when on his nightly depredations. 

 These tubes should be examined every morning, care- 

 fully removing them from their positions, and by giving 

 them a sharp tap on the toe of one's boot the insect falls 

 out and can be promptly destroyed. 



CATERPILLARS 



These animals are very troublesome in many districts. 

 They attach themselves to the edges and underparts of 

 the leaves, feeding on them, and often escape detection 

 for a considerable time. The only system of exterminat- 

 ing them is by hand picking and crushing them under 

 foot. When they are prevalent, a very sharp watch 

 should be kept on the plants, not only when out of 

 doors, but also after being housed. They are often 

 carried in with the plants, especially in cases when a 

 frost is threatening and plants have to be hurried in- 

 doors. It is impossible in such cases to give each plant 

 separate attention. They often hatch out from the egg 

 quite late in the season, probably on the plants when 

 indoors. 



One other insect I have heard described as the 

 skip-jack, very hard to capture on account of its 



