172 Notes and Gleanings. 



I have never had much trouble from the Aphis radicans, or the root plant- 

 louse. These abound in lighter soils than I cultivate. Mr. Harris says, "Some 

 plant-lice live in the ground, and derive their nourishment from the roots of 

 plants. We annually lose many of our herbaceous plants, if cultivated in alight 

 soil, from the exhausting attacks of these subterranean lice. Upon pulling up 

 China asters which seem to be perishing from no visible cause, I have found 

 hundreds of little lice, of a white color, closely clustered together on the roots." 



I do not know of any remedy for this trouble, except that the ground be made 

 more heavy by the addition of clay: perhaps lime may have some effect, if ap- 

 plied round the root below the surface. There are many varieties of the aphis, 

 which are all vexatious to the gardener. 



There is something very curious about the aphis, and its friends the ants. 

 The celebrated author whom I have already quoted says, in relation to some of 

 these aphides, " We are often apprised of the presence of plant-lice on plants 

 growing in the open air by the ants ascending and descending the stems : by ob- 

 serving the motion of the latter, we soon ascertain that the sweet fluid discharged 

 by the lice is the occasion of these visits. The stems swarm with slim and hun- 

 gry ants running upwards, and others lazily descending with their bellies swelled 

 almost to bursting. When arrived in the immediate vicinity of the plant-lice, 

 they greedily wipe up the sweet fluid which has been distilled from them, and, 

 when this fails, they station themselves among the lice, and catch the drops as 

 they fall. The lice do not seem in the least annoyed by the ants, but live on the 

 best possible terms with them ; and, on the other hand, the ants, though unspar- 

 ing of other insects weaker than themselves, upon which they frequently prey, 

 treat the plant-lice with the utmost gentleness, caressing them with their antennae, 

 and apparently inviting them to give out their fluid by patting their sides. Nor 

 are the lice inattentive to these solicitations when in a state to gratify the ants, 

 for whose sake they not only seem to shorten the periods of the discharge, but 

 actually yield the fluid when thus pressed. A single louse has been known to 

 give it drop by drop successively to a number of ants that were anxiously wait- 

 ing to receive it. When the plant-lice cast their skins, the ants instantly remove 

 the latter; nor will they allow any dirt or rubbish to remain upon or about them. 

 They even protect them from their enemies, and run about them in the hot sun- 

 shine to drive away the little ichneumon flies that are forever hovering near to 

 deposit their eggs in the bodies of the lice. These little root-lice are also at- 

 tended by ants, which generally make their nest near the roots of the plants, so 

 as to have their milch kine, as the plant-lice have been called, within their own 

 habitations ; and, in consequence of the combined operations of the lice and the 

 ants, the plants wither and perish. When these subterranean lice are disturbed, 

 the attendant ants are thrown into the greatest confusion and alarm : they care- 

 fully take up the lice which have fallen from the roots, and convey them in their 

 jaws into the deep recesses of their nests ; and here the lice contrive to live 

 upon the fragment of the roots left in the soil. 



" It is stated that the ants bestow the same care and attention upon the root- 

 lice as upon their own offspring ; that they defend them from the attacks of other 

 insects, and carry them about in their mouths to change their pasture ; and that 



