The Pests of Garden Plants 



when, so that often by simple treatment at the right time we may 

 compass their destruction. 



The expense of preparing mixtures and washes may be in some 

 degree lessened by economy of application. A drenching-board, 

 fitted on a firm frame, should be provided in every place where 

 plant-growing is carried on to any extent. The board should slope 

 from a resting ridge at the base. The plant in its pot may be laid 

 on the board, with the bottom of the pot against the resting ridge, 

 and a pail should be put to catch the liquid used as it drains from 

 the plant after syringing. Every general washing or fumigating 

 should be followed by another at an interval of from a week to a 

 fortnight, because, although the first operation may kill every insect, 

 there will be many living eggs left, and these renew the race, and very 

 soon bring the plants into as bad a state as ever, unless consigned to 

 a happy despatch as their parents were. In some cases it will be 

 more economical to feed than to destroy the vermin ; and, as a rule, 

 feeding vermin does not add to their numbers, in the same or any 

 future season, for insect life is so strangely dependent on certain 

 conditions of temperature, &c., that if the season is not favourable 

 to a particular kind it will be scarce, no matter how plentiful it may 

 have been in a previous year. In the case of the Turnip Fly, feeding 

 is frequently the cheapest and surest way of saving the crop. It is 

 customary with Dahlia-growers, and, indeed, with the growers of 

 florists' flowers generally, to sow Lettuces where the flowers are to 

 be planted, for as long as Lettuces are on the spot Slugs and Snails 

 will prefer them to other food; and the Lettuces themselves serve 

 as traps, so that as evening approaches the Snails and Slugs con- 

 gregate about the Lettuces and may be caught and destroyed. 



In using a mixture for the first time, it is advisable to try it 

 on one plant only, and that, of course, the worst in the collection 

 affected. If the preparation is too strong, the truth will be 

 declared by the state of the plant within twenty-four hours; thus 

 a little caution may prevent a great loss. Another good rule is 

 to employ the several remedies in a rather weak state until 

 experience has been gained, for not only has the strength of the 

 medicine to be considered, but the management of the patient 

 before and after it is administered. It is above all things important 

 to be thorough in the cleansing of plants, because they succumb 

 rapidly to the attacks of insects, and should be effectually and 

 promptly cleaned or consigned to the fire. If left in a foul state 

 they spread the infection to all around. 



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