ii2 PRESENT-DAY GARDENING 



because of the unsightly appearance of the pots. The 

 damage to the florets is not, of course, of so much import- 

 ance in the latter case as in the former, but wherever 

 Dahlias are grown an effort should be made to preserve the 

 flowers from earwigs. Pots 3 or 5 inches in diameter are 

 the most suitable for traps. The pots should be loosely 

 filled to about two-thirds of their depth with moss, and be 

 examined at short intervals, when any earwigs that may 

 have congregated in them should be shaken into a vessel 

 containing water. Earwigs may also be caught with the 

 aid of the stems of broad beans and bamboos cut into 

 lengths of about 10 inches and deftly arranged among the 

 growths. From these traps they can be readily dislodged, 

 and dropped into water. Such traps are preferable where 

 there is an objection to the use of inverted pots, as they 

 can be so placed as to be out of sight. Earwigs feed at 

 night, and with the aid of a lamp after nightfall many may 

 be caught and destroyed. If they are plentiful, a nightly 

 search for some time previous to the exhibition will meet 

 with ample reward. Tufts of cotton wool fixed round the 

 stems immediately below the blooms, with the rough ends 

 projecting downwards, are also useful in preventing insect 

 pests reaching the bloom by ascending the flower stems. 



Green and black fly are sometimes troublesome, es- 

 pecially in dry seasons. Overhead waterings are the best 

 means of checking these troublesome pests, and the spray- 

 ings are conducive to the health of the plants. A weak solu- 

 tion of one of the nicotine preparations will be found most 

 effective in checking these and other pests of a similar 

 character, but after the period of flowering has commenced, 

 plain water should alone be used for the purpose. 



