176 FLOWERS AND THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



flower garden's worst enemies rose beetles, cockchafers, 

 wire worms, slugs and snails (skipjacks are wireworms in 

 another stage). These useful creatures are some of the 

 ground beetles, the tiger beetle, rove beetles (popularly 

 known as cocktails and devil's coach-horses), and two 

 kinds of silpha. One of the weevil family, Anihribus 

 albinus, feeds on the scale insect. 



Bees of various kinds, so useful in spreading pollen, 

 do no harm in the garden that I am aware of. The 

 ichneumons and the sand wasp destroy caterpillars in 

 great numbers. Even some caterpillars feed only on 

 noxious weeds, but Mr. Wood says : "It maybe assumed 

 that every subterranean larva in a garden is obnoxious, 

 and may safely be destroyed." The grubs of the lace 

 wing fly, and the hawk fly, feed entirely on spiders. 

 Spiders also may be spared. 



These few remarks on insects, and other garden 

 "friends and foes," extend over all the months between 

 the first gleams of warmth and the time when insect 

 depredations are curbed by winter frosts 



August work in the garden embraces minute attention 

 to order in all departments pruning, tying, restraining, 

 taking cuttings as good ones present themselves, weed- 

 ing beds, lawns and paths, and watering with judgment 

 when it is necessary. 



SUMMARY. Keep everything in perfect order. 



CHAPTEE XXVII. 



GARDEN OPERATIONS IN SEPTEMBER. 



To retain the flower beds in continued beauty it is 

 most important to cut all withered flowers, and to cut in 

 stems of too rampant a growth whenever it can be done 

 without giving a check. Also be careful to gather seed 

 pods before they swell, wherever neglect in gathering 

 dead flowers has allowed them to form. Constant little 

 attention of this kind to the flower bed will keep them 

 gay until quite late in the year. 



The plants which are intended to produce seed should 



