170 Commercial Gardening 



or shrub that is not subject to attack from one or more pests. Unfor- 

 tunately, few growers realize the mischief the various insects can do 

 until some crop is almost destroyed by an epidemic. When the danger 

 is discovered, then washes of all sorts and descriptions are tried, but 

 they are often too late in their application to be of any value. 



If one must use washes and sprays it is wiser to use them as pre- 

 ventives rather than as cures, and before there is any sign of the crop 

 being attacked. 



It is now well known that many leaf-eating and leaf-mining insects 

 can be foiled by the early application of some good insecticide. Thus, 

 aphides of all sorts, leaf-miners, caterpillars, and most soft-bodied pests 

 are prevented from doing mischief if the plants are syringed or sprayed 

 some time in advance of the usual period of attack. The various washes 

 and insecticides are mentioned in connection with the crops they attack. 

 As there is a right time and a wrong time for doing everything, the 

 intelligent grower will naturally make himself acquainted with the period 

 when certain insects are likely to commence their depredations, and spray 

 in advance. It would evidently be useless to spray after the insects have 

 eaten their fill and disappeared; applying insecticides under such con- 

 ditions would be equivalent to locking the stable door after the horse 

 had been stolen. 



Seeking" the Cause. While the life-history and habits of the various 

 insects that prey upon plants may possess a charm for the entomologist, 

 the man who has to grow plants, flowers, fruits, and vegetables for a living 

 is by no means enamoured of them. No matter how interesting and 

 beautiful an insect may be in the various stages of its development, the 

 cultivator looks upon it as an unmitigated nuisance, that must be sup- 

 pressed at all costs. He regards nearly all insects as highway robbers, 

 who not only take money out of his pocket for insecticides, but who add 

 insult to injury by lowering or spoiling the market value of his produce, 

 and preventing the proper development of his plants. 



Now, apart from insecticides there is another and more natural way 

 of combating these marauders. The cultivator should make himself 

 acquainted with the habits of the various pests, so that he may discover 

 their weakest and most vulnerable points. Having found these, then 

 is the time to attack them vigorously, when they are neither able to resist 

 nor escape; and although his efforts may not be crowned with complete 

 success, he will have the satisfaction of knowing that he has reduced his 

 tormentors to practically harmless proportions. 



Life-history and Habits of Garden Pests. Farmers, gardeners, and 

 fruit-growers are indebted to the late Miss Ormerod and to the late John 

 Curtis, and more recently to Professor F. V. Theobald, of Wye College, 

 and Professor Walter Collinge, for the valuable information they have 

 placed on record with regard to the habits of the various insect pests. 

 Generally speaking, most of these have four different stages of existence: 



1. The egg a dormant stage. 



