CURRANTS AND GOOSEBERRIES. 297 



There are three species of currant borers with unpronounce- 

 able names. Their presence is showTi by yellow foliage and 

 withering fruit in summer, and by brown, shrivelled branches 

 in winter. Cutting out and burning is the only remedy. 

 Usually, a vigorous bush will outgrow the attacks of this 

 enemy ; and good cultivation gives vigor, and also disturbs 

 and brings to the surface the worms that have entered the 

 soil to undergo their transformation. From first to last, 

 tonic treatment supplements and renders more effective our 

 direct efforts to destroy diseases and enemies. 



Most earnestly would I urge caution in using all virulent 

 poisons like Paris green, London purple, hellebore, etc. 



Whenever it is possible to substitute a less poisonous sub- 

 stance, do so by all means. Some good people regard to- 

 bacco as the bane of banes ; but to many it does not cause 

 the feeling of repugnance and fear inspired by hellebore and 

 more poisonous insecticides. Let all such articles be kept 

 under lock and key ; and one person should have charge of 

 their use, and be held responsible for them. Moreover, any 

 watering-can used with Paris green and like substances 

 should be marked with the word Poison, in large letters. If 

 insecticides are used in the form of a powder, great care 

 should be exercised to keep it from falling on other vegeta- 

 tion or fruit that might be eaten by man or beast. I have 

 known of pigs and horses dying from eating herbage on which 

 Paris green had blown from a potato field. London purple, 

 which, as a cheaper and equally effective article, is taking the 

 place of Paris green, must be used with the same caution, 

 since it is a compound of arsenic, and equally poisonous. 



It is my wish and intention to experiment carefully with 

 the various means and methods of coping with the diseases 

 and enemies of small fruits, and to give this chapter frequent 

 revisions. 



