THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



88 1 



This most annoying pest is often very 

 destructive to the foliage of plants, par- 

 ticularly to those which are dry at the 

 roots. The best way of destroying them 

 is by spraying or syringing with one of the 

 following mixtures : i Ib. of flowers of 

 sulphur and 2 Ibs. of fresh lime, boiled in 

 4 gallons of water, then add i^ Ib. of soft 

 soap, and, before using, 3 more gallons of j 

 water ; or the extract from 6 oz. of quassia 

 chips, 4 oz. of soft soap, and half a pound I 

 of flowers of sulphur, well mixed, added j 

 to 5 gallons of water ; paraffin emulsion ; 

 or 2 oz. or 3 oz. of Gishurst compound in 



1 gallon of water. 



THE ROSE BEETLE OR GREEN ROSE 

 CHAFER (Cetonia aurata). This hand- 

 some metallic green beetle is unfortu- 

 nately very injurious to the flowers of the | 

 Rose, Paeony, Candytuft, Lilac, Elder, j 

 and several other trees and plants. Their 

 grubs also are destructive to the roots of 

 many plants. They are very much like 

 those of the cockchafer, and are frequently 

 mistaken for them, and are each about 

 i^ inches in length and scarcely half an 

 inch in diameter, of a dirty white colour. 

 The tail, which is the thickest part of the 

 insect, is bluish. They lie in a curved 

 position some 2 inches or 3 inches below 

 the surface, so that no insecticide can 

 reach them. Watering very freely with 

 liquid manure or soapsuds is distasteful 

 to them and may make them shift their 

 quarters. The beetles are each about 

 three-quarters of an inch in length, and 

 are so conspicuous that they may easily be 

 picked off the flowers. 



THE ROSE GALL-FLY (Rhodites rosae). 

 These gall-flies lay their eggs in the 

 young shoots, and in the midribs of the 

 leaves of Briers, the young grubs from j 

 which form the curious mossy galls for- 

 merly known as " bedeguars," sometimes 



2 inches or 3 inches in diameter, often 

 seen on Briers, and at times on other 

 Roses. The best way of destroying this 

 insect is to cut off and burn the galls. 



THE ROSE SAWFLIES (Hylotoma rosa- 

 rum and others). The grubs of these 

 insects feed on and do much damage to 

 the foliage of Roses. Some (the species 

 just named among them) eat away the 

 leaves, leaving only the thicker ribs ; 

 others feed only on the upper surface of the 

 leaves, and do not touch the lower skin or 

 the veins ; another species rolls up the 

 leaves into tubes about the size of a quill 

 pen and feeds within this shelter ; another 

 lives on the pith of the young shoots. 

 The grubs mostly become chrysalides in 

 the earth, so that after a bad attack it is 

 best to remove the earth from under the 



bushes to the depth of about 3 inches and 

 burn it, or bury it not less than i foot 

 below the surface. The grubs should be 

 picked off by hand, or the bushes may be 

 syringed or sprayed with paraffin emul- 

 sion, or quassia extract and soft soap, or 

 Paris green. In the autumn cut off and 

 burn any shoots that appear to be withered, 

 as they may contain chrysalides. 



SCALE INSECTS (Coccidas). These in- 

 sects infest Roses, Cotoneasters, c. To 

 destroy them spray or syringe with para- 

 ffin emulsion, or quassia extract and soft 

 soap ; then, if possible, any of the insects 

 that are on the stems or shoots should be 

 scraped off. In the course of a few days 

 spray again to make sure of killing any 

 of the young that escaped the first appli- 

 cation. 



THE GARDEN SNAIL (Helix aspersa). 

 There is practically nothing to be done in 

 the way of killing them but hand-picking. 

 Thrushes are very found of them. 



SLUGS. There are several kinds of 

 slugs that infest gardens ; the commonest 

 is Limax agrestis, its ravages being only 

 too well known. Small heaps of bran, 

 each placed on a small piece of slate or 

 board, make good traps. Dusting with 

 fresh lime is very useful, and large num- 

 bers may be killed of an evening if the 

 plants that are attacked and the ground 

 round them are searched with the aid of 

 a lantern. If the slug be stabbed or cut 

 through with a sharp-pointed knife at the 

 shield (that part just behind the head) the 

 creature dies immediately. 



SNAKE MILLIPEDES (belonging to the 

 genera Julus, Blanjulus, and Polydesmus) 

 These creatures are among the most 

 annoying pests in gardens, as they are so 

 difficult to destroy. They feed on the 

 roots of Lilies and other bulbs, Anemones, 

 Pansies, Stocks and various plants in the 

 flower garden. Few insecticides have any 

 effect on them, as their skins are so horny 

 and smooth ; but a strong solution of salt 

 or nitrate of soda will kill them if it can 

 be made to reach them. They may be 

 trapped by laying bricks, slates, tiles, 

 pieces of board, turf or Cabbage leaves 

 about, as the millipedes are fond of creep- 

 ing under such things. They may be 

 distinguished from the centipedes with 

 which they are often confused, and which 

 are of great use in gardens by the slow- 

 ness of their movements, while the centi- 

 pedes are very active. There is, however, 

 one exception, the luminous centipede, a 

 long, thread-like creature, 2 inches to 2^ 

 inches in length, which, in spite of its 

 extraordinary number of legs, moves with 

 the greatest deliberation. The snake mil- 



