394 THE PESTS OF GARDEN PLANTS 



of being beneficial to the plant. We are aware that it does not 

 always succeed, but we are inclined to attribute the failure to a bad 

 quality of the lime, or a careless method of employing it. There 

 should be enough put on to make the plants white, and they will be 

 none the worse for the whitening. Dustings of ashes and soot are 

 scarcely less effectual, but salt must not be used, for it injures the plants 

 and does not hurt the Beetle. All such dustings should be done in the 

 morning while the plants are still wet with dew. To apply a dusting 

 at midday, when the sun shines gaily, is to waste time in merely 

 amusing the Beetles. Probably many of the recorded failures might 

 be explained if we knew at what hour and in what sort of weather 

 the work was done. Nets and sticking boards have been tried and 

 found effectual, and yet it is but rarely we see such things used. A 

 board newly painted with white paint, drawn over the plant on a still 

 sunny day, would soon become a black board by the attachment of 

 myriads of Halticas that would jump at it and remain upon it, the 

 victims of their extravagant love of light and of jumping towards it. 



Finally, this, in common with all other insects in the winged state, 

 needs a dry air and some degree of warmth for its health and happi- 

 ness. Many kinds of larvae need moisture, but no winged insect can 

 abide moisture long, and herein perhaps we may find a clue to the 

 eradication of Turnip Fly. By the simple process of irrigating the 

 plant overhead three or four times a day, until the plant is out of 

 the seed-leaf and the danger is over, it is possible to wash out the 

 Haltica ; and any kind of insecticide or flavouring may be mingled 

 with the water to render the plants distastefu to the insects. The 

 illustration shows the Turnip Fly in its three stages, and in each case 

 of the natural size and magnified seven diameters. 



WASPS are a terrible scourge in some gardens. They spoil a large 

 quantity of fruit, and jeopardise the remainder by forcing the harvest 

 before the crops are ready for gathering. When the positions of 

 the Wasps' nests are known, it is a simple task to dispose of them. 

 Turpentine, gunpowder, and tar have their advocates, especially 

 among the younger members of the community, to whom a spice of 

 danger is an attractive element in the fun. But these are clumsy 

 methods of destruction after all, and will not compare with the far 

 easier remedy of poisoning the colonies by means of cyanide of 

 potassium. Dissolve one ounce of the drug in a quarter of a pint of 

 water. This will be sufficient to destroy several nests, but it is a 

 deadly poison, and must be kept in a place of safety. Soak a piece 



