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TROUBLES SIMILAR TO THE WTLT OR STEM ROT. 



There are two other troubles, both caused by insects, which may 

 sometimes be mistaken for the disease just described. One of these 

 is produced by the common "White Grub" {Lacktiostertio), the 

 immature form of the May beetle or June Bug, which, by eating off 

 the roots, causes the plant to wilt and die. Here the whole plant 

 wilts at once and by pulling it up the nature of the trouble is at 

 once discovered. If not too late the guilty party will be found by 

 digging up the earth at the base of the plant, or if not there, is usu- 

 ally to be found at the next plant in the row. By close watching 

 they may be readily detected and destroyed before much damage is 

 done. Sometimes a plant, if not too badly affected, may be set back 

 again and recover. This pest is nuich worse in dry soil and varies 

 in abundance from year to year. 



This is another cause of wilting and stunted growth 



Root Lice, and is, in many respects, the worst trouble affecting 

 the aster. Affected plants fail to grow properly and 

 have a wilted, unhealthy, and generally .stunted appearance. They 

 do not die quickly, but often remain in the bed all summer without 

 increasing in size to any apparent extent. When pulled up, the 

 roots, or what remains of them, are found to be covered with masses 

 of a bluish-colored louse in all stages of development. Certain of 

 our own beds are so infested with this insect that asters can no 

 longer be grown in thehi. It is the most troublesome pest with 

 which we have had to contend. Its life history does not appear to 

 be known by entomologists and one can only recommend the use of 

 new, uninfested soil as a preventive measure. This applies to the 

 seed bed, permanent bed, and all situations in which the plant is 

 grown. 



YELLOW DISEASE OR BLIGHT. 



Under this heading may now be taken up one of the most pecul- 

 iarly obscure diseases with which any plant is affected. Caused by 

 no fungus, insect, or other organism, not due to any apparent effect 

 of treatment or environment, it is notwithstanding a sharply defined, 

 widespread and destructive disease of this plant. Its general effect 

 is a bright yellow " spindling " growth. Affected parts do not die 

 or wilt, but show simply the peculiar growth which prevents their 



