CHAPTER VII 



INSECTS AND HOW TO FIGHT THEM 



Whoever has plants must expect to have them 

 attacked by insects. Good care and constant attention 

 will do much toward keeping these enemies away, 

 but at times they make desperate efforts to secure pos- 

 session of your pets, and often they succeed in doing 

 it before you are aware of their presence. As soon as 

 you discover them go to work to get rid of them, and 

 do not relax your efforts until you feel sure that the 

 last one is put to rout. After that be vigilant, and see 

 that they are kept at bay, on the principle that an 

 ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 



The aphis, or plant louse, is the pest most familiar 

 to those who have but few plants. It breeds with 

 wonderful rapidity. You may see a few to-day. Next 

 week you will find many plants literally covered with 

 aphides. Therefore, when you discover one lose no 

 time in declaring war against this enemy. The lice 

 suck the juices from tender plants and soon perma- 

 nently injure them. If left to carry on their work they 

 will kill them. 



Until within a few years past fumigation with 

 tobacco was considered the most effective means of 

 getting rid of this pest. But most women objected 

 to it because its fumes sickened them, and the odor 

 of the weed clung to everything in the house for days. 

 In greenhouses it is still used to some extent, but 

 even there it is being superseded by other, and less 

 troublesome methods. An extract of nicotine is on the 

 market which is of such strength that a spoonful or 

 two of it, added to a pailful of water, furnishes us 



