ENEMIE3 OF THE AGRICULTURIST. 



309 



Means of Checking Fungus Growths. -Sulphur, in its 

 many forms, is found effective against fungus growths in 

 the early stages, and in the form of copper sulphate (blue- 

 stone), iron sulphate, sulphuric acid, flour of sulphur, &c., 

 is a necessary part of the equipment of the agriculturist. 



INSECT ENEMIES and FRIENDS. Fortunately the 

 agriculturist is helped by the latter, or the insect enemies, 

 which are everywhere, in all lands, would be too many for 

 all his efforts to check or destroy. For identification pur- 

 poses, names are given to the myriads of these things, but 

 as a classification for everyday use it may be sufficient, as a 

 first step, to identify them as insects living by sucking the 

 juices of plants; others tbat eat plants; and those that live 

 upon the vegetable destroyers. Foremost as plant enemies 



are the aphides, or plant lice. 

 The name means exhaust. They 

 are fearfully numerous and 

 destructive during dry summer 

 seasons. They are everywhere 

 on the roots, limbs, branches, 

 and leaves of plants, and con- 

 tinuous war should be waged 

 against the whole tribe, for they 

 are destructive in the field, in 

 the vegetable garden, and in the 

 orchard. They are terribly 

 annoying in the flower garden 

 and summer house. The peach 

 tip/i ift, rose aphis, and cabbage 

 a phi* afford easily observed 

 specimens of the family gene- 

 rally, their mode of life and 

 method of destruction. They 

 appear for the season in numbers 

 during August, and unless checked continue to increase 

 and destroy all through the spring, summer and autumn, in 

 proportion to the means taken to keep them in check from 

 the time of their first appearance. The ants, as seen in the 

 illustration, follow aphis on fruit trees, that they may 

 gather a sweet sap ejected by the smaller insects. The rose 



