Insects and Other Foes.— iig 



so exceedingly obnoxious to the gardener. Plenty of lime in the 

 soil, or its free use about the plants, or ashes from the burnt rub- 

 bish heap, tend to keep them away. Wood ashes moistened 

 with kerosene oil and scattered around the plants are said to be 

 especially effective in repelling the fly. Change of location is a 

 reasonably safe and simple preventive, and although not an abso- 

 lute one, should always be employed where practicable. In some 

 years it is almost impossible to raise early radishes and cabbages 

 free from the disgusting worms, and again the next season on 

 same soil, and all over the whole vicinity, the trouble from this 

 source will be so slight as not to be worth mentioning. The 

 insect seems to prefer radishes to cabbages, and either of these to 

 onions, so that the latter, if some cabbages or radishes are planted 

 in the same field with them, will generally escape attack, as all the 

 maggots will concentrate on the cabbage and radish plants. 

 These must be pulled up and destroyed. Where onions are 

 affected, as may be seen by their tops turning yellow, they should 

 also be gathered and destroyed. 



During last spring it has been discovered that lime-water is 

 a reasonably sure remedy, where plants are just beginning to 

 suffer. Slack a peck of caustic lime in 20 gallons of water, pre- 

 ferably diluted liquid manure, stir 

 long and thoroughly, and apply to 

 the plantation at the rate of a pint 

 to each cabbage plant, or a quantity 

 sufficient to soak the ground closely 

 to the roots, so that every maggot 

 there at work will be reached by 

 the caustic liquid, the mere contact 

 of which brings sure death to all 

 soft-bodied worms. The occasional 

 application of lime-water to plants 

 in seed bed, and also to those in 

 open field, at least during their 

 earlier stages, deserves to be gener- 

 ally adopted as a precautionary 

 measure. 



Parsley Worm. — This is the 

 larva of the Asterias butterfly 

 {Papilio asterias), and feeds on the 

 leaves of parsley, parsnip, celery, 

 carrot, dill, and allied plants. It is 

 a disagreeable fellow, with a most 

 disgusting odor, and the best way 

 to treat it is to pick off the leaf-stalk on which it is found, throw 

 it on the ground, and put your foot heavily upon it. Butterfly, 

 caterpillar and chrysalis are shown in accompanying illustration. 



Parsley Worm, Butterfly and 

 Chrysalis. 



