i8o 



POPQLAR GARDENING SUPPLEMENT. 



Tided with persistence are complete specifics. 

 As the insects exist on the underside of the 

 leaves, the best way to destroy them is by re- 

 peated forcible syringing. In the case of pot 

 plants there is some danjrer (if trottiiiti' too much 

 "water to the soil and roots, hcTirc tlic nirtlicds of 

 preventing this suggested bj' Figures :.':{ and ~4 are 

 useful. With garden plants there is little danger 

 of excessive moisture at the root from syringing. 



Bem.llZ, Sulphur. Where plants are confined, 

 as in a greenhouse, the fumes of sulphur are also 

 employed as a remedy. This, however, must be 

 applied with caiition, as excessive fumes will 

 also kill the plants. A safe course is to put 

 flowers of sulphur on tin or iron plates and set 

 in the sun near or under the plante. Applying a 

 wash of sulphur mixed with guano or lime and 

 water to the hot-water pipes is another common 

 mode of applying sulphur. 



Eoad Dust. See Remedies .50, 108, .57, 131. 



Boot Aphis or Lice. These are species of 

 Aphides which, instead o£ feeding on the 

 leaves and shoots of plants, attacli the roots, 

 hence are not to be directly treated by the 

 remedies for Aphis or Plant Lice, which see. 

 Undoubtedly the most important insect of 

 this class is the Phylloxera or Grape-root 

 Louse, which has in recent years spread 

 with such wonderful rapidity throughout 

 the vineyards of Europe. In France a prize 

 of $60,000 has been offered in vain by the 

 government for an effectual means for de- 

 stroying it. It was first detected in this 

 country about 18.5.5, but happily is not seri- 

 ously injurious to native American Grapes. 

 The varieties of Root Lice we are more in- 

 terested in are those which attack the Apple, 

 Peach, and many other plants, including 

 those of the flower garden and greenhouse, 

 feeding underground on their roots. 



Bern. 114. Salt Water, Snap Suds. Dr. Harris 

 has found that in the case of hardy plants water- 

 ing with salt water was useful in destroying root 

 lice, but tender herbaceous i)lants would suffer 

 from the same treatment; these, however, he 

 has assisted against the injuries of the pests by 

 free and frequent watering with soap suds. 



Rem .115. BUnilpMde of Carhon. This material 

 was first brought into use in France. It was ap- 

 pUed by puncturing the soU two or three feet 

 deep under a tree or vine, or, if these were large, 

 making holes four feet apart each way, into each 

 of which an ounce and a half or two ounces of 

 the bisulphide was poured. Very good results 

 attended its use in this manner. This drug, how- 

 ever, as Prof. Saunders suggests, has its draw- 

 backs, namely, it has an abominable smeU, it is 

 explosive if brought near a light, its fumes are 

 heavy and poisonous and it is too expensive to 

 be employed on a large scale. 



Fern. 116. Wood Ash L/yc. Mr. Deming, of the 

 Missouri Horticultural Society, says he eradicates 

 the pest by sprinkling with wood-ash lye. 



Eose Beetle, Chafer or Bug. (Macrodactylus 

 suhspinosus.) This insect, shown in Fig. 25, 

 is one of the greatest pests linown to the 

 gardener. It devours buds, blossoms, young 

 fruit, and leaves. Not only does the Rose 



Fig. 25. Rose Beetle, 

 Ctiafer or Bug. Reme- 

 dies 117, 13U. 



Fig. 26. Rose Saw-fly (per- 

 fect insect of Rose-stnq) 

 enlarged. Remedies 126 



suffer badly from its depredations, but en- 

 tire crops of Peaches, Grapes, Apples, Cher- 

 ries, vegetables, etc., have been blasted by 

 the same insect. They seem to have a spec- 

 ial fondness for the Ox-eye or Field Daisy; 

 it is a pity they do not confine their atten- 

 tions to that weed. They are of a grayish or 

 ashen yellow color. Their time of attack 

 continues for a month or more from the 

 blossoming of garden Roses. 



Bern, in. Jarring and Burning. Same as 59. 



Rem. 118. Band Picking and Burning. This 

 is the most common remedy for small bushes and 

 not so serious as it might seem. Gather them 

 early in the morning by picking or brushing into 



a vessel of water. Afterwards they should be 

 burned or destroyed with kerosene. 



Rem. 119. Planting Clinton Ch'ape-mnes. It 

 has been found that this insect shows a decided 

 preference for the Cltaton and its close allies, 

 over all other varieties of the vine. It is there- 

 fore suggested that in vineyards, as the beetles 

 must be gathered by jarring or hand picking, 

 this variety be planted for bringing the work of 

 gathering them within a smaller compass. 



Rem. 120. Bisidphide of Carfmn. It is stated 

 from a reliable source that small vials containing 

 a few di-ops each of this liquid tied among the 

 bushes or vines affected, at intervals of a foot or 

 two, the liquid being renewed occasionally, pro- 

 tected them entirely, while those beyond were 

 badly eaten by the beetles. 



Eose Gall. See Gall Flies and their Grubs. 



Eose-leaf Hopper. (Tcttiijoniarontr.) This 

 little white hopper, often mistaken for 

 Thrips, lives, it is believed, exclusively on 

 the leaves of Roses, and is very injurious to 

 them. Swarms of the perfect insect may be 

 found In various stages of growth in the 

 leaves throughout the summer, and even on 

 indoor plants. 



Rem. 121. Whale Oil Soap. Same as Kem. 128. 



Rem. 122. Nicotyl Vapor. Same as Remedies 

 10,65. 



Rem. 123. Infusion of Tobacco. Pour boiling 

 water over cheap Tobacco or Tobacco stems so 

 as to cover completely and leave it standing over 

 night. Dilute for using with four or five times 

 the quantity of water and apply with a syringe 

 or force pump, taking care to distribute it also 

 over the underside of the leaves. The applica- 

 tion, like most other liquid appUcations to leaves 

 for the prevention of insect injuries, should be 

 made in the evening or early in the morning. It 

 should be first applied early in the season before 

 the injuries are very apparent and as soon as the 

 young larvfe, looking like little white specks, can 

 be discovered upon the underside of the leaves. 

 As often as may be needed, in order to check the 

 attack, the showering with the infusion should 

 be rei>eated. 



Eose Midges and their Maggots. One of the 

 most destructive pests that growers have to 

 deal with, especially in forcing the Rose, is 

 this minute Fly, which attacks the flower 

 buds and from which the Maggots, found 

 usually in large numbers under the outer 

 petals of the buds, come. These are not 

 more than 1-16 in. long, and seem to have a 

 strong desire to eat to the center of the bud 

 as quickly as possible. 



Rem. 124. Fumigation with Totiacco. For 

 Roses under glass the best remedy is to fumigate 

 for 6 or 8 evenings very strongly with tobacco in 

 the usual way, so as to effectually kiU the fly, 

 and cut ofl" all the buds and burn them. Continue 

 this treatment for 3 or 4 weeks. If the Roses 

 should be outside it is more diflicult to get rid of 

 this pest. 



Rem. 125. Slug Shot for Outdoor Bose.'t. Re- 

 peated applications of Slug Shot is a great help, 

 but the crop of flowers that are affected must be 

 cut off and burned, whether outdoor or in. A 

 good plan is to go carefully over every plant and 

 take off every flower and burn them, then apply 

 Slug Shot. In every case it is a most trouble- 

 some pest to get rid off, but by persistent effort 

 it can be done. 



Eose Slug and Eose Saw-fly. (Selamlrid 

 rosfc.) These pernicious vermin are known 

 to all Rose growers. The Rose Saw-fly, 

 shown greatly enlarged in Fig. 36, is a shiny 

 black insect which appears in the latter 

 part of May and up to about June 15th, and 

 also again in August, the female laying its 

 eggs in incisions made with its saw obliquely 

 into the skin of the leaf. The young, which 

 appear in from ten to fifteen days, are the 

 greenish almost transparent Slugs that are 

 frequently met in such great numbers feed- 

 ing on Rose bushes until the whole foliage 

 looks as if scorched by ftre. 



Rem. 126. Tobacco. Same as 65. 



Rem. 127. Hellebore, Dry. Promptly dust the 

 powdered drug lightly over the affected bushes 

 by the use of a tin can with a piece of muslin tied 



over the end; the foliage should be moisi at the 

 time. Professor Lmtner suggests that before 

 using Hellebore its strength should be tested by 

 applying a small pinch to the nostrils. If it fails 

 to produce a tingUng sensation it should be re- 

 jected as comparatively worthless. 



Rem. 128. Whale Oil or Other Soap Suds. 

 Whale oU soap dissolved in water in the propor- 

 tion of two pounds of the former to fifteen gal- 

 lons of water, adding also a double handful of 

 salt, and with this wetting the foUage affected. 

 Ordinary soap used instead of the other makes 

 nearly as good a remedy. 



Rem. 129. Paris Green Solution. Same as 15. 



Rem. 130. Kerosene Emulsion. Same as 6. 



Rem. 131. lyitst. Dry air-slaked lime, plaster of 

 Paris, wood ashes, or even road dust, if regularly 

 and repeatedly applied, will destroy the slugs. 



Salt Water. See Remedy 114. 



Saw-flies and their Larva. Tliere are 

 numerous species of Saw Flies, and which, 

 both in their perfect state as flies and in the 

 larva state as slugs, live almost entirely on 

 vegetable food. {See Rose Slug and Rose 

 Saw-fly, Cherry and Pear Slug.) The 

 name of the class is derived from an in- 

 geniously contrived saw or saws with which 

 tlie female is provided and with which she 

 saws slits in the stems and leaves of plants, 

 wherein the eggs are dropped and hatched. 



Rem. 132. Hellebore, Dry and lAquid. Same as 

 Remedies 53, 63, 127. 



Skunks. See Quadruped Foes. 



Slug Shot. See Remedies 109, 13.5. 



Snails. These are often bothersome both 

 to the indoor and outdoor gardener, while 

 sometimes they prove to be terribly destruc- 

 tive. What makes the matter of their 

 attacks worse is that they do their work 

 under the cover of night, hence much mis- 

 chief is often done before the real cause is 

 understood. 



Rem. 133. A Search at Night. A night search 

 with the light of a lantern after a shower of rain, 

 or In the greenhouse any night, will afford the 

 best opportunity for catching large numbers of 

 snails and slugs. They can then be put into a 

 strong salt bath, where they wiU speedily die, or, 

 the fowls in a confined run will be very grateful 

 if they are thrown to them in their prison. 



Rem. 134. Trapping. The only sure method 

 of dealing effectually with these pests is to lay 

 traps. Pieces of Orange peel, if laid on the 

 ground, may be examined in the morning with a 

 fair chance of rewarding the searcher, for the 

 slug is so fond of Orange peel that instead of 

 returning to its home at daybreak it clings to the 

 peel, and may be found underneath gorged with 

 much over-feeding. Pieces of boai-d placed 

 firmly in the ground are good traps, as these keep 

 the soil moist and slugs and snails love moisture 

 and take refuge under them. 



jRem. 135. Paraffin Oil Soluilon. Apply a weak 

 solution of Paraffin oil and water,— about one 

 wine-glassful of oil to four gallons of water,— 

 and the solution applied through a syringe to the 

 plants; at the same time the surrounding surface 

 of the soil must be moistened. The time to apply 

 the solution is in the evening. 



Soap Suds. See Remedies 6, 33, 114, 128. 



Soluble Phenyle. See Remedy 100. 



Soot Dusting. See Remedy 6(1. 



Sphinges and their Larva. In the winged 

 state the true Sphinges are known Ijy the 

 name of Humming-bird Moths, or Hawk 

 Moths, being large Moths that are familiar 

 by their flying during the twilight with 

 swiftness from flower to flower, and hover- 

 ing in the air like a Humming Bird. The 

 worm of one of the species is the large green 

 Caterpillar which infests the plants of the 

 Potato and Tomato. This insect is often 

 of a most repulsive size, being as thick as 

 the fore-finger, and three inches or more in 

 length. It is capable of doing great injury 

 to the plant. Other species of these worms, 

 varying somewhat in size and form, trouble 

 Grape-vines and various other plants and 

 trees. 



