POPULAR GARDENING SUPPLEMENT. 



i8i 



Rem. 136. Picking vyith Tweezers. This ap- 

 pears to he the only remedy. A pair of tweezers 

 easily made by anyone out of a piece of band 

 iron is shown in the accompanying engraving. 

 The worms may be fed to swine or be killed with 

 kerosene. 



Squash Vine Borers. {Mditia cunubiUc 

 Harris.) This worm, which seems to be on 

 the increase and in some seasons is very bad, 



Fig. ^. Hand Tjreezers for qafhcrivg remiLtive insects. 

 Made of ordinary band iron. Remedies l;i6, 142. 



works in the vine mostly near the root, often 

 causing the plant, after it is nearly grown 

 and set with fruit, to suddenly wither and 

 die. Upwards of a hundred Borers have 

 been taken froni a single vine. 



Bern. 137. dial Tar. Placing Corn cobs dipped 

 in coal tar among the plants about the first of 

 July is known to greatly lessen the attacks by 

 borers. 



J\'cHi. 138. Outting Chit. This, on a small scale, 

 is u successful remedy. In practice one may 

 soon become quite expert in discovering the lo- 

 cation of the borers and digging them out with 

 a knife point. 



Rem. 139. Laiiering. A Mr. Milton, in the 

 Ohio Fanner, says that the best remedy he has 

 found for this- pest is to go through the patch 

 with a hoe when the vines have attained a length 

 of two or three feet and throw a large hoeful of 

 earth on the fii'st or second joint from the hill. 

 The \'ine will form new roots from this joint, 

 which will enable it to perfect its fruit should 

 the borer kill the old root. 



Squash Bug, Black. {Anasntristisde Oecr.) 

 About the last of June throughout the 

 North these troublesome bugs appear on 

 Squash-vines and lay their patches of egas, 

 which soon develop into troublesome broods. 

 A most striking characteristic of the insect 

 is its offensive odor when handled or crushed. 

 As the eggs are not all laid at one time, the 

 young appear in successive broods. 



Hem. 140. Plaster aiid Kerosene. Same as 57. 



Rem. 141. Trapping. By laying shingles 

 about the hills the bugs, after feeding in the 

 night, may be found collected on the underside of 

 such. Proceeding to the patch early in the morn- 

 ing with a pail containing some kerosene, the 

 shingles should be gently raised and the insects 

 jarred or brushed into the kerosene, returning 

 the shingles again for successive catches later. 



Rem. 142. Picking with Tweezers. Same as 

 Remedy 13«. 



Strawberry Worm. Apply Remedy 53. 



Strawberry-Crown Borer. This is an insect 

 first described by Prof. Riley in 1871, and 

 which is not much known outside of the 

 Mississippi Valley. It bores down through 

 the crown of the Strawberry plant into the 

 pith. We have heard of no effective remedy. 

 The plants that are injured should certainly 

 be removed and burned. 



Sugar Maple Borer. Of late years this in- 

 sect has become comparatively abundant as 

 a destroyer of highly valued Maples. Its 

 attack is usually made on perfectly healthy 

 trees. In its simplest form it reveals itself 

 by the bark parting longitudinally and 

 breaking away, disclosing a narrow strip 

 of the wood some five or six inches in 

 length. On the surface of the wood can be 

 seen the furrow of the grub, increasing in 

 its dimensions as it descends and at the 

 lower end entering into the trunk of the 

 tree, or more often winds horizontally about 

 half way around the trunk before entering. 

 With numerous borers at work the circula- 

 tion of the tree is cut off and it dies. 



Rem. 143. Killing lljung Larva. --Probing. 

 Professor Lantner is of the opinion that the bes-t 

 method of dealing with this pernicious borer 



would be to watch for the commencement oi the 

 operations and kill the young larvfe. The eggf 

 are laid in July and August. It is said that the 

 place where the egg has been deposited upon the 

 bark of the trunk may be detected "by a rusty 

 discoloration of tlie bark about the size of a cent; 

 and especially by the frass or castings which, to 

 the length of an inch or more, are attached like 

 a broken corkscrew to the bark." The larva' 

 upon hatching burrow upward, remaining in the 

 bark until the following spring, when they bur- 

 row into the solid wood. At this season of the 

 year [October] the larvte may be found beneath 

 or not far from these discolored spots of egg de- 

 posits. If by cutting into these the burrow is 

 found to have extended too far to follow it with 

 the knife without injury to the tree, a fle.\ible 

 wire may be used as a probe for i^aching and 

 destroying It, as is done for the notorious Apple- 

 tree borer, Saperda candiila Fnhr. 



Sulphur. See Remedy 113. 



Sulphuric Acid Water. (144.) This made 

 in the proportion of one part of the acid to 

 fifty parts of water is an effective and safe 

 insecticide to be used on hardy plants. 



Swine. See Quadruped Foes to Insects. 



Thousand-Legged Worms. These are often 

 confused with the Wire Worms, (which see) 

 and from which tliey differ considerably. 

 They live on Potatoes, Radishes, Carrots, 

 and decaying vegetables, and have also been 

 accused of destroying the plants of Cucum- 

 bers, Strawberries, etc. 



Kem. 145. Oas Lime. Same as Remedy 19. 



Bern. 146. Trapping and Scalding. By laying 

 boards about the ganlen in the evening they will 

 accumulate undi'r fhi'si' in numbcTs, and in the 

 morning can be collected and scalded. 



Thrips. Minute insects varying in size \ 

 from that hardly perceptible to the naked 

 eye to the size of a Plant Louse, and varying 

 in color from whitish yellow to dark brown. 

 It is an active, jumping insect, and when 

 once it gets a foothold is very destructive. 

 As it luxuriates in close, shady places it is 

 generally found where plants are unduly 

 crowded and neglected as to ventilation and 

 syringing. (.See Grape Ijeaf Hopper.) 



Rem. 147. Nicotyl. Same as No. 10, 65. 



Bern. 148. Fumigation with Tobacco. Same 

 as Remedy 9. 



Rem. lid. Fir Tree on. Same as Remedy 24. 



Tent-Caterpillar on Apple. Rem. (150.) Band 

 Picking the Eggs. The eggs of these Caterpillars 

 appear in the shape of rings on the small twigs. 



numerous. Not only do they leave signs of 

 their presence in the denuded trees, but such 

 are also disfigured by old and new webs 

 made by the Caterpillars, in which bits of 

 leaves and leaf stems, as well as the dried 

 frass has collected, producing a very dis- 

 agreeable sight. 

 ficm. 153. Arsenical Poiso7is. Same as Rem. 43. 



Ttcm. 154. Pruning and Burning. Ontheflrst 

 appearance of tlie webs they should be looked 



.!.,mM¥^ 



Torch Remedy. Same as Remedies 

 See Remedies 8, 9, 10, 



Fig. 28. Thrip very mvch enlarged. 



and are coated with a varnish-like substance. A 

 sharp eye run over the branches in the winter 

 or early spring when bare of foUage will show 

 them, and then they should be removed and 

 burned. 



iSem. 151. Gathering the Webs. With a forked 

 stick the webs may readily be gathered in the 

 spring, when they are small, by twisting them on 

 the stick. 



Rem. 152. 

 7, 79, 1.58. 



Tobacco Insecticide, 

 123, 124, and Nicotyl. 



Tobacco Worm. See Sphinges. 



Tomato Worm, See Sphinges. 



Torch Remedy. See Remedies T, 7!), 15,"i. 



Trapping Insects. See Remedies 134, 146. 



Turpentine. See Remedy 101. 



Weevil. See Curculio. 



Web Worm,Fall. (Hyphantriarunrn.) This 

 insect is attracting increasing attention by 

 its great injury in defoliating both fruit and 

 shade trees, shrubs, etc., in many instances 

 not a vestige of foliage remaining. Its name 

 indicates the season when its webs are most 



Fig. 30. Fall Web Worm, the dark form, there being 

 also a light one. Remedies 153, i55. 



for with care and should be cut off or burned off, 

 and if cut olf should be burned at once. 



Rem. 155. Torch Remedy. A little thorough 

 work with some simple torch at the right time 

 will in nearly every case obviate the necessity of 

 any other treatment later. A campaign 

 torch mounted on a long pole is one of the best 

 implements for the purpose. The best substitute 

 for this is perhaps a piece of porous brick pre- 

 pared as suggested by Mayor Key, of Washing- 

 ton. Take a piece of soft brick, commonly 

 termed salmon brick, trim it to an egg shape; 

 then take two soft wires, cross them over this 

 brick, wrapping them together around the oppo- 

 site side so as to firmly secure it; now tie this end 

 to a long stick, such as the boys get at the plan- 

 ing mills, Ijy wrapping around it; then soak the 

 brick in coal-oil, Ught it with a match, and you 

 are armed with the cheapest weapon known to 

 science. H olding this brick torch under the nests 

 will precipitate all the worms on one or two trees 

 at least from one soaking of the brick, and it can 

 be repeated as often as necessary. 



Whale Oil Soap. See Remedies 6, 105, 114. 



Whiskey. See Remedy 23. 



Wire Worms. These are the hard, flatfish, 

 smooth-skinned, mostly light-colored, larva 

 of the Elaters or Snapping Beetle, but the 

 name Wire Worm is often wrongfully ap- 

 plied to the dark -colored, cylindrical Thous- 

 and-legged Worm, (which see). They feed 

 on roots of herbaceous plants, and on Po- 

 tatoes, Carrots, etc., and are often very in- 

 jurious. In the Beetle state they devour 

 flowers and the tender leaves of plants. 



Rem. 156. Baiting. This method consists in 

 burying sUced Pototoes or other vegetables be- 

 neath the ground in gardens, upon the end of a 

 stick for convenience of examination. The slices 

 should be examined every morning and the in- 

 sects collected and destroyed. 



Woolly Aphis. These are not true Aphis 

 or plant lice, but are known as Schizoncura 

 larkjcra. There are two forms of the insect, 

 one being usually found on the limbs and 

 trunk of young trees in masses of a white, 

 woolly substance, the other attacking the 



Fin 29. Tlie Woolly Aphis. A, root affected by the Aphis; 

 h. the Aphis iireatly enlarged; c, the Fly greatly 

 enlarged. Renu:dies 157, 158. 



roots, giving them a knotty appearance, as 

 at a in the annexed engraving. At b in the 

 same engraving is shown a greatly enlarged 

 representation of the young insect, with the 

 natural size indicated, and c is the same of 

 the insect in its fly state. The eggs are laid 

 in autumn on the bark and remain in this 

 condition through the winter. Young nur- 

 sery trees are often infested with this insect. 



