104 THE CULTURE OF THE CHRYSANTHEMUM. 



pint of the dressing may be used to a gallon of water. If, 

 however, the fungus is very bad, and has obtained a hold 

 of the plant, double the strength can be used without in- 

 juring the chrysanthemums. 



This may be completely cured by syringing the under 

 side of the leaves with " Abol " ( White's superior 

 insecticide "), or the mixture that I recommend for fungus. 

 In fact, if used as a preventive for fungus, mi'ldew will 

 not make its appearance at all. 



Rust or Mould. 



This is a kind of fungus known mostly among market 

 growers, and is generally seen in plants which are crowded 

 together in beds, sufficient air space not being allowed 

 between them. It attacks some varieties worse than others, 

 and in wet seasons more than in dry ones. The varieties 

 which suffer most are : W. H. Lincoln, Lady Fitz- 

 vvigram, Mdm. Casimir Perrier, etc. I have seen 

 plants perfectly healthy and green on Monday, with a few 

 black spots on Tuesday, nearly every leaf black by Satur- 

 day, and by the Monday again just a week from the 

 attack not a green leaf left nothing but the stems and 

 buds, the latter failing to swell afterwards. I do not 

 know any cure for this disease except it be the observance 

 of the precept, " Don't overcrowd." 



The Leaf Mining Maggot. 



There are a large number of leaf mining pests, but I 

 am o>f opinion that the maggot which attacks chrysan- 

 themums is the most troublesome of any. Its life history 

 is exceedingly simple. The eggs are deposited in 'the leaves 

 of plants by the full grown fly. These eggs speedily turn 

 to tiny grubs, which burrow in the tissues of the leaf, be- 

 ginning in fine thread-like lines, and gradually growing 

 in size like a river starting in a tiny stream from its 

 source and increasing in size as it flows onwards. Some- 

 times the grub works towards the mid-rib of the leaf, and 

 sometimes towards the edge. At the end of a few weeks 



