CHAPTER X 



PESTS AND REMEDIES 



WE ARE always told that there are very few 

 pests which harass the dahlia; yet every 

 treatise on dahlias that I have seen gives the 

 name of a new enemy, every friend I have 

 questioned has spoken of some beast that 

 destroys, and has asked for a suggestion for a 

 remedy. 



There are enemies waiting underground to 

 attack the roots as soon as planted. There are 

 beasts who steal from their hiding places at 

 night and cut down the tender shoots. There 

 are mean, slimy, sneaking things which crawl up 

 the young plant and suck the sweet water from 

 the water-pipe, interrupting the flow and 

 damaging the stems. There are horrid, crawly 

 worms who snuggle inside the main stalk and 

 fatten on the pithy lining until suddenly the 

 whole plant drops dead. There are flying 

 creatures both large and small, who sting the 

 tender shoots, or plant their eggs therein, causing 

 them to shrivel and die. When we have battled 



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