Gardening for Amateurs 



68r 



spread sand, sawdust, or fibre impregnated 

 with sufficient paraffin to give it a strong 

 odour in the drills to keep the fly away. 

 Cabbages may suffer from Greenfly and 

 from Weevils and Caterpillars. Lime the 

 soil in winter, and keep the young plants 

 growing strongly by placing a pinch of 

 nitrate of soda near the roots every five 

 days when they are young. Spray the 

 plants with water in which some soap has 

 been dissolved, or dust the foliage occa- 

 sionally with soot. 



Turnip. The Turnip Fly is a bad little 

 pest ; it feeds on the foliage of the young 

 plants, and so 

 does con- 

 siderable 

 damage. The 

 female lays 

 quite a small 

 number of 

 eggs, but they 

 soon hatch 

 out, and the 

 larvae feed 

 voraciously 

 for ten days 

 or so before 

 they become 

 quiescent ; 

 two or three 

 broods are 

 produced in 

 one season. 

 Sterilisation 

 of the soil 

 must be prac- 

 t i s e d after 

 severe attacks. Lime or soot dusted on 

 the foliage keeps off the larvae and beetles, 

 but plenty of water sprayed from above acts 

 sufficiently well to allow the plant to grow 

 strong enough, so that attack does not do 

 much harm. 



Carrot. Carrots are almost impossible 

 in some parts because of the Carrot Fly. 

 This is a dark, greenish-black fly with brown 

 head. She deposits her eggs in the loose soil 

 round the young plants, and the larvae 

 soon eat the roots sufficiently to cause the 

 plant to turn yellow and die. Paraffin 

 soaked into sand and sawdust keeps the 

 insect away ; spraying every morning with 



water which has lain overnight on some tar 

 is quite a good plan, but at all times the 

 soil must be kept firm and compact round 

 the plants ; soot should be freely used. 



Celery and Parsnip. Celery and Pars- 

 nips alike suffer from a leaf -mining grub. 

 The small grub lives within the leaf and 

 feeds on its soft tissues, leaving that white 

 blister which so often disfigures those 

 plants. Squeezing between the finger and 

 thumb kills this maggot, and dusting with 

 soot or lime keeps the fly from depositing 

 her eggs on the foliage. Spraying with 

 any substance having a strong odour, or 



Pests of Fruit Bushes and Trees. 



A1 and A2> Raspberry Weevil and its grub : B. Larva of Raspberry Moth ; Cl and C2i Goose- 

 berry Caterpillar and Sawfly : D1 and D2, Magpie Moth and Caterpillar; E1 and E2, Codling 

 Moth and Caterpillar. 



which forms a film or skin on the foliage, 

 keeps the fly away. Celery also suffers from 

 various rusts or moulds. Bordeaux Mixture 

 is practically the only remedy, but if plants 

 are so badly attacked that they make no 

 progress the should be pulled up and 

 burned. 



Onion. Onions cannot be grown as a 

 late spring crop in certain districts because 

 of the Onion Fly and Maggot. Spreading 

 paraffin and sand along the drills, syringeing 

 with quassia and soft soap, and a plentiful 

 use of soot and wood ashes have all been 

 tried with more or less success. The best 

 plan is to sow the seed in autumn and winter 



