IXSECT PESTS AND DISEASES 125 



result in its traveling to the next plant, which will be 

 similarly destroyed. 



Hardly a year passes but some new pest appears 

 to contribute its mite to the grower's burden of trouble. 

 Last year brought two of them, both new to the writer. 

 In one case just as the buds were unfolding it was 

 noticed upon many of them something had eaten a 

 small portion of the petals and apparently small frag- 

 ments of^the meal lay loose upon the flower. Closer 

 examination revealed the fact that the pest was a tiny 

 caterpillar only about one-eighth of an inch in length 

 and of a light silvery gray color. Professor J. B. Smith, 

 to whom specimens were submitted, replied: "The 

 caterpillar at fault is a little span worm which has 

 never before been accused of eating Chrysanthemums." 

 It was eating them last year and in a most insidious 

 manner. Not alone was it difficult to detect on account of 

 its diminutiveness, but it covered itself with, and, when 

 moving, carried upon its back chewed fragments of the 

 petals it was feeding on, thus rendering its detection 

 and destruction still more difficult. At this stage of 

 flower development no remedies could be applied with- 

 out risk of further damage and the only remedy was 

 hand picking a tedious operation calling for a minute 

 examination of every flower. 



The other pest the writer had.no opportunity of 

 examining, but, as reported, it was most destructive. 

 The insect belonged to the family of borers, and, having 

 bored its way into the stem, proceeded upward, eating 

 out the entire center, or core, of the stem, completely 

 destroying the plant. Its presence could only be de- 

 tected by the wilting of the plant when it had been 

 injured to a degree beyond reparation or possible re- 

 covery, and many plants were totally ruined. It is 

 hard to fight a hidden foe ensconced within the heart 



