CUCUMBER. MELON. PUMPKIN. SQUASH 133 



beetle which nearly always appears as soon as the 

 plants are above ground. In a small garden the 

 simplest remedy is a protecting cover of mosquito- 

 netting over each hill. In large gardens, the plants 

 may be kept well dusted with air-slaked lime, tobacco 

 dust and a little Paris green, mixed. Or the young 

 plants may be sprayed with Bordeaux, adding four 

 pounds of arsenate of lead to fifty gallons. Some 

 growers claim that an ordinary "moth ball" placed 

 on each hill will keep the pests away. Flea-beetles 

 and cutworms are sometimes troublesome (see Chap- 

 ter XI). Then there is a worm or caterpillar that 

 often makes trouble ; hand-picking is usually effect- 

 ive, followed by burning old vines and rubbish, and 

 rotation of crops. The louse or aphis often does 

 considerable damage to the leaves and vines and 

 is a difficult pest to combat because of its habit of 

 hiding on the under side of the leaves. Use any 

 of the lice remedies, and use an upward-spray noz- 

 zle arrangement that will put the spray under the 

 leaves (see illustration in Chapter V). The squash 

 root-borer (see Squash) attacks other vines some- 

 times. 



Mildew, rot, blight, etc., may best be held in 

 check with the Bordeaux mixture, beginning early 

 and repeating the spray at intervals until the fruit 

 is half grown. (Use half-strength Bordeaux on 

 watermelon vines.) 



