112 



GARDENING FOR THE SOUTH. 



U^-2Sr 



M 



Fig. 13— Ear of pop-corn 

 showing work of An- 

 goumois grain moth. 

 Kiley, Report U. S. 

 Dept. Agri. 



promising methods of lessening the 

 insect tribes. A single pair of breed- 

 ing swallows, Bradley has calculated, 

 destroy over three thousand worms 

 in a week. Toads live almost entirely 

 upon insects, and do not injure plants. 

 A large class of insects also live en- 

 tirely upon insects that are injurious 

 to plants, and should be encouraged. 



Lime and Salt. — Dressing the soil 

 with lime, sowing in autumn six or 

 eight bushels of salt to the acre, turn- 

 ing over the soil and exposing it to 

 frost just before winter, or during the 

 winter months when the ground is 

 open, are all found to be beneficial. 

 Rolling the surface soil smooth when 

 crops are planted destroys the hiding 

 places of many insects, and renders 

 them less destructive. 



Any insect peculiarly injurious 

 must be watched as to its habits, mode 

 of feeding, and its transformations, in 

 order to discover where it may be most 

 successfully attacked. 



As healthy plants are less subject to 

 attack, keep the ground in good order, 

 sow good seed, cultivate thoroughly, 

 and the crop will be less endangered. 



Hand-Pickix(J. — In some cases, the 

 only effectual mode is hand-picking. 

 If the leaf-roller, the beetle, or the 

 grub is crushed under foot, by prevent- 

 ing reproduction a thousand enemies 

 are destroyed at once. 



