FRUIT DESTROYERS ANB GARDEN PESTS 



matter if the previous winter has been mild and fairly dry, and has 

 therefore been favourable for preserving alive a larger number than 

 usual of the female wasps. In such a case the gardener must look 

 out for damage to his wall-fruit, which will probably be attacked 

 just as it is ripening. The wasps eat away the pulp 

 under the skin, generally making a beginning on that Hffjf r"^ *> 

 side of the fruit which is nearest the wall, so that at 

 first glance the mischief is often unobserved. As soon, therefore, as 

 any wasps are seen in a garden some means of protecting the ripening 

 waJl-fruit should be adopted without delay. A simple contrivance, 

 and as effective as it is simple, is a high-shouldered glass jar (such 

 as that used for pickles and jam) into which should 

 be poured a small quantity of some kind of syrup — S^P'* r 

 sugar and beer mixed together is a good compound. Protection 

 Round the neck of the jar a piece of string should be 

 fastened, leaving two free ends of string some 6 inches long on each 

 side, by which the jar can be suspended either to naUs in the waU 

 or on a branch of the fruit tree. The syrup thus provided forms a 

 tempting bait for the wasps, and if the jar has the usual slanted 

 shoulders and is not too wide-mouthed, the wasps, when once in, 

 cannot easily get out again. Tlie number of jars required must de- 

 pend, of course, upon the amount of fruit which has to be protected, 

 but as their preparation is not difficult, it is well not to be sparing. 

 They should be replenished with sj^rup from time to time, and the 

 wasps which have been caught in the trap may be destroyed by pour- 

 ing in hot water. 



WIRE-WORM 



If a garden, or any particular bed in it, is infested with wire-worms, 

 drastic means of extermination should be taken, for these pests are 

 not easy to get rid of ; and as some kinds hve in the larvajstate for three 

 years, they have plenty of time to do much damage. The most effec- 

 tive plan for destroying them is to dig in a thick sowing of quicklime 

 and allow the ground to remain fallow for a winter, thus ^ . j.. 

 cutting off all means of sustenance for the grub. Traps ^""^ "°* 

 may also be used, with good effect, in the shape of slices of potato, 

 carrot or turnip buried about an inch in the earth. Each piece should 

 have a skewer stuck into it to show its position, and it .j.j.„g 

 must be examined, and its catch destroyed, every morn- 

 ing. Fortunately most birds are very fond of wire-worms, and, if per- 

 mitted, will materially assist the gardener in his war against them. 

 K 145 



