114 RATIONAL FRUIT CULTURE. 



should be provided with plenty of food and water, so as to 

 keep them growing strongly throughout the season, and at 

 the end of that time some of them should b? large enough for 

 planting out. 



PliSTS OK TUE VINE. 



The chief pests of the vine in this country are mealy-bug, 

 red spider, thrips, and various weevils, among insects, and 

 black rot, Grape rot, and mildew (American downy-mildew, as 

 well as the ordinary form) , among fungoid diseases. The 

 phylloxera, a species of aphis, which causes galls on the leaves, 

 and also on the roots, is exceedingly destructive on the Con- 

 tinent, but comparatively rare in Britain. No cure is known. 

 To prevent its spreading, infected vines should be uprooted 

 and burned. 



Insect Pests. — White, woolly tufts indicate the presence 

 of mealy-bug. The brown, scale-like insects should be de- 

 stroyed with spirits of wine, applied with a brush. If they 

 are numerous, all loose bark should, in autumn, be rubbed 

 off the rods, which should then be painted with paraflBii emul- 

 sion. Red spider affects the foliage of the vine in the sarae 

 w;iy as it does that of fruit trees in the open air, turning it 

 a sickly, mottled colour. It is never troublesome unless the 

 air has been kept excessively dry. Frequent spraying is 

 useful, but should be discontinued as soon as the Grapes begin 

 to colour. .\ solution of liver of sulphur, though effective 

 out of doors, is unsuitable for a greenhouse, as it blackens 

 paint. The best and simplest remedy for red spider, and all 

 other insects, is vaporisation at intervals. There are various 

 preparations on the market; they are inexpensive and easily 

 managed. Vaporisation will also destroy thrips, small, black 

 insects closely related to aphides. As the weevils mentioned 

 feed on the roots, they are difi&cult to get rid of, but in the 

 beetle stage they attack the foliage, and can then be shaken 

 down on to tarred paper. 



