ON HARDY BULBS AND TUBERS. 



3°9 



Of insect pests one of the worst is the Narcissus fly 

 (Merodon Narcissi), which destroys vast quantities of the bulbs. 

 The presence of this creature may be readily noted at planting 

 time by the softness of the bulb in which the maggot is 

 feeding. The aldermanic grub remains in the bulb practically 

 through the winter, when it changes into a pupa in the soil, 

 and eventually emerges as a fly in April or May (Fig. 183, a, b, 

 and c). The perfect insect has a very close resemblance to a bee, 

 the blue-black body being banded with golden-yellow. By way 

 of prevention, all soft bulbs should be carefully examined ; any 

 which show signs of premature decay and general deterioration 

 should be marked, and 

 if the maggot is found 

 to be in them, say in 

 August or September, 

 they should be destroyed. 

 Fig. 184 shows a bulb 

 from which the maggot 

 pupated in November. 



Snowdrops, again, in 

 certain seasons and in 

 certain districts, are at- 

 tacked by a very destruc- 

 tive fungus, Polyactis 

 galanthina. The pecu- 

 liarity of this disease is 

 that there is little to 

 warn the grower of the 

 impending attack. The 

 bulbs blossom and de- 

 velop their foliage as 

 if they were perfectly 

 healthy. The next 



season, however, there is 

 frequently not a single 

 bulb to be found. Ground 

 which has been infected 



should receive a dressing of fresh lime, well dug in. All diseased 

 bulbs should also be burnt. 



Gladioli are popularly supposed to suffer decay from a fungus, 

 but so far no one has been able to specify what. By Gladioli 

 specialists, however, the decay is thought to arise from an error 

 in^ treatment in not lifting the corms sufficiently early. And 

 this certainly has been my own experience. 



The above constitute the chief of the pests against which 

 the grower of hardy bulbs and tubers has to contend, and 

 it will at once be admitted that the list is not a very for- 

 midable one. 



Fig. 184. — Diseased Narcissus Bulb, 

 Due to the Attack of Nar- 

 cissus Fly. 



