Enemies 195 



wet. Take shavings, dry grass or even crumpled 

 newspapers, and over this material spread the leaves 

 loosely; sprinkle the pile with kerosene, and, from a 

 safe distance, toss on a lighted match. 



Lime, wood-ashes, sulphur and bordeaux have fre- 

 quently been tried as remedies, sometimes applied 

 directly to the affected rhizomes and sometimes to 

 the soil, but they appear to have generally proved 

 to be ineffectual. And, applied directly to the affected 

 parts, some of them seem to aggravate the disease — 

 at Stager Place this was the invariable result of such 

 use of fresh lime. 



INSECTS. — There are several insects which some- 

 times, in some localities, but not generally, are more 

 or less troublesome. The greatest pest is the Iris 

 borer. It injures by boring into the rhizome and 

 eating more or less of it; and sometimes through 

 wounds made by it bacteria enter the rhizome and 

 cause it to rot. It is the larva or caterpillar of the 

 moth Macronoctua onusta a genus of the family Noc- 

 tuidce, night flyers. 



Dark is the Iris meadow, 



Dark is the ivory tower, 



And lightly the young moth's shadow 



Sleeps on the passion-flower. 



Marjorie Pickthall: Serenade. 



The filmy shapes that haunt the dusk. 



Tennyson: In Memoriam. 



