﻿STKAWBEKE.Y EOOTWORM ON GEJEENHOUSE EOSES 



37 



HAND PICKING 



Many florists, failing to control the beetles with sprays, fumigants, 

 ot traditional " cures," had recourse to hand picking as a last resort, 

 thus assuring themselves of the positive removal from consideration 

 of all beetles collected and Idlled. In some establishments the work- 

 ers merely collected the beetles visible on the plants, sometimes using 

 ordinary pans. Others devised more thorough methods, such as 

 beating the plants with a stick in order to jar the beetles into a pan 

 held between the crossrows. For this purpose they used a special 

 pan about 3 feet deep, wide enough to span the bench, and which 

 had the lower ends rounded to reach underneath the plants. Oil 

 was kept in the bottom of the pans to kill the beetles coming in 



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Fig. 16. 



-Muslin curtains used to separate sections of an open range of greenliouses 

 during fumigation witti hydrocyanic-acid gas 



contact with it. Paddles covered with sticky fly paper served a 

 similar purpose. 



These methods were very effective, particularly when the beetles 

 were gathered on the "bleeding" ends of the cut-back plants (fig. 

 11), where they were plainly visible. In one greenhouse where the 

 plants had been cut back in April over 1,000 beetles were collected 

 on 3,000 plants, even though they were not very numerous because 

 the new brood had not yet begun to appear. 



In another place, where no other control measures were practiced, 

 the workmen took advantage of the adults' habit of climbing the 

 wire supports after the plants had been syringed, by spending an 

 hour after this operation each day in collecting and killing the 

 beetles. Large numbers were thus disposed of. This method was 

 followed diligently day after day throughout September and October 

 of 1921, when many adults were present. Cleanliness was also prac- 



