INSECT AND OTHER PLANT ENEMIES. 



85 



garden engine. A dressing of nitrate of soda 

 and salt, at the rate of \ cwt. of each per 

 acre, is also very beneficial, especially in moist 

 weather, as it sets the crops growing — a matter 

 of great importance in cases of this kind. 



Figure -of- 8 Moth (Diloba cceruleuwphala). 

 — The perfect moth measures 1 J inch to 1 J inch 

 across the wings, which are dull-gray tinted with 

 rose, and have two markings on the middle of each 



Fig. 105.— Figure-of-8 Moth (Diloba Cceruleocephala). 

 1. Moth. 2. Caterpillar. 



like the figure 8, The caterpillar is pale-yellow 

 with a blue head, and appears in June, sometimes 

 doing damage to the leaves of Apple and other 

 £rees. 



Remedies. — Should the caterpillars of this 

 moth prove troublesome, they may be destroyed 

 by spraying the trees with Paris-green at the 

 rate of a tea-spoonful of the poison, finely 

 powdered, to 2 gallons of water. On a larger 

 scale use 1 lb. of Paris-green to 200 gallons of 

 water. This should be done at the end of May 

 or beginning of June, when the caterpillars first 

 make their appearance; they do not live in 

 webs. Their destruction is effected by eating 

 the poisoned leaves. 



Garden Chafer {Phyllopertha horticola). — 

 This beetle is 4 to 5 lines long, and has a bluish- 

 black head and shoulders, while the wing-cases 

 present a mixture of yellow, red, and brown, 

 and the body is hairy. It appears in May and 

 June. The six-legged grubs are yellowish-white, 

 but of a leaden colour at the tail end, and feed 

 on the roots of grass for about three years, doing 

 great damage to the turf. In summer they 

 reside about an inch beneath the surface, but 

 at greater depths in winter. 



Remedies. — Sometimes they exist in vast 

 numbers, and the perfect beetles cluster densely 

 upon the leaves of various fruit-trees, Roses and 

 others. In these cases they may be shaken 



down upon cloths early in the morning or late 

 in the evening, as they fly by day, thus escap- 

 ing. Collect and destroy them. The grubs 

 may be destroyed by watering the grass in 

 autumn with a gallon of gas-liquor in 9 gallons 

 of water, or with a strong solution of salt and 

 water. Encourage starlings, rooks, and thrushes, 

 which destroy the grubs in large numbers. Roll 

 the grass in spring to settle the turf, and en- 

 courage the grass to grow with such artificial 

 manures as nitrate of soda, and potash, also with 

 dressings of lime, decayed vegetable matter 

 from the rubbish heap, or old potting bench 

 soiL 



Garden Pebble Moth (Pionea forficalis). — 

 Across the expanded wings this moth measures 

 1 inch to 1 1 inch. The fore-wing is whitish-yel- 

 low, shaded with pale-brown, with two brown and 

 two gray lines running obliquely. The caterpillar 

 is yellowish-green, with a line of darker spots 

 on either side, and tapers to either end. They 

 feed on Cabbage, Horse-radish, and Turnip leaves 

 during June and July, and again in September 

 and October, being double-brooded. 



Remedies. — Children could be employed to 

 pick the caterpillars off the leaves of Cabbages, 

 as they are large and easily noticed if at all 

 plentiful. The leaves of Horse-radish and Tur- 

 nips might be wetted with the syringe and 

 dusted with white hellebore powder mixed with 

 three or four times its bulk of flour ; or an infusion 

 of it may be used and syringed upon the plants. 

 Make this infusion by pouring 2 gallons of boil- 

 ing water over 1 oz. of the powder, dissolve 

 1 oz. of common glue in a gallon of water, mix 

 the whole together, and allow it to cool before 

 using. 



Gooseberry and Currant Sawfly (Xeuui- 

 tus Ribesii). — In the perfect state this is a fly 

 with four transparent wings and a yellow body, 

 or the hinder part may be orange. The cater- 

 pillars are bluish-green with black spots, a black 

 head, 6 proper feet, and 14 suckers, making 

 20 in all. There are several broods, the first 

 appearing as the leaves of the Gooseberry and 

 Red Currant unfold in spring; the caterpillars of 

 the last brood hibernate in the soil till spring. 

 The eggs are laid on the under side of the leaves, 

 and the caterpillars may be found in clusters in 

 the very young stages. 



Remedies. — Where the sawfly is known to be 

 prevalent, a close watch should be kept upon 

 the young leaves in spring for the first appear- 

 ance of the caterpillars, which may easily be 

 collected while still in clusters. The bushes 

 may then be dusted over the lower parts with 



