106 



THE GABDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



for they are conspicuous on account of their size 

 (1J inch to 2 inches long) and easily detected. 

 The burdock and nettle growing in the neigh- 

 bourhood of gardens should be uprooted to de- 



Fig. 136.— Ghost Swift Moth [BepialuB Humuli). 



L and 2. Eggs (natural size and magnified). 3. Caterpillar. 4. Chrysalis. 



5 and 6. Moths, male and female (natural size). 



prive the caterpillars of natural food, and thus 

 prevent their increase in the vicinity of valuable 

 cultivated plants. Rank grass may be cut, to 

 leave no shelter for the perfect moths. The 

 latter may often be caught drowsing during the 

 day amongst shrubs and various garden plants. 



Lettuce-root Aphis {Pemphigus lactuarius). 

 — The winged female is black, and more or less 

 covered with a bluish -white cottony or waxy 

 matter. The wingless form lives at the roots 

 of Lettuce, and is pale-yellowish, almost white, 

 to the naked eye, and furnished at the tail end 

 with a dense tuft of waxy fibres like the Ameri- 

 can blight, but different in form. Neither of 

 the forms have honey tubes. 



Remedies, — The winged females deposit their 

 young upon Lettuce plants, and these larvae, 

 being very active, soon run down to the roots, 

 thus spreading the pest at a great rate. All 

 plants which are past their best, or those which 

 have been ruined, should be carefully dug up, 

 roots and all, and burned or thrown into the 

 pig-stye to prevent the aphides from reaching 

 the winged state and flying back to the plants 

 left, Previous to this the Lettuces may be 

 drenched with strong soap-suds containing some 

 tobacco -water to destroy the winged aphides, 

 Plants in good condition should be watered 

 with liquid manure, guano, water, or a solution 

 of nitrate of soda, to make them grow away 

 rapidly; if done in the early stages the crop 

 can often be saved. Watering them with strong 



soap-suds, lime-water, or tobacco-water, not too 

 strong, will destroy many of the pest. Soot is 

 also said to be beneficial. As soon as the ground 

 is clear, trench it after giving a good dressing 

 of gas-lime over the top spit. In market gardens 

 the pest is often very destructive, and must be 

 subdued. 



Millipedes.— The Flattened Millipede (Poly- 

 desmus complanatus) has 60 to 70 legs, is 

 flattened on the back, and appears sawed on 

 the edges owing to angles on the segments, and 

 is of a reddish lilac. The snake-millipedes are 

 rounded on the back, and coiled like a snake 

 when at rest. The most common and destruc- 

 tive is Julus guttatus, of a pale-yellow hue, with 

 a double row of crimson spots on the back, and 

 having about 170 legs. J. terrestris is pitchy 

 black, and shining with a faint row of spots on 

 each side, and has a short spine on the tail. /. 

 londirwnsis is about an inch long, and of a 

 shining dark, lead colour, without a spine on the 

 tail. The centipedes may be classed here. 

 Lifhobius forficatus is nearly an inch long, is 

 rusty yellowish or brownish, and has 30 legs. 

 Very conspicuous is Geophilus longicornis, Sc- 

 inches to 3 inches long, of a bright, clear yellow, 

 very slender, and furnished with 102 to 110 

 legs. It lives in the ground, and hatches its 

 eggs by coiling itself round them. All feed 

 upon the roots or tubers of various vegetables, 

 such as Potatoes, Turnips, Onions, and Carrots, 

 often destroying those which have been injured 



Fig 137— Millipedes, 



1. Julus londinensis. 2 and 3. J. guttatus (natural size and magnified). 4. J. 

 terrestris; 5, horn (magnified). 6 and 7. Polydesmus complanatw 

 (natural size and magnified). 



by slugs and wireworms. There are several other 

 species, but all of the same habits as the above. 

 Remedies. — The most effective remedy is 

 hand-picking, whether in the garden or hot- 

 houses, where they are often present in vast 

 numbers, where moisture is abundant, as in 

 cool Orchid-houses. Salt, soot, lime, and nitrate 

 of soda scattered upon ground infested by them 

 will kill or drive them away. Lime-water 

 would penetrate the soil, and prove more or less 



