108 



THE GAKDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



on the leaves, the skin of which separates from 

 the soft tissue on both surfaces. Possibly a 

 third species infests Orchids. Sometimes the 

 pseudo-bulbs are destroyed, and in other cases 

 the leaves of Odontoglossums, which present the 

 appearance of being covered with brown dust 

 or spores, but which are really pustules contain- 

 ing the eggs, while the eel-worms distribute 

 themselves amongst the inner and softer tissues. 

 Summer and autumn Phloxes often get much 

 infested with nematodes. The stems thicken in 

 places, and get snapped by the wind, especially 



when in flower. All are closely allied to the 

 pest which produces the Gardenia-root Disease, 

 and come from the soil through the roots, and 

 may be introduced in the water. 



Remedies. — The measures and preventives pre- 

 scribed for the Gardenia-root Disease apply here. 

 In the case of Carnations and Phloxes, scarce 

 and valuable varieties may be saved by taking 

 cuttings from the healthy shoots and inserting 

 them in fresh soil from a different source; or 

 Carnations may be layered, and the layers 

 removed as soon as rooted, planting them else- 



-Xematoid Worms (Ti/lenchus). 



1. Transverse section of Carnation leaf, showing nematoid worm6 in the tissue. 2. Portion of Carnation leaf (magnified 50 times), showing 

 worms escaping from the eggs and also fully developed. 3. Surface view of leaf of Oncidium, showing egg-containing pustules bursting. 

 4. Transverse section of leaf of Oncidium, showing eggs containing worms ready to hatch out in pustules on both surfaces, and worms in the 

 tissues 5. Portion of root of Cucumber (highly magnified), showing a cyst containing eggs in the centre; also eggs at the lower right- 

 hand corner from which the worms are escaping, and worms that have escaped. 



where in fresh ground. The ailment is known 

 amongst gardeners as the gout. 



Onion Fly (Anthomyia cepamm). — This two- 

 winged insect closely resembles the Cabbage 

 Fly. The male is gray, covered with black 

 hairs, furnished with three dark lines on the 

 shoulders, and a line of spots on the abdomen; 

 the face is white. The female is more of a 

 yellow hue. The maggots are yellowish-white, 

 legless, and penetrate Onion bulbs near the base. 

 There are several broods during the season, and 

 the first lot of maggots commence their w T ork of 

 mischief in May. The pupae of the last brood 

 hibernate in the soil, but sometimes in the 

 bulbs, till spring. 



Remedies. — Active measures for the repression 

 of this fly may be undertaken at various times. 

 When the bulbs are cleared off the ground at 

 the end of summer, all the unsound and useless 

 ones should be carefully collected and burnt, or 

 thrown to the pigs to be trodden amongst the 

 manure. Trench the ground, burying the top 

 spit at the bottom, and scatter a good dressing 

 of gas-lime over it. This w T ould destroy most 

 of the pupae, and prevent the flies emerging 



from the rest. Well - tilled, well -manured 

 ground often enjoys immunity from infestation, 

 even although Onions are grown upon it for 

 many years; but a change every year is safer. 

 A dressing of soot may be given at sowing- 

 time, as w r ell as some fowl or pigeon's dung; 

 after the seedlings are up, alternate waterings 

 with liquid manure, blood manure steeped in 

 water, or guano used in the same way and 

 applied with a coarse-rosed watering-pot, enable 

 the Onions to make rapid growth and escape 

 early attack, which is the most hurtful Care- 

 fully dig up those which turn yellow and burn 

 them, to destroy the early brood of maggots. 

 Watering overhead with soap-suds has also been 

 found useful. Sand saturated with petroleum, 

 scattered broadcast over the soil, and then 

 watered, has also given successful results. 

 Good culture and feeding is, however, the best 

 preventive. 



Pot-herb Moth (Hadena oleracea). — The 

 fore- wings of this moth are of a dull-red, with 

 a kidney-shaped orange blotch near the middle, 

 and measure about 1J inch in expanse. The 

 caterpillar is yellowish-brown, with a dark line 



