THE ACCIDENTS OF CULTIVATIOJT. 



45 



sometimes so nearly coincident, that it is almost dijG&cult 

 to decide which comes first. One thing is certain, how- 

 ever, and pregnant with instruction, which is, that healthy- 

 plants that are altogether in good condition, and are well 

 cared for, do not attract insects, any more than disease, 

 nearly so much as those which are feeble and badly tended. 



Neglected and slovenly gardens likewise, as it is well 

 known, afford a convenient harbourage for many kinds of 

 insects and vermin. Rubbish lying about in little heaps, 

 decaying vegetable matter, little gatherings of divers 

 loose substances in the corners and about the bottoms of 

 palings or hedges, accumulations of weeds, and any 

 species of untidiness, all give a resting, and lurking, and 

 breeding-place for slugs, snails, numerous insects, mice, 

 &c., which speedily overrun a garden, and destroy the 

 greater part of its produce. Cleanliness and order are, 

 therefore, the best preventives of insect gatherings. 



Still, the greatest precaution and care are not always 

 effectual in excluding such depredators ; and they will 

 therefore, have to be dealt with as enemies, and de- 

 stroyed as soon as they appear. It is of the greatest con- 

 sequence that they be taken in time, and that a garden 

 should be strictly "preserved," in the sense of excluding 

 almost every kind of animal life, rather than of cherishing 

 it. Most insects and vermin multiply with such amazing 

 rapidity, that, if they be not early checked, their ravages 

 will be indefinitely prolonged, and well nigh infinitely 

 extended. 



The various species of aphis, or plant-fly, which appear 

 on so many plants, and suck out their best juices, must 

 be got rid of by dashing w^ater upon them from a syringe 

 or engine, or by fumigating them with tobacco beneath a 

 close calico covering, or by washing the parts with 

 tobacco-water. They would soon devour all the leaves 

 of such things as currant trees, and render them very 

 nearly useless. Water is the greatest enemy to the re 

 spider, which attacks fruit trees on walls, but which may 

 be driven away by vigorous syringing, when timely com- 

 menced. Wire-worms, grubs, &c., that live in the ground 

 and caterpillars, that feed on the leaves of plants, are 

 chiefly to be extirpated by hand-picking ; though the 



