EVERY M'OMAK HER OWN FLOWER GARDENER, 145 



tightly its bright blossoms before nine in the evening, and does not fully 

 open them until at six in the morning. The Daisy closes its flowers in 

 the evening, and opens its " day's eye" to meet the earliest beams of the 

 rising sun. The Goat's Beard wakes at three in the morning, and goes 

 to sleep by five or six in the afternoon. The Crocus, Tulip and many 

 others sleep peacefully at night. The Ivy-leaved Lettuce awakes at 

 eight in the morn, and closes forever by four in the afternoon. The 

 Night Blooming Cereus turns night into day ; it expands its magnificent 

 fragrant chalices in the twilight, is fully blown at midnight, and sleeps 

 never to awake again at the dawn of the morning. In a Clover field, 

 not a leaf opens until touched by the sun's rays. An English florist 

 has closely watched the habits of the flowers, and thus reports concerning 

 them. 



Insects. 



Insects abound in every month of the year, but they are especially 

 annoying in Summer time. With the first warm days they appear in 

 numbers, and cover the Koses, etc. Kain causes them to disappear, but a 

 dry, east wind increases them. A small painter's brush, dipped in quassia 

 or aloes water, will brush them off and destroy them. 



The caterpillars of many moths and butterflies are destructive in the 

 garden, and one death in the Spring will save much warfare ; so if you 

 see one resting on a stem or leaf, with folded wings, it is probably a 

 female and should be killed directly. If one is found dead on a plant, 

 she has doubtless laid her eggs, and you must search for them under- 

 neath the leaves and burn them. A garden syringe or engine is the best 

 weapon with which to wage warfare against both aphides and caterpillars. 

 You must hold the pipe close to the plant, and pump hard, so as to 

 bring a considerable stream upon it, and it will soon be free from them. 

 Every time you use it, you should rake the earth away from under the 

 plants, and trample upon the insects you have washed off. 



Earwigs are very destructive insects. Their favorite food is the petals 

 of roses, pinks, fuchsias, dahlias, etc. They eat at night, and in the 

 daytime hide away in the dark vegetation. They can be caught by 

 driving stakes into the ground and inverting a flower-pot directly over 

 them, leaving just room for them to crawl under, and then look for 

 and destroy them every morning. 



Grubs on orchard trees and small fruits, will sometimes spoil the 

 whole harvest ; but if a bonfire is made with dry sticks and weeds on 

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