Horticulture. 



[April, 1909. 



number of fresh pellets that will be 

 found on the ground. If the pellets are 

 there, the caterpillar must be hidden 

 somewhere on the branches or sometimes 

 buried in the soil near the stems. The 

 scale insects sometimes attack rose 

 plants, and the number to be seen on 

 each plant is surprising. The whole 

 stem of the plant is covered with them 

 as if plastered with something. The 

 best remedy is to segregate such plants, 

 and after rubbing off the insects, the 

 plants should be washed with resin 

 •wash. Little flying insects resembling 

 mosquitoes will be found to attack 

 roses, disfiguring the foliage by 

 puncturing it. The presence of damp 

 and grass and the absence of free 

 sun an d ventilation are favourable for 

 them. The best remedy is to take the 

 plants to a place where these causes are 

 not present. The insects come and go 

 every year. Mildew shows itself on rose 

 plants by the curling of the leaf and 

 the ashy white powder on them. Dust- 

 ing of sulphur powder is advised as a 

 remedy. But washing with the liquor 

 of sulphur is better as the underside as 

 well as the upper can be reached by a 

 jet of the wash. A half ounce of potas- 

 sium sulphide should be dissolved in 

 some hot water and added to a gallon 

 of water. One or two applications of 

 this should cure a fresh attack of mil- 

 dew. As regards those 



PESTS THAT ATTACK THE PLANT 

 UNDERGROUND 



no enemy has a worse reputation than 

 the white-ant so destructive, especially 

 to cuttings in the nursery, tunnelling 

 into the slips from the butt end, and 

 the " lady" is puzzled to know how the 

 choice slips of La Prance, Cathrine Mer- 

 met and Glorie de Dijon, stuck with 

 such care in the sheltered and prepar- 

 ed bed are cut off suddenly in their 

 youth after exhibiting signs of sprouting. 

 The white-ant is a most insidious pest, 

 but as its ravages are confined to 

 diseased or decayed vegetation, it will 

 be well to clear thoroughly the neigh- 

 bourhood of the flower beds of such 

 matter. The most effective way of 

 diminishing their numbers is to get 

 the garden cooly to dig up the ants' 

 nest with a pickaxe or alavangoe and 

 destroy the queen ant, if she can be 



found. Other underground enemies are 

 earthworms and the 



LARVAE OF THE CHAFER BEETLE, 



the thick fleshy dirty-white yellowish 

 grub with the tale end of the body 

 swollen and dirty in colour. These 

 grubs are easily noticed and should be 

 destroyed wherever seen, as they are 

 hurtful to the roots of trees. Large 

 rose trees in pots are not unf i equently 

 killed by these. Cattle manure fre- 

 quently contains the larvae of this beetle, 

 and manure before using should always 

 be spread out in the open so that the 

 birds and chickens would pick out the 

 eggs and grubs. Earthworms in a 

 flower tub clog the soil and absorb 

 matter which would benefic the plant. 

 In potting plants the earth should be 

 examined carefully for the eggs of the 

 earth worm. But the best plan is to 

 incinerate the earth, which, while des- 

 troying all organic life in it will great- 

 ly improve it. But all underground 

 enemies can be readily and effectively 

 disposed of by using liquid manure, 

 urine, which while killing them will 



PRODUCE A PROFUSION OF BLOOM. 

 As practical agriculturists know, urine 

 when allowed to putrify and diluted in 

 water and applied to trees is one of the 

 most valuable manures. It furnishes, 

 in short, according to Dr. Fownes, the 

 same substance as the atmosphere — the 

 food of plants provided by Nature her- 

 self, Moreover, urine contains a large 

 quantity of phosphates, bodies indis- 

 pensable to vegetable life. Urine should 

 be diluted as a manure. It has been 

 found that the diluted liquid contains 

 nearly four times as much ammonia as 

 urine left to putrify in its natural state. 

 The stuff, however, should not be left 

 to putrify for too long a period. Two 

 months is about sufficient. The use of 

 this liquid manure, so easily prepared, 

 in rose culture will give remaikable 

 results, killing insect pests in the 

 ground, and producing profuse crops of 

 flowers in a short time. Use a small 

 quantity, about a pint of tlie liquid, 

 for each tree, taking care not to wet 

 the foliage. As in the case of solid 

 manure, one single application is all 

 that is required for the season. More 

 anon. 



HORTUS. 



—Independent, December 4, 1908. 



